Not paper, but any floating floor requires an underlayment. Usually it is a plastic backed felt or poly weave material to absorb sound as well as provide a vapor barrier.toughb said:
Simulated wood floor planking, whats your experience?
- Thread starter Doctor Zoidburg
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Ebony? you have an EBONY butt? Ummm since when did you become african canadian? I think you also mean supple not subtle. Sutle is saying you only have a HINT of a butt......Dani said:My experience with this type of flooring was "Splinters" I believe I am still locating the odd one. Moral of the story never mix planking with rich ebony subtle butt skin
Right it is, Dani Darling!!! Why go for the simulated material when the real deal (Oh Dani she is!!!) is right in front of their eyes!!! *Wink, wink*Dani said:
Dr. Scenicdrive,
Professor of Wink, Wink philosophy.
Whatever you decide, put at least as much effort into prepping the subfloor as you expect to put into installing the finished floor. Once you've buried the deficiencies of the substrate under the new floor, anything you didn't fix—divots, valleys, bumps, rises and squeaks—will be with you forever.
Ah so now we know: dani has a black butt but it is really really small. So small it is not really a butt at all, it's a mere hint of a butt....Dani said:
(btw: I didn't think there was such a thing as a small black butt, I thought they were all big bad bootys????)
The best advice given.tboy said:
I have had many people ask me how to fix their floating floor after it has bowed.
It really is an easy solution. Tear up the floor and redo it and this time leave at least a 1/4'' space from the wall or anything else it may butt up against. Don't worry baseboard or trim will hide a much bigger gap than 1/4''
E
enduser1
Wood floors last a couple of hundred years if cared for..............Pictures of wood on fiber last 15 to 25 and cost about the same. Your call
I deliberately chose an engineered hardwood floor atop a "real floor," instead of putting in another plank floor. I love it, and it looks gorgeous. Plus if you're environmentally conscious, fewer trees were used for that top layer of real wood.
I chose Kahrs brand from Sweden, and have used their products in the past.
It's top of the line. Actually more expensive than a hardwood floor. And I put in a layer of cork underneath for soundproofing.
I love The Floor Shop in Leaside. Those guys know and love all wood.
I chose Kahrs brand from Sweden, and have used their products in the past.
It's top of the line. Actually more expensive than a hardwood floor. And I put in a layer of cork underneath for soundproofing.
I love The Floor Shop in Leaside. Those guys know and love all wood.
Most manufacturers ask for 3/4" but it all depends on what time of the year you do it. Here is Toronto we get sahara desert dry in the winter and tropical rain forest humid in the summer.T.O.tourist said:
So, the rule of thumb here is "tight in the summer, loose in the winter". That way you accommodate the current climate. Now yes, this is tempered by air conditioning in the summer and humidifiers in the winter but still the rule of thumb holds true.
Think of this: in a standard room, one wall will be around 120". If the floor expands just 1%, (not unheard of) that's 1.2". I've even heard stories about wood floors expanding so much it pushes a non-load bearing wall out of plumb.
Thank you for clarifying that tboy. I am not used to the humidity changing that drastically with the seasons. With the conditions here a 1/4'' space on each side is sufficient.tboy said:
Just goes to show that it's best to seek advice from someone local, who knows the area, than someone from another place with different climates.
Ps. yes I do know what I am talking about ,I have had a successful home renovation company since the times before T.V. made it cool to renovate.
Congrats to tboy
You took me to school on this one.
Yeah if you're not used to T.O. weather you could get into trouble. I mean a few years ago we set a record for the largest temperature change in 24 hrs. (I think they said it was a record).
It was the end of January and we had +20 C one day and were walking around in shirtsleeves and the next day it dropped to -32 C.
But unlike New Orleans where it goes from Humid to Frickin humid to OMFG it's Humid lol.....
It was the end of January and we had +20 C one day and were walking around in shirtsleeves and the next day it dropped to -32 C.
But unlike New Orleans where it goes from Humid to Frickin humid to OMFG it's Humid lol.....
Why not go with a quality cork flooring? Looks great, comfortable to walk on and insulates in the winter. disadvantage that it is not as durable as hardwood or engineered flooring. (but it's so nice to walk on)einar said:
You're right, cork makes a very nice flooring material, and it's environmentally friendly. I may try it sometime, but I love the look of wood.
I knew someone in an artsy loft that put down osb and clearcoated the heck out of it. Looked kind of funky........
Just wondering: how you figure cork is environmentally friendly? I mean it's more environmentally friendly that laminate floor because that shit is full of chemicals but hardwood? Nothing more natural than wood and if they used a water based varathane......
Just wondering: how you figure cork is environmentally friendly? I mean it's more environmentally friendly that laminate floor because that shit is full of chemicals but hardwood? Nothing more natural than wood and if they used a water based varathane......
Hey, just rec'd an email: homo depot has all in stock or special order pergo laminate floors 10% off......
I was just up at the depot at gerrard square and they have birch and some other hardwoods for $3.49 psf and some engineered for $3.99. The engineered has a veneer layer a good 1/8" thick so it can be refinished once or twice. Seemed like decent stuff for those interested.....
I've installed alot of laminate flooring, I remember when they first came out and you had to glue the pieces together with the manufacturers' special glue plus their own residue cleaner. They were more expensive than alot of hardwood floors back then.
Now that it's all clicked together without any glue you get weaker joints.The short edge of the flooring plank is vulnerable to gapping. Even though you leave the appropriate gap around the perimeter, placing heavy objects on the floor, ie, furniture, file cabinets (the worst for laminates), essentially renders the planks beneath them stationary and inflexible. If two heavy objects are on opposite sides of the room and contraction/expansion occurs the planks between the 2 heavy objects buckle or separate. So you get a gap or bubble somewhere in the middle.
I warn clients before I install laminates about this potential problem. It happens with alot of laminates, Pergo, Wilson Art.
Now that it's all clicked together without any glue you get weaker joints.The short edge of the flooring plank is vulnerable to gapping. Even though you leave the appropriate gap around the perimeter, placing heavy objects on the floor, ie, furniture, file cabinets (the worst for laminates), essentially renders the planks beneath them stationary and inflexible. If two heavy objects are on opposite sides of the room and contraction/expansion occurs the planks between the 2 heavy objects buckle or separate. So you get a gap or bubble somewhere in the middle.
I warn clients before I install laminates about this potential problem. It happens with alot of laminates, Pergo, Wilson Art.
Doctor Zoidburg said:
If you're ever in the Eaton Center,go to the Sports Check store. They installed laminate flooring in the early 90's. It was top of the line, glue along the edges laminate flooring. It's commercial usage so it's a high traffic area. It looks like crap. You can't even see the laminate anymore along the edges on some of planks.
