Mastering Floors "start at the bottom"

Hi Home Menders!  In Mastering floors, We start at the bottom. This section will teach you all about the different floor coverings available such as laminate, vinyl , tile and wood and the methods required for installation depending on the sub floor you are working with. The idea of a new floor is to make it look like the floor went in first. You will learn the order of operations for removing and replacing a floor, how to trim out that floor and then transitioning it to another. You will learn about the pre install preparation of each material needed to ensure an awesome finished product and also how to correct issues such as a rotted subfloor. We will also discuss the different tools required for flooring jobs, which ones are worth investing in and which are not. Let’s get to it.

In this section, we find out what’s going on underneath the finished floor. A rotten section of floor needs to be cut out. This is accomplished by squaring off the section and cutting it at the joists. The framing underneath then needs to be secured and any additional framing added. Then we can cut a new piece of three-quarter inch subfloor, install it on top of the joists and secure it to the framing. Just make sure you bring it up to the finished floor height

Vinyl plank flooring is all the rage and it’s super easy to install. It’s a classy, stylish floor preferred by homeowners for the longevity and durability. The vinyl plank floor with adhesive tabs on the side is a floating floor which means it does not get secured to the subfloor. Flooring is laid in there with the seams no closer than 6 inches apart. This 3‘ x 6“ vinyl plank also minimize waste. There is no moisture barrier needed for this floor as it can go over most existing floors including sheet vinyl, ceramic or hardwood. Awesome, easy, and fast.

The peel and stick vinyl tile is another popular floor due to how easy it is to install. Floor prep is important with this one. It is suggested that a quarter inch underlayment called Louan is installed before installing the vinyl tile. The vinyl tile could be directional so make sure you pay attention to that. Just peel off the back lay it in and stick it, In this section we also learn how to correctly install a floor under a toilet

Sheet vinyl is a great inexpensive floor that is also fairly durable. Sheet vinyl is typically installed on underlayment also or it can go directly to a concrete slab. Most sheet vinyl is glue down, you can glue down the entire sheet or simply glue down the edges and roll it out. You can use your sheet vinyl roller to roll out the air bubbles, Make sure you get your sheet vinyl trowel for speeding the adhesive. 

Ceramic tile is also a glue down floor. Using your quarter inch floor trowel, glue  or thin-set is spread on the subsurface. It is suggested that it either go directly to the concrete slab or have hardy board or concrete board installed on the subfloor but it will stick to plywood as well. The tile is laid in there and tapped with a rubber mallet to relieve any air pockets. After the Glue sets, the seams are grouted and cleaned with a sponge. This very durable floor is waterproof but the subfloor underneath may not be. In this section, we also learn the proper way to run flooring under a door jamb.

Laminate flooring is manufactured With a tongue and groove system. One board clicks into the next. This is also a floating floor like the vinyl plank floor which means it does not secure to the subfloor. Laminate floor is generally has moisture barrier and even a sound barrier padding ran underneath. Like real wood floors, the seams are not to come within 6 inches of each other. These floors are cut within a half an inch of the baseboard and are trimmed out with shoe molding or quarter round.

Any new floor is trimmed out with baseboard. You can either remove the baseboard and run the new floor all the way to the wall and install baseboards after or you can run the new floor up to the baseboard and trim it out with shoe molding. A miter saw is used to cut angles in the baseboard so they fit in tight. They are then shot with finishing nails and secured to the wall. You can finish your baseboard off with caulking and then paint, if you’re installing wood grain baseboard, they don’t need any caulk.

Thresholds and transitions are the terms used for doorway trim and for adjoining one style of flooring to another. They are usually made of wood or metal but they also come in marble or composite material like the laminate flooring. These are cut in wall-to-wall to trim out the two floors. If there is a height difference in the two floors being tied together, There are different styles of transitions. These can be either glued or screwed or nailed.

When dealing with ceramic tile, there is possibility that Tile will crack or break. You can use a grout saw to remove the grout surrounding the tile, break the tile out of there, remove all the glue and adhesive and install a new tile. The new tile is glued down and after drying, grouted to match the rest of the floor. Be sure your sub surface is in good shape before attempting a repair.

Coping baseboard is the term used for notching out one baseboard to sit tight to the next one in a corner. Baseboard one is cut at an angle and then baseboard number two is back cut and laid over the first one to create a seamless transition from wall to wall. This is an advanced technique But can be mastered with minimal practice.