Painting Pine Flooring

 Pine flooring is simple to deal with. Many people get bored of the look of plain pine planks. Fortunately, painting pine flooring is simple and can change the look of a room without much effort.

There are a few things that need to be done in order to create a flawless painted floor. You should also know that this process can take several days, so you should plan accordingly.

What You'll Need:

•  Vacuum
•  Floor enamel
•  Soft paint rollers
•  Masks
•  Painter's tape
•  Sponge brushes

Step 1 - Clean the Floor

Before you start taping or painting, you want to make sure the floor is completely clear of dirt and debris. Sweep, vacuum, and go over the floor with a lint-free cloth to ensure it's clear.

Step 2 - Turn Up the Thermostat

A warmer floor will take paint much easier, and it will allow for a quicker dry time. Make sure your thermostat is set on at least 70 degrees Fahrenheit, and keep it there for a full day before you start to paint.

Step 3 - Add Tape

Just as you would with painting a wall, you want to tape off the areas that you don't want paint to bleed through. Tape and cover the baseboards or floor molding to prevent the paint from accidentally getting on them.

Step 4 - Start in the Corners

It's best to start in the corners of the room and cut the paint in with an edger or small roller brush. You want to use a thin layer of paint for this. This way if you need to go back over the edges while you work on the rest of the floor, it doesn't become a darker color or stick out.

Step 5 - Paint the Rest of the Floor

Working in sections, start to roll the paint onto the rest of the floor. Use thin layers of paint and work slowly to reduce the risk of bubbles and wrinkles forming in the finish.

Step 6 - Add the 2nd Coat

After the paint has been applied, leave the area for at least 24 hours to allow the floor to dry. After this time you can begin to work with the second coat in the same manner in which you applied the first.

Depending on the color you choose and the condition of the floors, you may need to repeat this process several times.

Step 7 - Clean Up

Once the floor has dried and you have the finish you desired, you can remove the tape from the baseboards. Any areas around the edges that need to be touched up can be done with a sponge brush and a small amount of paint.

Clean up the area, and wait a full day before moving the furniture back into the room.

Tips

Painting on a rainy day, or during humid weather, can lead to wrinkles in the dry paint that are very hard to deal with. Try to paint during a time when the weather is clear and not humid.

Floor enamel is toxic. Be sure to wear painter's masks while working with it.

Source: www.DoItYourself.com

What You Should Know About Laminate Flooring

Laminate flooring imitates the aspect of traditional wood. Its biggest advantage is it’s very easy to install and very durable.

Laminate flooring is suitable for many of your rooms: hallways, family spaces, bathrooms, kitchens. It’s also perfect for an active home.

At first look, laminate flooring seems to be a natural wood floor, but in fact is a layer of paper under a tough protective film that is glued and pressed to a high-density backing board.

There are also types of laminate planks that are installed over a moisture barrier which levels any uneven areas of the floor.

You don't need any glue or nails for them because the planks snap together.

Before choosing a laminate flooring material you should think about the type of traffic in your house.

One other advantage for laminate flooring is the durability. So this type of floor is one of the best choices for households with heavy foot traffic, kids, or pets.

But, best of all, laminates will look like new for years.

Laminates are also highly resistant to stains, fading, and moisture.

Many laminate flooring manufacturers offer warranty protection against them for a long period of time (usually from 10 to 25 years).

Laminate flooring can be installed over floors like wood, tile, vinyl, or linoleum because most of them are floating, which means they do not fasten directly to the subfloor.

Also, at this moment, many manufacturers offer snap-together laminate flooring systems.

A typical laminate flooring is an extremely economical solution, if you take in consideration the costs of alternate flooring solutions.

Solid hardwood floors will require four or five refinishings, and carpets and vinyls will need to be replaced at least twice (depending on traffic loads), while laminates don't require anything.

Laminates come in different styles and types. You can find transition strips, end caps, stair nosings, moldings and baseboards.

Almost anything you need you can find at a laminate flooring manufacturer. There are companies that offer floor registers for heating and air vents.

Laminate flooring provides a much cleaner and healthier living environment when compared to other floorings such as carpets, with regular cleaning cycles.

It accumulates less dust, pet dander, allergens and it doesn't hold residual stain contaminants on the surface.

Allergic people will often be recommended to remove the carpets from the living space.

In conclusion laminate floors are a very good choice for your home because they are durable, resistant, economical and easy to install.

Source: www.DoItYourself.com

Gel Cleaning a Victorian Hallway Floor in Surrey

It had been a while since this Victorian tiled hallway at a property in Reigate had received a deep clean and re-seal and it was now looking quite unloved. The sealer had almost worn off and dirt had become ingrained in the pores of the tile leaving it dull and lifeless. Hallways floors receive a lot of foot traffic so do need regular attention if they are to look their best and this example was no different. 

Fortunately, the floor was intact with no broken or loose tiles to deal with, there were a few chipped tiles in the floor but I think that adds character to a floor of this age. I worked out a quote to deep clean the tiles, flush out the dirt and add a fresh sealer to protect them. The quote was accepted and a date set for the work to commence.

 

Deep Cleaning a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

I started the work by applying a generous coating of Tile Doctor Oxy-Gel and left it to soak into the pores of the Victorian tiling for around 30 minutes. I used Oxy-Gel so as to minimise the use of water which can exacerbate efflorescence salt issues which is a typical problem of floors of this age that don’t have the benefit of a damp proof membrane.

Then using a very coarse 100-grit diamond encrusted pad attached to a rotary floor machine the tiles were given a good scrub. This process skims away a small layer off the surface of the tiles to remove the dirt and old coatings such as sealers. All the soil was extracted from the floor using a wet vacuum and I repeated this process twice for maximum effect.

At this point the tiles were already looking significantly better but I hadn’t finished yet. I still needed to deal with the edges and corners where the pad can struggle to reach. For this I use handheld burnishing blocks and more Oxy-Gel, you need a lot of elbow grease to do this but its an important step and can also be used to deal with any stubborn areas.

Once finished I used a little water to help rinse off the floor and the wet vacuum again to get the floor as dry as possible before leaving the floor to dry off completely overnight.

Sealing a Victorian Tiled Floor

The tiles need to be dry before sealing so the next day my first action was to test the floor for moisture using a damp meter. They passed and were ready to take a sealer which for this floor I used Tile Doctor seal and Go Extra. It's super tough and ideal for doorways and hallways and leaves a nice sheen without being too shiny.

 

Before leaving I left advice on how to maintain the tiles using Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner which is a gentle tile cleaning product that will clean the floor without impacting the sealer which can be a problem with many of the strong products you find in supermarkets.

Source: Victorian Tile Cleaning and Renovation Service in Surrey

4 Options for a Carpet to Tile Transition

Finding the right flooring transition for a seamless look in your home can be tricky. When dealing with tiling and carpet, you have two completely different materials that have different dimensions and long-term wear differences.

You have to consider the height of the different flooring options, which could cause a person to trip if not accounted for. Plus, you want to make sure the transition is careful rather than clumsy; a lazy overlap just won't cut it. And, if the flooring is installed at different times, you've got even more of a challenge to make the transition look natural and flawless.

Here are a variety of options that can help you overcome some of the challenges of carpet-to-tile transitioning.

1. The Tuck-in Method

Pick up a simple transition piece on Amazon.

This is the method that is most often used for transitioning from carpet to tile. In this method, you make use of the often-used carpet helper, the tack strip.

It is highly recommended that you lay the tiling before you install the carpet if using this method. Carpet can easily be cut and positioned easily, or at least, it can be moved more easily than tile, especially after the tile has been set into place.

After the tile is installed, put in a tack strip 1/4 to 3/8 inches from the edge of the tile. The next step should be to cut at the direct edge of the tile. However, you can also pull the carpet across the space between the tack strip and the tile’s edging. Then use a knee kicker so that the carpet has extra edging, allowing it to be pushed into the space. After that, use the tack strip to hold it in place.

2. Z-Bar Transition

A Z-Bar transition is another great option for carpet-to-tile flooring. This option will not only deliver a seamless transition but also ensure your carpet has an added level of security, as it hides the carpet edging to keep it from getting pulled out.

Unlike the tuck-in method, this transition works best if you install the carpet before the tiling, that way you can secure the carpet to your preference first. The Z-bar can be nailed or screwed into the floor. Then, the tack strip is glued on top of the Z-bar.

3. Reducer Strips

Reducer strips can be found at most hardware or home improvement stores, and they can be found in a number of different shapes and styles to provide a seamless carpet-to-tile transition. The T-shaped reducer strips are popular and are used to bridge the space between the materials.

Unlike some of the other transition options, this one locks the two different kinds of flooring into place using either glue or screws. All you have to do is place the strips over the spot where the tile and the carpet edges meet, providing you with a simple and elegant way to bridge the gap between the two types of flooring.

4. Mount Tack Strips to Sub-Floor

If you have a strong-enough subfloor, this is a viable option. You can also proceed with this if you have cement underneath your tiling and carpeting. However, you should not nail down or use a general adhesive to do this.

Instead, visit your local home improvement or hardware store to find glue specifically designed to mount a tack strip to your subfloor or concrete. Many recommend using specialty glues that come in a hot-glue application style with a caulking gun, as these types will harden more thoroughly after cooling.

In this method, you mount the tack strip, pull the carpet to catch on the hooks and install the tile so that the height of both flooring materials are level. In this case, there is nothing covering the transition. However, it is a simple and easy way to make the transition look nice without having to worry about something ripping or breaking.

Source: www.DoItYourself.com

All about Brazilian Cherry Hardwood Flooring

Brazilian cherry hardwood flooring is one of the most beautiful and practical hardwood floors in the world today. It is also very popular and can be utilized in a variety of different applications.

Here are the basics of Brazilian cherry hardwood flooring and what you should expect from it. 

Brazilian Cherry Hardwood Flooring

Brazilian cherry hardwood flooring is not actually a cherry species. It is actually called Jatoba, but it is more commonly referred to as Brazilian cherry.

As the name suggests, this tree is native to South America. It has a variety of different uses, but it is most commonly used in hardwood flooring.

Hardness

One of the biggest benefits of Brazilian cherry hardwood flooring is that it is very hard. When you compare it to other common types of hardwood flooring, you are going to get a much harder product.

To the consumer, this means you will not have to worry about dents or scratches as much as you do with other hardwood products.

The industry standard test for measuring hardwood flooring hardness is the Janka scale. The value for Brazilian cherry on the Janka scale is 2350. By comparison, red oak has a rating of 1290.

This means it is much harder than red oak, white oak, and many of the other commonly used hardwood flooring species.

Durability

Most hardwood is considered to be a very durable flooring option. However, Brazilian cherry is going to be even more durable than your traditional hardwood floor.

This type of flooring is extremely durable and it can stand up to traffic for many years. It is not uncommon to see 50 year warranties on Brazilian cherry hardwood.

Therefore, this is considered to be a flooring you are going to have for the rest of your life unless you decide to change it for aesthetic reasons.

Looks

Brazilian cherry also has a look that is very sought after. The look it provides is one-of-a-kind and you really cannot get it from any other species.

Brazilian cherry is known for its deep red and brown tones throughout. The grain is unique and is extremely attractive. This is a look that is commonly utilized in high-end residences in today's society.

Advantages

This type of hardwood has several advantages when compared to other hardwood options. It is going to be much more durable than your average hardwood floor.

It also has a look many people prefer over anything else. Another advantage is that it is very versatile. You can use it in many different rooms in your house and applications.

Disadvantages

Although this wood has a lot going for it, there are also some drawbacks you will want to consider. The biggest disadvantage is going to be the price.

This type of hardwood is going to be more expensive than most of the other species of hardwood that are available. For reference, you could end up paying somewhere between $10 and $20 per square foot for this product.

Source: www.DoItYourself.com

How to Remove and Ineffectual Sealer

We were asked to restore a large 70m2 riven Sandstone floor in the historic market town of Boston where the customer had been sealing with an impregnator sealer but the stone just kept absorbing the daily dirt despite repeated cleaning. The Sandstone was now very dull with ingrained dirt and mopping just seemed to make it worse. Unhappy with the appearance they decided to call us in to resolve the issues and add a resilient finish with a slight sheen.

 

Something clearly was not right so after discussing the issue on the phone I arranged to visit the property and survey their problematic stone floor. I concluded that the sealer the client was using was not effective at sealing the floor properly and had let dirt get into the stone. This could be because the floor had not been cleaned well enough prior to sealing, insufficient sealer had been applied or perhaps the sealer wasn’t suited to Sandstone. Either way to resolve the problem the solution would be to deep clean the Sandstone stripping off the old sealer in the process and then use something more suitable for Sandstone such as Tile Doctor Seal & Go which would also give the subtle shine appearance they were after.

I worked out a quote to renovate the floor, which was accepted and a date agreed to do the work which would take two days, one to deep clean the stone and the second to seal.

Deep Cleaning a Riven Sandstone Tiled Kitchen Floor

The first day started preparing the area which in this case was simply a case of removing the kickboards from under the kitchen units. Next, I created a strong cleaning, sealer stripper solution by combining Tile Doctor Pro-Clean with Remove and Go and then working in sections sprayed it on to the Sandstone and left it to soak in for ten minutes.

 

The solution was then scrubbed into the stone using a brush pad fitted to a rotary buffer machine with added weight to improve contact. Using a brush pad is an important factor when cleaning riven stone as a normal flat pad would struggle getting into the grooves of the stone and works well on the grout lines as well.

The scrubbing action generated a lot of slurry which was extracted using a high pressure Rotovac system which is a great time saver. The Rotovac works by applying hot water under high pressure onto the floor to further force out ingrained dirt and muck from the stone whilst simultaneously extracting the soil back to a tank on our van.

 

The results were amazing leaving the stone both clean and free of the old ineffectual sealer. After this the floor was inspected and stubborn stains were spot treated and the floor given a final rinse. Now satisfied the Sandstone was clean I left a couple of air movers in place to assist with drying overnight.

 

Sealing a Riven Sandstone Tiled Kitchen Floor

The following day the moisture levels in the floor were checked with a damp meter, its important the stone is dry before sealing otherwise the results can be patchy. Fortunately, the air movers had done an excellent job and I was able to start applying the sealer.

   

Seal and Go is a water-based sealer (so no smell as it dries) that works by protecting the stone with an impermeable layer. It takes multiple coats to fully protect the stone but does give the Sandstone a lovely appearance and will protect the floor from everyday wear and tear as well as making it easy to clean. 

The customer was over the moon and said it was better than when they first had it installed and mentioned they would definitely recommend our services going forward.

Source: Riven Sandstone Tile Cleaning and Polishing Service in Lincolnshire

4 Common Laminate Floor Repairs

Laminate floor repair is not difficult, and will save you the time and expense of replacing the entire floor. Laminate floors can be damaged in a number of ways including scratches, mold,water damage, and warping.

What You'll Need:

• Laminate floor repair kit
•  Extra laminate floor boards
•  Screwdriver
•  Hammer
•  Spacers

Step 1 - Fix Scratches

Scratches can be repaired without removing boards. If you have small children or pets you may want to keep a laminate floor repair kit on hand. Most repair kits come with a paste, a few pigments to match your color, and a spatula or putty knife. Just follow the directions on the kit to cover up the scratch.

Step 2 - Fix Warped Boards

Most warping occurs because the walls have expanded and there is no place for the flooring to go. The solution is to remove the spacers between the boards and replace them with smaller ones. This can usually be done without removing the floorboards, but the molding and trim will have to come up.

Once that is taken care of, swap out the spacers that were put in place during the original installation with smaller ones. Then, go around and press the warped boards back into place. Replace the molding.

Step 3 - Replace Cracked and Broken Boards

If you have a board that is cracked, broken, or in general disrepair, you will need to replace it. Fortunately, this isn’t a difficult job, either. Start by removing the molding or trim that is nearest the damaged board by prying it up with a screwdriver or back end of a hammer.

Be careful not to damage the molding as you will need to replace it.

Step 4 - Remove Damaged Boards

The next step is to remove the damaged boards. Since laminate floors are constructed of interlocking pieces, you will need to remove more than one board to replace any of them, unless the damaged board happens to be flush with the molding. Pull the boards up one at a time until you reach the damaged one.

Be sure to keep track of the order in which you removed them because you will want to return each board to its original position. Replace the damaged board with a new one and then work your way back replacing each board. Finish the job by replacing the molding.

Source: www.DoItYourself.com