So, I have a 30 year old linoleum floor and I want to change it. Are those new floating type interlocking floors hard to install? I would like to do it myself. How do you do the edges near the wood work. Do you nail down the edges to constrain the floor?
e new floating type interlocking floors hard to install? I would like to do it myself. How do you do the edges near the wood work. Do you nail down th e edges to constrain the floor?
Every floating floor product that I have seen, the edges do not get nailed down. The whole point of floating is so that it can, well, float as needed if it expands/contracts.
On Wednesday 27 February 2013 13:51 snipped-for-privacy@optonline.net wrote in alt.home.repair:
+1I've laid several floating floors - both engineered wood and laminates.
For the OP:
You handle the edges by either:
1) Removing the skirting and putting back a little higher so it covers the gap. The gap you need to leave is specified by the manufacturer, but 1/4-1/2" is typical depending on product and room size.2) (The crappy option IMHO, but sometimes other methods are not practical): go up to the skirting, leaving a gap. Fill teh gap with cork strip or cover the gap with beading pinned onto the skirting.
Do not constrain a floating floor or it *will* buckle - usually when the humidity rises but also on temperature increases - again product dependent.
Persoanlly I would be very wary of laminate tiles or strips in kitchens or bathrooms. I know theire are versions that claim to be water resistant, but unless you get some specific feedback that a particular product really is good, I would be careful.
What about vinyl? I had a good quality vinyl laid in my last kitchen and the cost of the shop fitters to lay it was only a small increase on the purchase price. They were in and gone in an hour and apart from the hassle of clearing the kitchen and disconnecting the freestanding cooker, it was painless.
We should also add, what do the installation instructions for the particular product in question say? Install instructions should be available online to read....
You do not nail anything. The floor "floats" to acommodate expansion and contraction due to humidity. If you nailed it down, the floor would buckle. Expansion and contraction is on the order of a few thousandths of an inch.
These floors, on a scale of 1-10 in difficulty, are about a 2. In other words, they are very, very, easy. Not only, but it's a fun and rewarding project.
Here are some tips:
A bad source for material is Home Depot or Loews. A good source is Lumber Liquidators or Floor & Decor outlets since the price is about half of the box stores. If not in a hurry, check Craigslist. Fools sometimes take out their laminate flooring so they can install purple shag carpets. I scored almost 2,000 sq ft of "mahogany" pattern for free!
Lastly, do NOT worry about wear, durability, staining, etc. Laminate flooring is almost indestructible. Also, termites won't eat it.
change it. Are > those new floating type interlocking floors hard to instal l? I would > like to do it myself. How do you do the edges near the wood wo rk. Do > you nail down the edges to constrain the floor? You do not nail an ything. The floor "floats" to acommodate expansion and contraction due to h umidity. If you nailed it down, the floor would buckle. Expansion and contr action is on the order of a few thousandths of an inch. These floors, on a scale of 1-10 in difficulty, are about a 2. In other words, they are very, very, easy. Not only, but it's a fun and rewarding project. Here are some t ips: * In many cases, you should put down a "vapor barrier". Even if not re quired, the cushioning effect yields a better feeling/sounding floor. * Usu ally, the long dimension of the planks should be parellel to the longest di mension of the room. * It is generally NOT necessary to remove the existing linoleum. * Remove the existing baseboards. This is an excellent opportuni ty to clean, repaint, or replace them. * You'll want a special tool to snug the planks together. This is it:
Thanks for your help here. I have found that my kitchen floor is wavey in s ome areas. Not sure if that will be a problem.
On Wednesday 27 February 2013 17:11 finiteguy wrote in alt.home.repair:
If you mean "it's not flat" then you will have problems unless you address them.
A variation of 1mm over a distance of 1m in either direction is about the most typical products will handle. Again, the manufacturer will (or should) specify this.
Any more and it will bounce and the joints creak - leading to joint damage.
A small local dip can be packed out with one or more layers of dense card - I buy some 1 and 2mm stuff from the art shop in large sheets for this type of job - there's always a dip somewhere...
Bumps are a little harder to deal with - usually involves making a card ring to even it out a bit. Thick underlay (5mm) helps but does not solve all problems.
A big belt sander looks after the "bumps" but makes a lot of dust. Floor leveling compound looks after the "dips"
floating type interlocking floors hard to install? I would like to do it myself. How do you do the edges near the wood work. Do you nail down the edges to constrain the floor?
Most every brand of flooring has a how-to video that shows you how to install their product. Or, watch HGTV for 30 minutes. Judge for yourself.
If the existing floor is smooth and even you can probably just get away with laying down the foam padding and installing the new floating floor in place.
It's called a FLOATING floor for a reason. If you nail it down around the edges it can't float.
The videos usually show how it's finished, using quarter-round moulding that covers the slight gap between the flooring and the wall. You do need to get it fit fairly tight to the wall, less than 1/2" gap.
On Wednesday 27 February 2013 21:28 snipped-for-privacy@snyder.on.ca wrote in alt.home.repair:
Assuming the subfloor is concrete :-)
The OP asked about "nailing down" the new floor, so I assumed it was a timber+joist subfloor.
Regarding your existing floor, it may help if you could take a couple of photos and post them here using a photo upload site such as
You may be able to just install your new floor over your existing linoleum depending on the condition etc. Or, sometimes you can just install 4x8 sheets of "luan" on top of the existing linoleum floor to create a new smooth surface to work with.
Depending on which type of flooring you get, they are pretty easy to install.
For what you are considering doing, I think there are basically 2 types:
1) vinyl flooring strips that glue/peel-and-stick together on the edges; and, 2) waterproof interlocking strips (laminate?) that snap/click together.Here are some YouTube videos regarding the two types for just one brand of product (Allure). I assume there are many other brands to choose from.
Here are the vinyl glue/peel-and-stick together types:
Here are the waterproof interlocking type that snap/click together:
The last link in the first group shows an alleged "failure" of a newly installed Allure vinyl glue/peel-and-stick together vinyl floor. What it doesn't show is how the edges were done along the walls. To me, it looks like they probably installed the floating floor right up to and against the walls, and the whole floor probably expanded a little in both directions when the room warmed up. At least, that's how the buckles in the flooring look to me. My guess is that the floor in that last video can easily be fixed by trimming about 1/4 - 1/2 inch off around the exterior edges so the floor can lay flat.
Good luck. Let us know what you decide to do and how it worked out.
Virtually all "laminate" flooring here in canada is clic-lok type - and virtually all clic-lok type flooring is laminate. The other clic-lok type flooring is "engineered hardwood".
Miost laminate flooring IS the crappy fiber/cardboard/hardboard type - but it comes in various quality levels from pure crap to decent quality. Some of the better quality stuff has a waxed edge that seals waterproof when assempled. I hve some in my main batrhroom that looks like ceramic tile, and in my daughter's foyer that looks like quarry stone - both with the sealed edges.
The good laminate, engineered hardwood, and prefinished hard wood all have aluminum oxide in the wear layer, which is really hard on saw blades.
As for the cost of laminate, anywhere from $0.69 to $3.99 per square foot - which isn't expensive as far as I'm concerned. The vinyl in my kitchen cost more, as did any of my carpet.
The prices I've seen is $0.49/sq ft. to $3.99.
You can step up a notch to LumberLiquidators and get a range of $0.79 to $2.89
If a major concern is durability/quality, this should not disqualify the el cheapo product from a low-use area, such as the guest bedroom.
As far as "Water is an enemy" goes for the snap/click type of flooring, I thought the same thing. But the links that I provided say the stuff they are selling is waterproof and it can be used in bathrooms, laundry rooms, basements, etc. I don't know because I haven't used it or even checked it out yet at a big box store, Lumber Liquidators, etc. I wonder what it is made of since it doesn't say it is "vinyl", but it also doesn't say what it is. And, I wonder how it looks -- because people often say "it looks just like real hardwood" but my experience is that it usually looks like fake hardwood to me.
I found those links and started investigating because investors and landlords in another forum that I belong to have started discussing this stuff recently. I would have to do more research on my own to be convinced that, yes it is waterproof, and yes it really does look like real hardwood flooring.
I am actually thinking about trying one of these -- the snap/click stuff -- in a 1-bedroom, living room, den apartment that is now down to the subfloor where I was planning on putting in new hardwood flooring in all 3 rooms.
...
There are various; some is vinyl. How natural it looks is in large part directly proportional to how expensive it is. The best reproduction products may be as much or more than you can get engineered wood flooring for. Of course, while the engineered wood is much more moisture tolerant than traditional solid wood owing to the manufacturing process, it is still wood and isn't "waterproof" in the sense of withstanding standing water indefinitely. Of course, the subfloor unless it's concrete or something won't even w/ the vinyl, either...
After my first laminate flooring job (cheap stuff, $0.49 sq ft) I ran an experiment. I took some scraps and put them in a glass of water. After a MONTH of being submerged, I could not find ANY difference within the precision of my micrometer (0.002 - 0.001 inches).
I'd say, based on the experiment, that (some) laminate is about as vulnerable to water as a duck.
I also tried scratching the scraps with a nail, a rasp, and whatever was lying about. No damage.
I also understand that even cheap laminate is coated with the same material they use on jet fighter windshields. I tell you, they could make body armor out of the stuff.
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