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The entryway is the first place the eyes of visitors see when they enter your home for the first time. As such, the floor must stand apart from the rest of the home with a visual focal point. But it is also a high-traffic area that sees much more traffic in comparison to a living room or a storage room, so while the visual appeal is high, it is also important to ensure the right type of flooring material is used to guarantee a long life and a sound investment.
Though messy and itchy if you don't wear long sleeves, fiberglass insulation improves the energy efficiency of your home when installed properly. While older homes frequently don't have enough insulation in the attic, another place often overlooked is the floor of a raised-foundation home. Batt insulation added to the floor underneath your home can make a huge difference in its comfort, and in your energy costs.
Floor leveling materials include leveling compound and a few other handy items. Find out about floor leveling materials with help from an experienced flooring contractor in this free video clip.
Rotting wood outside is like tooth decay -- unless it’s properly taken care of, it’s going to get worse. But rather than hiring a carpenter and a painter to fix a decaying exterior, you’ll likely be able to find a contractor who offers both trades. The extent of wood rot can vary like the severity of a bad tooth, however, so before hiring anyone, arm yourself with knowledge to help you accurately assess the problem.
It's common practice to begin laying hardwood flooring against the longest wall in the room, but that won't always give you the best result. If the wall is out of square, the floor will look skewed if you use it as a reference. There's another reason that professional installers often start the in the middle of the floor: it distributes the wood expansion in two directions. The ideal starting line extends perpendicularly from the main vantage point to the opposite wall or, if you're laying the floor diagonally, from one corner of the room to the other.
When replacing wood baseboards, you're always going to want to have a few key tools at the ready. Replace wood baseboards with help from a Foreman for Lighty Contractors in this free video clip.
Mahogany wood has a tendency to develop slight blemishes if you're not careful. Learn about a problem with mahogany wood bleeding with help from a master precision craftsman in this free video clip.
Just because your floor isn't level doesn't mean that your furniture will be the same way. Level the furniture on an unlevel floor with help from a master precision craftsman in this free video clip.
Bullnose corners are rounded joints used to modify the right-angles of outside corners. They are most commonly encountered around the recesses into which outside and dividing doors are fitted, along with the openings onto staircases. While more attractive than plain right angles, they pose a small additional problem in that curved cuts must be made in the hardwood flooring. This is easily done with a cardboard template.
Framing hardwood flooring is something you can do in a few different ways depending on your preferences. Frame hardwood flooring with help from a hardware flooring business owner in this free video clip.
Hardwood flooring may be time consuming, but its ultimately a pretty straightforward concept. Learn about hardwood flooring basics with help from a hardware flooring business owner in this free video clip.
You might have a problem getting boards to click together for a wood floor for a wide variety of different reasons. Learn about potential problems with getting boards to click together in wood floors with help from a hardware flooring business owner in this free video clip.
Using underlayment when installing wood flooring always requires you to proceed with a certain degree of caution. Use underlayment when installing wood flooring with help from a hardware flooring business owner in this free video clip.
Just because you've got concrete floors doesn't mean you can't install floating hard wood flooring. Install floating hard wood flooring on concrete with help from a hardware flooring business owner in this free video clip.
Rugs have a tendency to slide, especially if they've been placed on wood floors. Keep rugs from slipping on wood floors with help from a professional interior designer in this free video clip.
Metal bannisters are more durable than their wooden counterparts and are less likely to break away if someone falls into them. Care is needed when replacing a wooden bannister with a metal one because metal is usually heavier and it requires proper anchoring to ensure the extra weight doesn't damage the wall or the stairs themselves. Specialized saws are also needed to cut or modify the metal bannisters during installation to avoid damaging the saw blade.
Stucco walls provide an alternative to interior surfaces such as drywall, as well as exterior walls made of brick, stone or vinyl siding over plywood. In many cases stucco is applied over a metal mesh base that hangs from plywood sheets. If moisture penetrates the stucco, it can cause the plywood to rot away or swell, causing cracks and discoloration. Replacing the plywood, which requires removing much of the stucco, may be the only permanent solution.
Patio footings are poured concrete forms that exist primarily underground, transferring the load that a deck or patio bears to a safe point that is structurally sound. Because of their durable construction, old footings may still be in place when you want to build a new deck, patio or outdoor structure. In some cases, you'll need to partially remove the footings before your project can proceed. In other situations, you can reuse old footings -- though only after inspecting them to ensure that they can hold up to the new construction's demands.
Before installing linoleum, it’s vital that your flooring is stable and secure. You’ve got to ensure there is no moisture trapped in the floor because the linoleum glue requires a dry surface for proper adhesion. Ideally, you’ll work with the most effective wood subflooring to ensure an even, structurally sound surface you can enjoy for years. Preparing your subfloor is the key to having a long-lasting and attractive floor.
Finished living spaces look and feel better when the walls are plumb and the floors are level. While most floors are relatively level, some are purposefully constructed on a grade, such as garage floors or basement floors that slope toward a floor drain. During a remodel or a garage conversion, it’s standard practice to level a sloping floor before installing new floor covering. Sleepers are individually cut furring strips that install directly on the sloping floor.
Installing hardwood stair treads involves the same method regardless of where you install them. From galleries to homes to barns, the process remains the same. Installing treads begins with purchasing prefabricated hardwood treads and entails measuring and sizing the treads to fit your gallery staircase. The process also requires some minor modifications to the existing staircase. Installing stair treads in a gallery should take less than one day.
Floating floor boards are not glued to the subfloor so that the floor boards can move without causing splits. Once you install the floating floor board, it is necessary to install trim where the floor meets the wall and the stair landing. When installing molding for a stair landing edge over a floating floor board, nail the molding to the adjacent stair landing wall and not directly to the floor. You need to leave a small gap between the floor and the bottom of the molding.
Hardwood is an excellent material to lay a floor with, but simply screwing pieces of wood to the subfloor surface is not the way to go. By cutting grooves in hardwood with a sawmill, you can interconnect pieces of flooring to create a stable, sturdy surface. In addition, you can use a sawmill to cut the hardwood to the correct width to lay a floor with boards of equal width, making the floor look as if it were prepared by a professional installer with factory wood.
Uneven floors slope from one side of the space to another, either intentionally or due to a structural problem. Interior floors may develop unevenness over time, which is why local building codes allow for a small amount of slope in older homes' floors. In cases such as bathroom showers, the subfloor is actually even with a sloped shower pan or mortar bed laid on top of it to allow for drainage. You can build an intentionally uneven floor for an outdoor building such as a shed or detached garage to make it easier to sweep out or hose down the…
A fireplace mantel makes an ideal surface for keeping cherished knickknacks and photos, because the fireplace itself is usually the center of attention. Your guests’ eyes will be drawn to it and thus to the mantel and its contents. To make a mantel out of high-quality wood that is attractively stained and varnished, use hardwood flooring.
Air bricks are masonry products used in homes and commercial buildings. Unlike standard bricks, air bricks have holes in them. They're used for projects that require ventilation. Choosing the right air brick is essential for the success of your project. Despite the holes, they're a sturdy and resilient building material.
Cabinets are measured in several different ways, including the height, depth and width of the cabinet. The cost of the cabinet is based on those factors plus the materials, such as the type of wood, installation and whether the cabinet is off-the-shelf or custom-made. Kitchen and bathroom cabinet projects are often estimated priced by the linear foot. Garage and storage cabinets are sold per unit as well as linear foot. Closet storage cabinets are sold on a project basis and per unit.
Cuts on hardwood flooring planks range from straight cuts for shortening the length, to detailed cutouts and notches to accommodate door trim, floor vents and other obstacles. A circular or miter saw makes quick work of simple straight cuts, but a jigsaw is better for the smaller cuts that require more precision. The blade choice for the jigsaw affects how well the cuts turn out. You want a smooth cut without splintering the board so the finished floor looks professionally installed.
Concrete is a durable foundation, but not all concrete floors are level. To install a level floor over a sloping or wavy concrete substrate, you need sleepers and shims. Sleepers are long strips of wood that are leveled with shims and fastened to the concrete with nails or masonry screws. A hammer drill, which looks like an ordinary power drill, yet operates with a fast, pulsating action, drills pilot holes for the nails or screws through the sleepers and into the concrete. You’ll need at least one helper when creating a level reference line on the walls around the room.
Floor vent covers add a finishing touch to vent holes in the floor. Retailers offer the covers in a variety of designs and materials, but you can create one if you wish to avoid paying for a commercial version. Making your own vent cover allows you some creative freedom with the design. You can add a decorative touch with intricate and uncommon designs. The process of creating a floor vent cover requires the use of a few supplies and tools that are available from a hardware store.
One of the challenges of constructing an outdoor building is providing a floor that is durable, protective and cost-effective. Among the simplest solutions is installing a prefabricated floor frame kit, which adds a metal frame to the base of your building that is ready to support a finished floor.
Installing stone or brick over an existing concrete pad is not very difficult but it will take some time. Adding stone or brick to a concrete patio or porch can add a new level of sophistication and beauty to an outdoor area. In addition, installing stone or brick over a concrete slab can cover unsightly cracks or breaks in the concrete.
Kitchen islands can boost the appeal of a kitchen and give much needed storage and counter space. You can easily add an island to your kitchen, even one with floating flooring, by choosing small, ready-made islands. These islands are either purchased assembled or are put together at home. They are set on top of the existing flooring and do not need anchoring. Only add an island to your kitchen if you have a kitchen that is at least 8-by-12 feet. A smaller kitchen won't have the proper space for an island.
When you build a staircase, you must makes stair treads, which provide the stairs' walking surface. Generally, stair treads are built from thick plywood or wood boards, but you can create stair treads out of finished wood products, such as hardwood flooring, as well. To make stair treads, you must cut the hardwood flooring down to the appropriate size for each stair and trim the ends of the stairs to work around the banister posts.
The visual beauty of hardwood floors is matched only by the sound reverberation caused by walking or other high impact movements on the floor. These actions produce noise that resonates throughout the dwelling; the sound can be particularly loud in levels above and beneath the hard floors. However, a hardwood floor with an echo barrier installed is not as loud. An echo barrier reduces sound waves and lessens reverberations. Echo barriers are available in a variety of materials including rubber, vinyl and foam.
Vinyl plank flooring is a type of flooring that is a combination of laminate planks and vinyl sheet flooring. It is self-adhesive and easy to install, making it ideal for do-it-yourselfers. You can apply vinyl, plank flooring in several ways, though applying it diagonally gives the room a unique look that stands out. The easiest way to install it diagonally is at a 45-degree angle, but you can vary the look to suit your needs.
Laying hardwood planks in contrasting or opposing directions is not uncommon in L-shaped rooms or when transitioning from a hallway to adjacent rooms. Because of the change in direction, you need to adopt an installation method that's slightly different than the way you'd lay flooring in a single rectangular or square space. When changing the direction of flooring, you'll lay the planks at the point of the transition groove to groove and install a spline that serves as a replacement tongue between them.
Leveling a floor primarily creates a surface on which floor coverings such as hardwood, tiles or carpeting can be smoothly placed. An unlevel floor can lead to damage to the covering materials, or to noisy floors as you walk across them. The best method of leveling a concrete or wood floor is to proceed from the top. By working at the top surface, you can easily find those areas of the floor that are uneven, either rising above the surrounding floor surface, or dipping below the surface level. With the correct procedure, you can then address these problem areas to…
Like other types of hardwood flooring, oak floors do not fare well when exposed to moisture. Because of this, oak flooring should never be installed directly over a concrete or cement subfloor. If you want to install oak flooring over concrete or cement, you must create a sleeper system over the floor’s surface. Once the sleeper system is in place, the oak flooring planks can be installed on top of the sleepers.
If you are planning to put in a new hardwood floor, having the right measurements is essential, both for ordering the flooring as well as installing it. While the majority of retailers sell hardwood flooring by square feet, some lumber yards or retailers may sell it by cubic feet instead. You'll have to first get the square footage of the room, and then you will need to know the thickness of the flooring you plan to use in order to calculate the cubic foot measurement.
The floor should be level around a door to ensure that it opens smoothly and doesn't get hung up on or scrape the flooring. One of the first things to look at before installing a new door should therefore be the state of the floor in that area. If the floor is uneven, level it prior to installing the door to save yourself more work later. The process for this varies depending on if the floor is wood and laminate or concrete.
Insulating your deck is a good choice if you find the surface becomes uncomfortably cold underfoot during early spring and late fall. Installing fiberglass insulation is a straightforward operation that can be completed in a single afternoon, and requires few tools. Use double-faced insulation to avoid exposing the fluffy insulating material to the elements and to increase its longevity.
Floor drains are an effective way to remove excess water from a home. In many older homes, floor drains are part of the basement design, built in to prevent water damage to the house and its contents. Many new homes also utilize these types of drainage systems. Old floor drains work passively, their design based on principles of physics.
When you are making a cage for your reptiles, you may want to replicate their natural habitat as closely as possible. One of the best and most effective ways to do it is to follow plans and designs published by Greg Maxwell, an Ohio-based reptile specialist and cagemaster. Greg Maxwell cages are relatively easy to make if you’re the least bit handy and have access to appropriate tools. You can also purchase a Greg Maxwell cage from the market, but making your own cage will save you money while meeting your reptile's needs.
Most modern Murphy beds use a piston system to help raise and lower the bed. This system moves away from earlier models that had metal frames and springs. The earlier models were often bolted to hardwood floors causing damage to the floors if the bed was removed later. Today, most beds are mounted to walls so that there is no damage to the floors. This allows you to install a Murphy bed anywhere you have wall space without worrying about your flooring.
Floating wood floors do not attach to the surface of a subfloor with adhesive or hardware. Instead, the flooring planks snap together using the tongues and grooves on the plank edges and just “float” on the subfloor. This method of installation makes moving flooring planks easier than moving attached flooring planks. If you want to separate a floating wood floor, you must work from the perimeter of the floor inward.
Building a ramp over existing steps is a straightforward project you can complete during a weekend to allow wheelchair access into a house. You'll need plywood sheets and sturdy wooden posts to construct a strong, reliable ramp. Anchor the ramp over the stairs using 4-inch screws.
If you’re remodeling a basement and adding a separate outside entrance, you might want to eliminate the stairwell that leads from the main floor to the basement. Closing off a stairwell is a matter of installing joists in the floor opening of the same dimension as the existing floor joists. In most cases, you can install new floor joists and remove the steps leading to the lower level. You might not be able to remove a wall on either side of the stairs, however.
When hardwood floors transition to another flooring material in a different room, such as linoleum or carpeting, transition strips are used. This helps prevent accidents from tripping and gives the floor a finished appearance. However, these transition strips can buckle if they're installed improperly. If the buckling is minor, the strip can typically be repaired. The type of material used for the transition strip will determine how you can fix it.
Hardwood flooring’s been around for a long time, but its natural warmth and golden-brown hues complement contemporary interiors as well as traditional décor. Standard wood flooring comes in strips of various lengths that feature tongue-and-groove edge assembly. Commercial flooring contractors use large flooring nailers to set the strips tightly together and to attach them to the joists beneath the subfloor. Hand-installing wood floors, however, has long been a craft. You can manually place the strips and attach them with finish nails. Drilling pilot holes for the nails reduces the risk of the wood splitting.
