Building Materials & Supplies

Installing tile over a subfloor usually entails first putting down a layer of concrete backerboard or extra plywood. If you are trying to avoid raising the level of the floor, you can get away...

Laying a tile floor requires a strong, immobile underlayment. It shouldn't come as a surprise, then, that it's possible (and even advantageous) to lay new tile over an existing tile floor or over...

The normal process for installing a wood floor is to remove all the floor trim (base board and quarter round), lay the floor leaving an expansion gap' between the floorboards and the wall and...

When you're installing a new tongue-and-groove floor, there are two basic kinds of cuts you'll have to make: lengthwise cuts along the whole span of the first and/or last course or flooring; and...

Oriented strand board, or OSB, is made from small strips of wood scraps pressed together with resin to provide a surface similar to particle board. Like particle board, OSB isn't the best surface...

Oil-based stain and polyurethane gloss are more difficult to work with than water-based products. Oil-based stain and polyurethane produce more potent fumes, cleanup is more difficult (you must...

"Shower pan" is the term that refers to a properly built shower floor structure around a drain. The top layer of a shower pan is Portland cement that's sloped toward the drain from all sides. Your...

The first step in refinishing a wood floor is to remove the old finish. Removing the old finish is a complicated process because you have to take up the hard shell of polyurethane (or varnish, or...

Determining proper placement of ceramic tiles when you're laying a floor is one of the most important steps; do it wrong, and everything will be off. Tiles are laid from the center of the floor...

If you want to install hardwood flooring in your home, but the room has a concrete slab floor, that doesn't mean you're out of luck. Although wood floors are usually installed to plywood...

Modern hardwood floors are tongue-and-groove planks, most of which are secured with a pneumatic floor stapler specially designed for the job. The floor stapler sits on the planks that have already...

Hardwood flooring is ideally laid over plywood subfloor, which allows you to secure it with nails and flooring staples. But some subfloors are covered with particle board, which is basically...

Laying a hardwood floor is a complicated project that will go a lot easier if you make the proper preparations. Hardwood flooring comes in tongue-and-groove planks that are generally installed...

Mosaic tiles are very small tiles (often around one square inch), which are sold pre-mounted on mesh-backed sheets of two square feet or more for easy installation. Like any other tile, they need...

Normally, you'll want to lay your ceramic tile floor over a strong, flat underlayment like thick plywood or (preferably) cement board. However, if there's already a ceramic floor there, it...

A drum sander is basically a very large version of a belt sander. It's made specifically to strip and sand wood floors for refinishing. There is a proper sequence to stripping the floor (gloss...

There are many ways to install oak flooring---nailing, gluing, and even "floating'' the floor unattached. However you do it, though, it's important not to start laying boards without knowing how...

It's usually best to install ceramic tile over cement board, because it adheres well to the tile and limits the amount of movement under the tiles, which can cause cracking. However, if...

Today's engineered tongue-and-groove flooring is stronger, tighter and easier to lay than older floor systems, primarily because of the pneumatic floor stapler. This tool is designed for the...

Normally, hardwood floors are laid over plywood underlayment, with nails or special staples shot through the boards with air pressure. But if your underlayment is particle board, it is not a good...

Hardwood floors are an old idea with some new twists today. Modern wood floors aren't just planks nailed next to each other, but are a precisely milled tongue-and-groove system designed to hold...

Tile is one of the most versatile flooring materials. Floor tiles may be made of vinyl or ceramic materials. They may be used for floors in almost any room in the home because of their durability...

One of the big advantages of laminate flooring over traditional hardwood is ease of installation. Most laminate floors today are ``floating'' floors, meaning they sit on a foam underlayment,...

Few kinds of floors look as good as real hardwood. But few are as difficult to lay, either. One modern alternative is laminate flooring, which is generally made of particle board covered with wood...

Floor tile needs a solid, immobile base to prevent cracking. Normally when laying floor tile, you'll start with a subfloor that's covered with a plywood underlayment or hardwood, then put 1/4 inch...

Laminate flooring provides an inexpensive alternative to traditional hardwood flooring. Designed as a floating floor, several products are used in conjunction with the laminate flooring product to...

Laying a new hardwood floor is within the capabilities of a competent homeowner partly because modern tongue-and-groove flooring is so well-engineered, and partly because the nailing methods and...

Tile is very versatile. This is especially true if you happen to have white tile. Almost everyone loves the look of fresh and clean white tile. If you have been considering taking on a project...

Tung oil is oil that is made by pressing the nut of the tung tree. The result is oil the consistency of maple syrup that may be applied to wood as a staining agent, dyeing the wood a rich blond...

Removing ceramic tile from plywood is a physically difficult job but a relatively straightforward one. The idea is to break the mortar bond between the tile and the underlayment, which can be...

Tiling over wood flooring is usually something to avoid---but sometimes it's unavoidable. Putting down a layer of cement board will raise the level of the floor before you tile, which could create...

Slate floors give a rich, textured feel to a room. Their natural but cultured surface looks like impenetrable stone, but in fact slate is porous, and requires occasional stripping and resealing...

Learn how to soundproof floors easily and effectively to reduce the transmission of sound between rooms. Installing Peacemaker Sound Insulation on top of floor joists, sub-floors and even...

Radiant floor heating, which radiates heat into a building from underneath the floor surface, is gaining popularity for its many advantages over forced air heating. Though more and more...

When choosing flooring for a restaurant, there are a number of important factors to consider. First is sanitation and cleanliness, as these are critical to any restaurant's operation. Next,...

Door stops are hardware devices that can serve two functions. They may be used to stop the door from opening past a certain point, or used to stop the door from closing. There are a number of...

Staining a concrete floor is surprisingly affordable, with the prep materials costing you little to nothing, and the concrete stain costing a mere $50 a gallon. Doing it yourself cuts down on...

Whether you're installing a toilet in a new house or replacing one that's old or malfunctioning, there are some common problems that arise. Toilets are surprisingly complicated fixtures, with...

The reason this product is called WonderBoard is for its ease of use. It cuts like plywood, and can be secured with screws. These factors make it a must-have product for ceramic-tile tub...

Choosing the right tile can be a daunting or smooth a task. Following a few basic rules of thumb will narrow down your search and make sure that your tile will function well. The textures and...

Installing a hardwood floor is a gratifying experience and one that is made easy with the proper tools. Many home improvement stores rent tools that a homeowner may feel he will only use during...

A crawl space under a house is an open area that is used to access plumbing and wiring. As such, a crawl space that is not properly insulated can act as a funnel in which cold air can blow around...

A garage can have a small area above the rafters that can be used for storage if a floor is installed. If a garage is going to be finished, there should be insulation installed in the rafters. ...

Estimating Framing down to every board that will be used is hard. However, Rough Framing has a waste factor of about 10%-20%+ and estimating the importation lumber + commen lumber + 10% to 20%...

Refinishing wood floors is a project for a determined craft person,but is well worth the effort in beauty and money savings. Pine is a soft wood, unlike oak flooring. Oak is much harder because...

Are you concerned about the environment? Many families are. If you are in the need of new floors either at the office or at home, consider how the old, removed floor and the new replacement floor...

Joist hangers are small, specially designed pieces of galvanized sheet metal that wrap around floor joists at the point where the joist is attached to the box frame. The hangers are added for...

It seems like every time you turn around these days a new garage floor coating company has popped up. Epoxies, polyaspartics and hybrid blends... lots of jargon surounds this industry. Here's a...

Electric radiant heat is another word for heated floor mats that are intended to warm tile and stone floors in your kitchen, bathroom, sunroom and entryways. This article will give you basic...

Walk-in freezers are surprisingly easy to put together. They are found in many restaurants, food storage facilities and research laboratories, and are used to store large quantities of frozen...