Building & Remodeling

Laminate floors today are generally installed as "floating'' floors. This means the boards are not actually attached to anything except each other. The floor trim around the perimeter of the room...

It is possible to lay tile on a floor without installing backerboard, providing that certain preparations and precautions are respected. You will need to make sure that the floor onto which the...

Remodeling can be exciting, but also stressful and costly. A new bathroom can increase the value of your home, but without proper preparation and research it could end up costing more than you...

Concrete slabs provide a world of strength and practicality when it comes to function. But sometimes the homeowner wants to decorate or treat a concrete slab to make it aesthetically pleasing. The...

For some, the garage is their home; a place to work on cars, projects, or just to escape the house. Because of that, those people want to customize their workspace to reflect their personality....

A laundry chute can be a handy means of transporting your clothing from an upper floor of your home to a lower floor. With the proper tools and knowledge, you can easily construct a laundry chute...

Open floor plans are popular among home buyers throughout the country. Older home designs, with rooms separated by walls, are outdated and not conducive to family life in the 21st century. Open...

Using in-floor heating to heat your home is a concept that has been around since the days of the Roman Empire, and has been become more popular in the past few years. It's a great way to warm up...

Concrete polishing equipment can be expensive to own but is reasonable when rented. If you are planning on doing one concrete polishing project, you can rent the mechanical equipment and buy the...

Here is an article on how to refinish a wooden floor. If contracted out, the job can be very expensive. If you want to save some money, it just takes some dedication and hard work. Heres some tips...

Although in-floor heat can be placed into two separate categories--water or electrical--the only category recommended for the do-it-yourself homeowner is electrical. It is easy to install,...

Before laying concrete in a basement you have to install a layer of protection from the moisture that tends to collect in sub-ground areas, that would otherwise damage the surface of your basement...

Tile is a flooring material that is durable and waterproof, making it a good choice for kitchen floors. Most builders and home owners also have realized these qualities, and have made tile...

Painting vinyl tiles is a creative way to update your kitchen, bathroom or entryway flooring on a minimal budget. Before you proceed, it is important to understand that painting vinyl tiles isn't...

Oak floors are milled with tongue-and-groove connections on the sides, so they will fit tightly together during installation and stay that way afterward. Most of the floor is laid with a pneumatic...

A bathroom is often a welcome home addition, especially if there are several frustrated people sharing a single bathroom. Adding a bathroom to your home is often easier said than done and average...

Painting a concrete floor can spruce up the entire area in an instant. Prior to painting, you must properly prepare the concrete floor. Cleaning and preparing concrete for painting is important,...

Demolition of any sort is a lot of fun and is a great stress reliever. More so, the fun of demolition is increased with the use of power tools. Don't pay a contractor to demolish anything for you,...

Stick-on tiles can be a blessing for those who have chosen to install their new floor themselves rather than hiring a contractor because they eliminate the need for mixing and spreading...

If you've ever looked carefully at a well-laid hardwood floor, you'll quickly notice that no two boards line up at the ends. If it's been done right, no two boards will even be within six inches...

Tiling a floor is not difficult, but you need to proceed carefully and methodically in order to get the results you desire. Tiling is a simple skill which is handy to have in your knowledge base...

OSB, which stands for Oriented Stran Board but which is also known as "Chip Board" is a popular subfloor due to its low cost and durability. Manufactured from wood chips and resin, OSB makes for...

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...

Laying tile can seem like a challenging task. However, even a novice do-it-yourself handyman can do the job like a pro with the proper tools. Two types of saws can be used for cutting tile. A wet...

We usually think of base trim as being made of wood or maybe laminate. But base trim of ceramic, porcelain or even stone tile is an age-old decorative style that can be a great-looking...

Hardwood flooring is installed in courses, starting at one wall and moving across the room to the other wall. You don't want to get most of the flooring installed, then discover at the opposite...

Sanding marks from a floor sander are a great concern when sanding hardwood floors. The weight of the machine makes it extremely easy to leave sanding marks. These marks, also known as chatter...

Baseboard and radiant floor heating are both broad categories. Each can refer to several types of heating installations, because radiant floor heating can be electric or hydronic (using lines...

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...

Floating floors are flooring systems that aren't glued or nailed down, but just sit on a bed of foam, held in place by the floor trim at the edges of the room. Engineered hardwood is one of the...

Homeowners might seal brick floors to protect them from stains, create a glossy surface or reduce grit that can mar adjacent floors. There are two types of products used to seal brick floors:...

"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...

Painting a wood floor has generally been seen as a cost effective method of salvaging a floor that might not be worth refinishing. However, painting a wood floor can also be a great way to add a...

If you're ready to re-tile your kitchen floor, but the old tile that's there is still fully functional and doesn't appear to be going anywhere, why not tile right over it? It sounds strange, but...

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...

Tired of that worn out old carpet, but don't think you have the ability - or the budget - to install a hardwood floor? Try a laminate "floating" floor. It's fast, easy, and could be a...

Whether you're building a new shower floor or want to replace an existing one, there are many choices on the market for the type of shower floor you can have installed or install yourself. If you...

Interlocking laminate floor tiles are a wood composite material topped with a plastic veneer that mimics different kinds of flooring, including ceramic or stone tile, cork, or wood. Unlike all of...

A dumbwaiter can be a very useful addition to your home. Depending on where you install it, you can transport laundry to your basement, food to your dining room, or groceries from and garbage to...

You need a flight of steps. The store bought stringers do not work. They are not that hard to figure out.

Snap-and-click laminate flooring is made with ease of installation in mind, removing many of the nuisances associated with installing a new layer of flooring. No longer will you need to glue or...

Gluing down hardwood flooring is a complicated process, requiring you to painstakingly place each plank, perfectly lined up to provide a beautiful surface that can last decades. Removing those...

Heating a floor, such as those found in a bathroom, will require installing a mechanism to heat the floor called underfloor heating. Underfloor heating consists of pads that sit under a tile floor...

Hardwood floors that are installed in a home come in two types. One type is called a floating floor; it is not secured with nails. The other type is secured to the subfloor using staples or nails....

Hardwood flooring is milled with tongue-and-groove sides so the boards will clip tightly together. It's installed primarily with a pneumatic floor stapler, which uses air pressure to drive long...

Laminate flooring can add beauty to any room in your home. You can achieve the look of real hardwood floors at a lesser price and enjoy the flooring for years to come. Laminate flooring comes in...

A ceramic floor is a beautiful and elegant part of any home. Unfortunately, even the pristine luster of ceramics can be marred by floor squeaks. Ceramic has a very rigid quality, meaning it is...

Existing concrete floors, like those found in most basements, can be cold if the floor has not been covered with carpet or insulated. If you plan to finish your basement or just want to provide a...

If you are looking to replace the floors in your home, it is a project you can easily tackle by yourself. You just need a little know-how and the proper supplies. What you will need depends on the...