Flooring Archives - Page 42 of 58

Flooring
October 15, 2016

How To Reduce Floor Noise

No matter how long you’ve lived in your home, there may be a few areas that produce squeaks, creaks, noises or other amplified sounds. Walk across the floor, and you know exactly where every potential area is. Your kids may have even developed a pattern to avoid the places, knowing exactly how to stay quiet day and night.

There are a number of ways you can eliminate noisy floors, with methods varying in cost and intensity, depending on how your home is constructed. It is important to remember that most tactics will not completely remove the noise. But if done properly, it is possible to reduce the noise and partially soundproof your home.

Install pads, rugs or carpet
Heavy activity from a top floor will almost always filter down to the lower level. Carpeting is a good choice to reduce noise; use a high quality pad below the carpet to further provide insulation. If wood, laminate, or vinyl flooring is already in place, such as with a second level laundry room, you can install soundproofing floor mats or vibration pads to achieve noise reduction.

Rubber mats for sports activities
There is a reason you’ll find rubberized flooring in commercial gyms; it has noise reduction features that make it a great choice in places with heavy activity. You can purchase rubber mats in a variety of sizes and thicknesses. Use them below appliances or even workout machines like treadmills or ellipticals, to muffle the vibration and reduce noise and impact.

Spot fix loose screws and joists
Like everything, with settling and use, the wood used in constructing your home can loosen over time. In some cases, you may have access from a basement or crawl space. In some instances, you may need to gain access to the sub-flooring. Locate and mark the squeaky floor areas before removing the floor, they drill drywall screws into the joist where excess noise exists. This will help strengthen the supporting joist and stop the noise. In some cases, tapping a wooden shim into place can also prevent wood rubbing together and creating excessive noise.

Add a resilient underlayment
Was your flooring installed with the correct subfloor and underlayment? Resilient underlayment choices include cork, foam and shredded rubber. Depending on what flooring you currently have in place, you may be able to lay new underlayment and reinstall your flooring for better noise filtering. Remember, the underlayment is equally important as the flooring choice you make. Not only will it provide noise reduction, but it can also extend the life of your flooring product.

Flooring, Hardwood Flooring
October 13, 2016

Troubleshooting Common Hardwood Flooring Issues

Hardwood floors are one of the most in-demand flooring options, and with good reason. Nothing is as beautiful as well maintained hardwood, but in many cases, it takes work to ensure it looks great all the time.

Before you install hardwoods in a room or throughout your home, it’s important to understand how to maintain them long before the first plank is installed. You’ll ensure a better quality, better looking flooring option with just a little knowledge going into the process.

Plank Width
Hardwood contracts and expands with the changing seasons. The wider the plank, the more pronounced the effects of swelling and shrinking will be during changes in temperature and humidity. If you will be installing a wider plank in your home, just be aware that gaps between the planks will be a common characteristic of this type of flooring.

Dents
When a homeowner chooses hardwoods for the first time, it usually comes with some expectations. Maybe you’ve seen it in other homes, or have admired it in home renovation magazines. Living with it can be different if you’ve never experienced it before. Hardwoods come in a variety of wood grades, each with their own character. Some are softer than others, meaning it will wear differently than other types of wood. Some will show dents easier, giving it a more rustic and worn appearance. Make sure you understand what characteristics will follow your final hardwood choice.

Smudges
It’s easy to be seduced by the high-gloss look you’ll see in many hardwood advertisements.Highly polished flooring requires constant care and attention. If you desire a high sheen hardwood floor, it requires consistent cleaning, washing and waxing to maintain its sheen.

Oxidation
During the first year, your hardwood floor will go through a process of oxidation. The more your floor is exposed to strong sunlight, the darker the wood will become. Problems can arise in a room if it is filled with intense sunshine, and then you decide to move the furniture around, only to discover a lighter discolored area beneath. In many cases, this new area will also darken up once it’s exposed to sunlight too. And if you want to avoid strong oxidation throughout your home, protect your floors from direct sunlight as much as possible.

What other questions do you have about installing hardwood floors?

nylon or polyester carpet

Flooring
October 4, 2016

What’s Right For You – Floor Covering or Structural Installation

There are many types of flooring; you can choose one based on your needs and desires. All flooring falls into one of two categories: it’s either a floor covering that’s easily installed and removed, or it’s a structural installation.

There are three types of flooring that provide structural installation: hardwood, ceramic tile, and stone. If you don’t choose one of these flooring options, you won’t impact the structure of your room.

Solid wood, ceramic tile and stone flooring all become a part of your home’s structure. They are considered permanent flooring. And because of that, they will also add a structural value to your home as well.

Floor coverings are anything but hardwood, tile, and stone. They are engineered wood, laminate, luxury vinyl, carpet, vinyl and anything else. They aren’t part of the home’s structure, even when you staple or glue them into place. And while they may create aesthetics and ambiance in your home, they will never be considered permanent flooring.

Why is this important? It depends on what you hope to achieve with your flooring product. If you want to add value to your home, the best way to do that is with permanent flooring. Structural installation of a flooring choice will do that.

You should also expect to pay more for a permanent flooring choice, and realize the process of installation will take more time.

Is engineered wood a permanent flooring choice? While engineered wood is designed to give the appearance of hardwood, there are still many differences between engineered and hardwood. And because engineered wood has a limited lifespan when it comes to maintaining and refinishing in, from a structural standpoint, it’s simply a cover to the plywood subfloor.

Is one flooring better than the other? It’s all a matter of opinion. Just like we choose décor to match our moods and needs, the type of flooring we install should also address our desires. Make sure you understand what role you wish your flooring to address – to add to the structural value or to just look nice – and choose accordingly.

Flooring, Hardwood Flooring
September 30, 2016

How To Match New And Existing Hardwood Floors

Hardwood flooring has become the norm in homes all across the Denver Metro area. Hardwood flooring is by far the preferred choice in mid to higher end homes. But what if you have an older home and hardwood only exists in a few rooms? What if you only have hardwood in one – the kitchen, the entryway, the family room, or just the main living space?

The good news is that it’s usually fairly easy to match existing hardwood and create a harmonious look.

Start with the thickness
Do you have solid or engineered hardwood floors? It’s much easier to match if you have solid hardwood flooring. Solid hardwood is good for both longevity and flexibility in color matching. In most cases, solid hardwood runs ¾ inch thick. With a subfloor built in, you have flexibility in being able to lay hardwood flush against existing hardwood, matching it up plank by plank. Be sure the subfloor height is consistent throughout the space to ensure hardwood will be even as you move from room to room.

What species of hardwood is in place?
Next, identify the species and grade of the hardwood in place. In many homes, oak hardwood is a standard. But of course, there are many other options available. Even with oak, there are two options: red oak and white oak flooring. If your home was built in the early twentieth century, maple, douglas fir and yellow pine were all common place. And if you have a newer design, additional hardwoods have been used over time. Also keep in mind that even with different species, the cut of the wood also comes into play. Identify what grade of wood was used to ensure a proper match.

Width of the planks
This is usually the simplest to figure out. With a tape measure, measure the current width of your wood. Most homes are built with a standard 2 ¼ inch strip. Oak flooring can also come in 3 ¼, 4 or 5 inch strips. Can you change it up? Anything is possible. Just keep in mind the aesthetics may change if you adjust size from room to room.

Color
With hardwood, you can adjust coloring to match once your new hardwood planks are in place. In general, if you have oak hardwood flooring, and choose a match of both species and grade, simply by refinishing the wood and staining will provide you with the overall look you desire. Matching without redoing the entire floor space can be difficult, especially if the two kinds of wood aren’t the same species or grade. A professional can help you decide the best route for the look you desire throughout your home.

Transitions
Not all flooring has to match. In some cases, it’s better to make a transition as you move from space to space. Transition strips can help you adjust heights in doorways or change directions in the direction of wood. It can help you change colors from space to space.

Are you trying to add more hardwood to your existing home? What challenges have you faced?

Flooring, Vinyl Floors
September 22, 2016

What You Don’t Know About Luxury Vinyl Tile Flooring

The concept of vinyl tile flooring may not have crossed your mind as one of the best flooring choices you can make for your renovation. Yet designers are huge fans of luxury vinyl tiling because of all the benefits it brings to the marketplace. It’s different from all other vinyl applications not only in how it’s manufactured, but also in its aesthetics and applications.

Luxury Vinyl Tile Flooring
No matter what flooring option you choose, you can create the look by using luxury vinyl tile. With today’s technology, the ability to replicate real hardwoods and stones using advanced photographic techniques is the foundation for making luxury vinyl so real.

There are four distinct layers fused together to create the final look: a resilient vinyl backing, a vinyl color layer, a photographic film layer, and a urethane or aluminum oxide top layer. This protective layer is very important to the wearability of the product over time. Commercial applications will utilize a 20 mil or higher layer for full protection, with high quality products reaching as high as a 40 mil layer.

But it’s not just the look that will turn you into a believer. Luxury vinyl tile flooring has many benefits that make it an ideal flooring choice for you.

Vinyl flooring satisfies Green building standards and earns LEED points in commercial applications.

Luxury vinyl meets requirements of commercial flammability codes, is slip resistant, and meets a variety of other safety measures.

It’s one of the easiest flooring choices to maintain. A simple damp mopping is all that’s required to keep its good looks indefinitely.

They are naturally water resistant. It is important to install over a flat, dry surface so that no water seepage occurs beneath the floor.

Its protective coating is durable and will be scratch, stain, dent, and scuff resistant.

It’s one of the most cost effective products on the market. Because you can achieve the look and feel of rich, natural materials at a fraction of the cost, it’s easy to apply the flooring in a variety of places, both in commercial and residential settings.

Luxury vinyl tiling is one of the easiest ways to transform a room. The realism of the total look, including distressed wood finishes, stone. and slate surface textures, and even woven textiles embedded in the wear layers are grabbing attention all across the design world.

If you haven’t looked at luxury vinyl tiles in a while, maybe it’s time for another look.

Flooring, Hardwood Flooring
September 20, 2016

What Do People Want This Year With Hardwood Floors?

Time to update your flooring? Maybe it’s finally time to install the hardwood you’ve been dreaming about.

Yet deciding on installing hardwood flooring is only the first step of the process. Trend’s show that hardwood is always a good choice. But with dozens of choices available, how do you know what to choose?

It starts with color. Today’s color choices range from dark stains to greys, off whites and beiges. Reds and browns are always popular here in Colorado, they’re a good blend with any décor as we move from summer to winter. But color isn’t everything. There are many other things to consider.

Distressed?
A few years ago, hand scraped and contoured wood became the rage. Today we’re seeing heavy distressed woods being replaced with a softer wire brushed ceruse effect. Reclaimed hardwoods are also welcome, especially in homes where sustainability and eco-friendly options are at top billing.

Type of hardwood?
Red oak always maintains a strong hold on the market. White oak is also a great choice; you’ll find a variety of products made from this wood. Hickory remains strong, and can give your home a rustic feel. Lighter tones of hardwood such as maple and birch have decreased in popularity in their natural colors, but continue to be popular finished, creating a cleaner contemporary look.

Plank size?
Wider plank size has seen a dramatic increase over the past few years. And as the planks have grown in width, they’ve increased in length as well. As hand scraped and other hardwoods entered the market, their width increased to show off the detail. When combined with a shorter length, they created an almost checkerboard appearance. By increasing the length, it created a stronger, more refined look and feel that people loved. Today, you’ll find four inch wide planks have increased drastically, with a lot more seven inch or wider planks on the market today. You can find them 10 or 12 inches, but you’ll need a wide open space to appear like they belong.

Are you in the market for new hardwood flooring?

Flooring, Hardwood Flooring
September 12, 2016

How To Fix Squeaky Hardwood Floors

Remember as a kid sneaking around your home at all hours of the day and night? You learned quickly where the squeaks were that would give you away.

Now that it’s your house, those squeaky floors are a problem. You don’t have to live with them. They can be fixed. But first, you must determine the cause.

Cause #1: Season Change
When did you first hear the squeak? Chances are it was during the winter months. As the temperatures drop, the air gets drier. The heat kicks on in your home, and the humidity drops.

Wood changes with every change made in your home. And when both the air gets cooler, and the humidity level drops, the floorboards dry out and give up their moisture content, making them shrink in size.

This contraction can cause the floorboards to squeak. The planks no longer fit flush together, instead rub up against each other or against a nail that no longer fits tight.

Although wintertime changes aren’t a problem, they can be annoying. You can combat these winter problems by increasing the humidity levels inside your home. However, keeping whole house humidity at 40 to 60 percent is difficult, which means you may still hear the occasional squeak until winter fades into summer.

Cause #2: Joists
If your floors have started squeaking and you notice it year round, there might be a problem with the flooring joists. The joists are part of the structure underneath your floors. In order to determine if they are the problem, you will need access to the flooring from underneath, viewing the floors up above. If you see joists in the squeaky areas that appear to be loose, you can purchase a kit that allows you to drill down into the floor and tightly secure the floor and subfloor to the joist. Continue to do so until the squeak disappears.

You can also attach a special brace to secure the subfloor to the joist from beneath. If the problem lies with a gap between the joist and the subfloor, you can insert a wood ship into the gap to eliminate the squeaking in the floors.

Cause #3: Uneven Subfloor
Sometimes the problem starts with the subfloor. When it was installed, it may have been installed incorrectly and is uneven with the structure of your home. It may have also wiggled loose over time. When this happens, it can cause gaps between the floor and the subfloor. When you put weight on the floor, the subfloor rubs against the joists and causes a squeak.

If you can see the subfloor from the basement, have someone walk across it while you stand beneath. If you notice the subfloor shifting with the weight, it might be due to a gap between the subfloor and floor. You can drill up from below into the subfloor to draw the subfloor and floor closer together.

Flooring, Hardwood Flooring
September 8, 2016

Cold Weather Impact On Flooring And What To Do To Prevent It

Did you feel the coolness in the air? Already, signs of fall are everywhere.

Yes, it may seem too early to have summer fade into fall. But here in Colorado, it’s never far away. And while many celebrate those first few days of cold, knowing ski season comes along with wintertime, it can also mean significant changes to your home.

With winter comes snow. And with snow often comes snow melting materials – and some of the biggest problems that can impact hardwood flooring. The only way to combat it is to take preventative measures before problems occur.

When snow occurs, the best way to ward off damage to your hardwood floors is to install mats and rugs near all entrances that lead outside. This will help rub off any snow and snow melting materials as you enter your home.

Even better, take off your shoes and boots the moment you enter. This prevents snow and other materials from being tracked throughout your home.

Snow melting materials can easily scratch the wood. They can also leave an unsightly white residue which can build up quickly. And if water is allowed to puddle anywhere in your home, it can quickly seep in and begin to warp the wood.

During the winter months, wood contracts as the heat goes, up, humidity levels go down, and dryness settles into the wood. That causes gaps to exist throughout your flooring. And these gaps are especially susceptible to problems. If water sinks in, it can cause problems down the road.

There’s no real concern for this expansion and contraction process. Yet you should take care to ensure damage isn’t allowed to occur because of the time of year. If you notice gaps, you can place a humidifier in the room to try and increase humidity in that area. However, this may not be enough to prompt your floors to expand. It may be something you deal with until spring, and the heater is turned off for the season.

The key to understanding how hardwood flooring works and what to expect is to fully educate yourself before you install hardwood flooring into your home.

Have any questions about the process? We’re here to help.

Flooring, Hardwood Flooring
September 5, 2016

How To Get Stair Runners Right

If you have wood stairs in your home, you’re probably used to the loud sounds that echo through your home with every step taken. That clomp, clomp, bang, bang noise becomes something that’s hard to put out of your mind, especially if you have a lot of foot traffic inside.

Kids are notorious for flying up and down the stairs, over and over again in hot pursuit of the next adventure in their minds. And sometimes, the occasional “aaaugh” is followed by a bump at the end as they miss a step and slide down to the bottom. Yes, wood stairs can be noisy. And depending on the style, they can be very slippery as well.

Which is why many homeowners turn to stair runners as a solution to provide both peace and quiet and added safety to your stairs. They can be simple and understated, or add their own design and character to your home.

Of course, adding a stair runner to your home can bring up a lot of questions.

How wide should they be?
What do I do with landing space in between?
Where should the runner end?

There are many ways to answer the most common questions. Here are a few ideas to help get you started.

Where should the runner end?

This depends on a variety of things. Do your stairs have an overhang? You can end the runner at the base of the overhang. What floor surface do the stairs come in contact with at both levels? You can use that to help you define how to finish off your design. There really isn’t a right or wrong way to end a stair runner. The important thing is that it provides flow and dimension to your overall design. You can do a few searches online and find many examples – use them to help you decide the best look for your home.

How wide should they be?

As a general rule of thumb, leaving 4 inches of bare wood on either side of the stair runner will give you a pleasing look. This should provide you with enough width to be a comfortable path for walking. Yet you can adjust the look and feel depending on your style and preference, and the overall look you are hoping to achieve.

What do I do with landing space in between?

In many cases, it depends on the size of the landing. And your style and personality comes into play too. Is the landing large enough for furniture? Leaving it wood and laying a rug may be an option. Is there just enough for a turn, to move the stairs into a new direction? How about covering the landing completely with carpet before continuing with the stair runner down the stairs? If you use area rugs either at a landing between two sets of stairs, or at the entry at the base, be sure to use non-slip pads under the rug so they won’t wiggle and move as you walk across. This can also be important if children often run and jump from stairs to landing, giving them the added security of not falling down.

How do I handle stairs that change width?

Especially with a grand staircase that opens up into a large room, you’ll often find stairs that get wider as they open into the room. Should you continue a stair runner down at the same width? Doing so gives you consistency and continues the visual appearance all the way through. But it isn’t your only option. In some cases, extending the stair runner and taking up more space can soften the look and provide more coverage for safety. The key is having a pattern in mind and continuing it all the way through, from top to bottom.

Have additional questions about how to incorporate a stair runner into your home?

Flooring
September 3, 2016

Creating Masculine Space With Flooring

Traditional masculine interiors are bold and strong. We expect to see clean architectural lines, large furniture, tough materials such as leather and steel, all in a dark color palette. It’s powerful, sleek and sexy … if done well.

If not, the look can be anything but powerful. It can simply be dark and oppressive.

Whether you are decorating an entire home or overhauling a man cave down in the basement, the easiest place to begin is with the color palette. Retain the dark, comfortable furniture. Then lighten up the walls and the floors and it will be a game changer.

Your floors can become the biggest focal point in the room.

Start with texture. Masculine rooms can dive into all kinds of textures.

Hardwood is an obvious charge, accenting dark colors and large furniture well. Yet move away from traditional hardwoods you’ll find commonplace throughout a home. Instead, choose darker woods and larger planks. Exotic hardwoods, such as hickory or cherry, can bring instant ambiance to the setting. Choose wider planks from the norm to enrich the rooms look and feel.

From there, you can liven things up with texture and patterns by placing an area rug to soften the image. And with an area rug, you can change the look anytime you desire. How about a sheepskin? How about an Aztec design? This is where personality comes into play.

Yet just because you’re designing a masculine retreat doesn’t mean comfort isn’t top of mind. For many man caves, the perfect way to build is by starting with softness from the ground up. To warm up a room, carpeting is still the perfect place to begin. But skip the natural beiges you’ll find throughout the home. Instead, choose from a male-friendly color palette or blue or brown. A slate blue can be incorporated into any design and give a pop of color while maintaining a male-friendly atmosphere.

To create a gorgeous masculine room doesn’t mean it has to be themed. Instead, introduce strong color and look for balance, starting from the bottom up. You’ll quickly find the perfect look for you.