flooring
5 Ways To Refresh Your Home On A Budget: Buy Laminate Flooring And More
Day in and day out, your home serves as sanctuary, pit stop, storage facility, and entertainment venue. It can also get stale, outdated, and even threaten your health. Drapes, pillows, upholstery, and carpets can harbor dirt, dust, grime, and insects that cause respiratory and other health-related problems. These textiles can also cause bad odors to persist. Refreshing your home, both literally and figuratively, is easier and more affordable today than ever before with cheap Pergo laminate flooring, inexpensive accent pieces, live plants, a few buckets of paint, or some new curtains. Each of these redecorating activities can be done by the homeowner with a minimal investment of time and money.
Instead of hiring contractors and disrupting your home and bank account, refresh the appearance and improve the healthfulness of your home by replacing old window treatments, adding new accent pieces, or buy laminate flooring. Painting walls and replacing cabinet hardware can also result in an affordable, do-it-yourself home improvement project with lasting benefits.
Give Hardware A Hand
Cabinet hardware is easy to replace, affordable, and there are many styles from which to choose. Your kitchen and bathroom cabinets can go from dreary and damaged to smooth and elegant with just a few turns of a screwdriver. For a bigger effect, the faces of the cabinets, drawers, and doors can be refinished or painted at the same time. Very often, stripping off old paint reveals beautiful natural wood grain that has been well preserved and looks lovely with nothing more than an application of sealant!
Strike A Pose
The artwork and accent pieces found in a room can completely alter its personality. Throw pillows, live plants, statuary, and art can turn a chaotic mess into a stylish showplace without breaking the budget. Family photographs in simple frames, layers of colored stones in a glass vase, or a living aquarium can provide affordable renovations to the look and feel of practically any room in the house.
Coat With Color
Painting the walls of a room is an inexpensive way of changing the decor and creating a completely different atmosphere. Painting does, however, require an understanding of the risks of lead found in old paint. Keeping safety issues in mind, the colors selected can generate any mood or style the homeowner chooses.
Window Wonders
Homeowners can also redecorate a room affordably with window treatments, such as drapery, shades, sheers, and blinds, just to name a few. There are many online sources available that offer a wide range of window treatments, allowing homeowners to select or create their very own style using materials that suit the interior decor of their liking.
Build A Solid Foundation
A home’s foundation is its primary source of strength and stability. In the same way, flooring protects us from the outside world, it provides a smooth surface for feet and furniture, and it sets the tone for the style of the room. Flooring also plays a major role in a family’s health. Ratty, old carpeting can harbor dust mites, …
How Does Laminate Flooring Stack Up Against Real Wood?
There are both advantages and disadvantages when comparing laminate flooring with hardwood flooring. Both of these materials are excellent for any home, however they are also very different. First, let’s examine wood floors and why you might want them in your home. Wood floors are classic, traditional, beautiful and with the right maintenance, can last a lifetime. The problem is that wood flooring requires buffing and refinishing to maintain its beauty.
On the other hand, laminate flooring does not require this kind of maintenance. And, when compared with how difficult it is to install wood floors, laminate definitely comes out on top. The majority of laminate floor choices can be snapped together like puzzle pieces, without the need for glue or nails. Even if you’re not handy with tools you can lay one of these floors in a matter of hours. And, you can walk on your new floors immediately after they are put down, you don’t have to wait. These floors are durable, and are coated with space age crystal clear finishes for strength and shine.
You’ll be amazed at how authentic these floors appear when made to look like wood, stone and other flooring materials. Some laminate is textured and even sounds like the actual material it looks like when walked upon. And with a good installation job, no one but you will realize your floor is laminate, it might for example look identical to exotic teak or sophisticated mahogany.
There are just so many different choices. Whether you like wood, stone, cork, bamboo or some other material, your floor can look exactly as you like. Many flooring choices are made to appear seamless. Some are tiles, some are strips and some are planks. What you should choose depends upon your particular household needs.
Laminate flooring is easy to clean and care for. All it requires is a sweep and damp mop. There are affordable cleaning products made for this type of material. Another benefit is the vast selection you’ll find when shopping around for this type of floor. There are hundreds of different laminate flooring choices from numerous manufacturers, many of which are household names.…
Wood Flooring – Types and Caring For Your Floor
Wood flooring has continued to be the most popular choice of flooring for a house. This is because it gives a feeling of warmth and adds value to ones home. There is a wide range of wood flooring options available for you to choose from.
You may use wood in almost all parts of your home except for the kitchen and bathroom where wood is not advisable to use due to moisture retention. If you are searching for the type of wood that you will use, you should consider the overall decor and theme of your home.
Choices in Wood Flooring
The most common choice of wood flooring is the hardwood. Some popular hardwood choices are hickory, oak, maple, cherry, Bella wood, and walnut. They come in different colors and shades. Cherry and walnut do not need to be applied with artificial colors as they have natural rich tone.
After you have chosen which type of wood you will use, you have to decide on the floor finish that you will apply. You may opt to buy pre-finished wood with clear coating as protection. Purchasing pre-finished may require you a huge budget but you will definitely save a lot of time and effort.
If you do not want to buy pre-finished, you may choose to do the finishing yourself. After installing the floor, you need to apply urethane as protective coating. You may need to apply several coats of urethane for a more durable floor. After every coat, you should sand the floor for a smoother surface. It takes several days for this process to complete.
Another option that you may consider is distressed or reclaimed flooring. Though this type of floor does not have smooth feel, it is naturally beautiful and has a unique character. One advantage of this type is that scratches do not easily manifest unlike in urethane flooring.
Aside from the traditional flooring choices, another option is laminate flooring. It looks like real hardwood and can be bought at cheaper price. Armstrong Flooring is one company that offers laminates of high quality. Bamboo and cork flooring are also other options.
Proper Care of Wood Flooring
Whatever type of flooring you choose to have in your home, you can make your wood flooring durable and last longer by giving it the proper care and maintenance. Below are some care tips for a long lasting wood floor.
1. Remove dirt and dust by regularly sweeping or vacuuming the floor. Do not let your floor accumulate dirt and dust as this may cause scratches on the floor.
2. Put mats at the entrance doors to minimize dirt from entering your house.
3. Gently clean the floor with mop when needed. Use a nearly dry mop instead of wet one. Water may be retained in the floor causing it to wear out over time. Molds may also grow in between the slats of the wood, which will eventually damage your floor.…
Secrets To Installing Laminate Flooring On Top Of Floor Tiling
There are many people who want to change the way their flooring looks, especially if they have old style tiling. This is when laminate flooring is the perfect way to go ahead. It is very simple to install one on top of the other one by simply laying the flooring over. Any person can do it as a weekend DIY project.
However there are some things you need to know before installing it, so you get the best job for your home flooring. Maybe the most important aspect is to adjust the actual temperature for your floors and the room level of humidity. The room temperature should be anywhere between 68 and 85 degrees. Also the best humidity level should be between 45-65%. Anything above or below that will warrant using a humidifier or dehumidifier for regulating it.
When it comes to actual installation, you need to take off the molding and then check that the tiles are all dry, clean and level without any extra bumps. If you feel any bumps on it, you can level it using leveling cement so that you have a smooth surface ahead of you. The next step is to rollout the floor underlayment avoiding the edges from overlapping. This should exactly match the size of the room.
The step on laying the laminate flooring is usually done from left to right and spacers can be used to keep the spaces, or gaps that are between the planks. The space for expansion should be around 1/4 inches. The firs plank should be laid by first placing the plank right against the wall. The second plank should be 1/3 of the size of the first to give your flooring a nice alternate plank look that is so popular nowadays. The third plank will easily be able to connect the first plank right at the end to be locked in place the right way. Then you add the next (fourth) plank that will connect to the end of the previous one to be locked in place as well. Basically this will be the base upon the rest of your flooring will be built further.
What you really need to pay attention to though is to ensure that the very last row is exactly the same with the initial one. Also create a 1/4 inch space between the plank and the wall for expansion. Once you replace the trim, your laminate flooring is readily installed upon the old tiles.…
Karndean Flooring – For a Unique Feel
The decision regarding the flooring of any construction, whether residential or commercial, is one of the most critical. The decoration of the home, like the colour of the walls, the colour of the furniture, the materials used, home decor items, and so on all depends only on the kind of flooring that you have installed. In addition, the job plays a vital role in determining the overall look and style of the room. A floor, which has too many scratches, or which reacts too easily to the claws of pets and to high heels is certainly not one of the ideal ones. Yet, wooden floors, which come in this category, are often loved for their beauty and earthiness.
About Karndean
Karndean flooring is one of the most important brands that are available today. Every flooring contractor recommends this brand to people who love natural materials, but cannot use them in all rooms for various reasons. With the help of this company, you can have some of the most beautiful looking floors and some of the most unconventional too. So if you love timber, you can have it anywhere – in your bathroom, or even in your conservatory. These floors are able to provide you with the authenticity of natural materials, and yet are made of a material which is completely different from what they look like. The materials used for this kind of flooring are very resistant to various kinds of conditions and are much easy to maintain.
Amtico floors
Amtico flooring is yet another choice for flooring contractors who have been given the task of decorating commercial buildings. This kind of flooring is very famous for its superb design and its splendid stylishness that makes it a very popular choice for all kinds of commercial complexes. These flooring companies specialise in the use of vinyl as the chief material for raw materials. The overall look is very stylish, and gives the onlookers a distinct feeling of luxury. The main advantage of using this kind of work is that you can save an enormous amount on maintenance costs. These floors are extremely easy to maintain on a daily basis.
Need for safety
When you contact floor contractors for your commercial complex, make sure that you mention the need for safety flooring. This is a form of flooring which includes introducing special materials as laminates on the surface of the floor, so that people do not slip and fall easily. Rubber is usually one of the main choices, although these days, there is a wide variety of materials available. You can go for materials which provide a good amount of friction between the highly polished heel and the floor, and at the same time, is quite easy to clean and maintain. Your floor company must be made to understand the need for a safety floor very clearly, since not providing one can lead to unnecessary lawsuits in the future.…
Australian Cypress Flooring Is A Great Choice For Your Home!
These days as people are trying to make their home a very valuable investment, many people are thinking about updating their flooring and making the switch to hardwood flooring! My husband and I purchased our first home a few years ago, and the number one requirement on our list was hardwood flooring. You may have purchased a home without this type of flooring, but installation is a snap, and today we will discuss a popular flooring choice that is a great investment – Australian Cypress Flooring!
Australian Cypress flooring is a unique looking wood that many people adore. This type of flooring will add a lot of value to a home is quite durable! Australian Cypress flooring is composed of stunning wood that has a variety of tones to it. This makes it very unique and in a category that is a bit above the rest. This is the type of flooring that will get noticed and you will find your friends and family will probably be quite envious of. This is also a great investment if you are planning on selling your home and you want to up the value of it.
The interesting thing about Australian Cypress flooring is the unique tones of which it is made up from. This is a very stunning wood with a variety of shades and hues, ranging from cream to honey brown. I have seen a few homes with this type of flooring and really love how the tones range from a rich creamy shade to the glorious honey brown that so many people love and adore. This makes for interesting contrast in colors and shades of the flooring.
The details of this type of wood flooring are mind-blowing. The intricate grain and beautiful dark knots make it a great choice when you want to create a homey and rustic feeling to your home or office. This is perfect if you are looking for a touch of cabin-class to your everyday home. It adds a warmth and dimension to the flooring that is truly an interesting feature to a home.
Finally another great feature to this type of flooring is its durability and hardness! This is the perfect choice for high-volume areas such as a living room or anywhere you get a lot of foot traffic. This is the type of wood that can stand up to the kids, the dogs, and whatever life throws at you!…
Repairing Water Damaged Flooring
When water damages your flooring, prompt repair is necessary to avoid further problems such as warping, damage to adjacent boards and the growth of mold and mildew. If only a few of the wood boards in your floor sustained water damage, you can repair the water damaged wood flooring yourself by sanding the damaged boards. However, if a large area of your floor was damaged by water, you will need to replace the entire damaged area.
You will need to gather the following tools and supplies in order to begin repairing water damaged flooring:
Razor knife
Flooring nails
Nail gun
Sharpened wood chisel
Circular saw
New wood flooring boards
Hammer
Safety goggles
Measuring tape
Wood filler
Sand paper
Before tearing up your flooring, try these steps to remove small areas of damage to wood floors.
1. Test the damaged area by seeing if sanding the boards removes enough of the damaged wood such that you can no longer see water stains on the board. If this process removes all of the damage.
2. Fill in the area with wood filler.
3. Allow the wood filler to dry.
4. Sand the wood filler down to match the level of the undamaged boards.
5. Stain the repaired boards to match the finish of the undamaged boards.
If the area of damaged floor is more than one or two boards, or if sanding did not remove the water damage, you will need to tear out and replace the damaged boards. Before you begin, place your safety goggles over your eyes to avoid getting injured by wood splinters.
1. Place your circular saw onto one of the new flooring boards.
2. Adjust the blade of the circular saw to match the thickness of your flooring board.
3. Use your circular saw to cut around the floor boards that are damaged. Make your cuts about 1 inch from the edge of each of the damaged boards.
4. Use your wood chisel to pull out the center of the board that you just cut out and pry the remaining ends out from the undamaged boards.
5. Measure the length of replacement floor board that needs to go in the hole in your floor.
6. Cut the replacement flooring board with your circular saw.
7. Use your hammer and flooring nails to pound the new flooring board into place.
8. Apply a small amount of wood glue to the edges of the new boards.
9. Allow the wood glue to dry.
10. Stain your new flooring boards to match the undamaged boards.…
Floating Engineered Bamboo Flooring
The choices in flooring can often be overwhelming. One type of flooring that is not too common in homes yet, but that offers a beautiful and visually stunning foundation for your rooms, is floating engineered bamboo flooring. This flooring choice is one that is steadily gaining in popularity, due to its beauty, durability, and the fact that bamboo is environmentally friendly — a sustainable flooring product. If you have been trying to decide what kind of wood to choose for your floors, this type of flooring may be the choice that will make your room and home feel updated and look beautiful.
Bamboo flooring is known for the knuckle pattern that runs through it due to the stalk joints and the smooth and linear graining. The choice of vertical or horizontal graining can help you determine which one will work best in your home or room to make it look as beautiful as possible. The color choice is generally either natural or amber (or caramalized), with the color of the amber bamboo being created by a process known as “carbonizing”, which is when the stalks are steamed before being made into flooring. Floating engineered flooring made from bamboo features a top layer of real bamboo in the color and style that you want and need.
Floating engineered bamboo flooring can be used in many different rooms of your home. Even if the room you are flooring is prone to moisture – including basements, kitchens, and bathrooms – this is flooring a good choice. Solid wood varieties can’t withstand moisture without buckling or rippling, but this option can do well in moist rooms. This type of flooring is made of layers of bamboo that can expand and contract with temperature and moisture changes. The material and construction method combine to make a big difference in its durability. If you have been looking for a beautiful flooring choice for your basement or other moisture-prone room, then this is the right choice for you.
Easy installation is another benefit of floating engineered bamboo flooring. A moisture barrier is first laid down over a clean and dry floor. An existing floor can act as the substrate for the flooring, as long as that floor is affixed securely to the subfloor. The floating flooring is then clicked together on top of the barrier, which is why it is called a floating floor. Most do-it-yourselfers can install this type of floor easily.
Bamboo flooring is also known for being environmentally friendly. It’s a resource that replenishes itself quickly after it is cut, and does so quickly. It continues growing, unlike trees, making it a sustainable product. And because bamboo, a grass, grows so well, it doesn’t need fertilizers or pesticides, again contributing to its sustainable nature.
If you have been looking for an alternative to normal type woods like oak, pine, and beech in your flooring choices, you will want to think about floating engineered bamboo flooring. It can offer you beauty, ease of installation, durability, …
Flooring Is an Equally Important Aspect of Home Decor
The one aspect that most people tend to overlook while giving a makeover to their homes is flooring. Somehow, we have an assumption that it is not a very crucial part of home renovation and there is no need to waste time and thought over it. However, that is a completely wrong notion. When you think of your home, you have to consider it in totality. Each and every aspect of it is vital and you cannot afford to ignore any part. Why do most people spend so much money and energy in decorating their bathrooms then? When a guest comes in, he would not straightaway walk into your bathroom. But, in case he does, he will definitely deduce conclusions about your taste based on it. Therefore, you can understand you have to give equal importance to every nook and corner of your house.
People have really begun to concentrate on flooring and are looking for bankable options like hardwood flooring. This particular type of flooring comes in both unfinished and prefinished has its own features and advantages. For instance,one of the most prominent qualities that differentiate pre-finished flooring from the rest is this type of flooring, you do not require for unfinished flooring, the most advantageous aspect is that the seal is much more is because the finish is not applied board-by-board but on the whole flooring surface at a time. This easily seals the minute gaps existing between the flooring boards thereby protecting the floor against moisture.
Another reason why hardwood flooring enjoys considerable popularity among consumers is that it offers so much variety in terms of stain and surfaces. It does get exciting when you have a lot to choose from so that you can settle for nothing but the best. For instance, some flooring is evenly planned at the mill so that you get a refined and smooth surface. Again, there are hand scraped ones where the plank is hand worked in order to create a seasoned, contoured is mainly done for the purpose of giving a lived-in impression. The same variety can be found in the sphere of stains as well. This flexibility works strongly in favor of this particular form of flooring.
However,if you want to be a bit different, you can go for other options as well. For starters, there is timber flooring type appears homely and that is one strong reason why it appeals to a wide range of consumers. Add to it the rich colors they promise to offer. On one hand, you have species like Karri and Jarrah which are dark-colored while on the other there is Tasmanian and Blackbutt of the light-colored ,again,the Wandoo species boasts of honey present, recycled timber are also being used for flooring purposes thereby making a positive difference to the you want to do your bit for the environment, you can go for them and install them in your house.…
Beauty In Utility Travels With Colored Concrete Flooring
What better way than adorning your floor with colored concrete? Considering the fact that the modern lifestyle today seeks exclusivity, the options available with coloring concrete are endless.
Today’s colored concrete flooring is nothing but an elegant, wearable and a reflection of your personal style. You need the right contractor to describe the imagination you want to have with your flooring. However, note that color matching is not an exact science. Each contractor applies different techniques for coloring the countertops and employing different types and amounts of cement and aggregates to achieve great results.
Therefore, coloring the concrete surface throughout the remodeling schedule is the best way to enjoy the atmosphere in your place. A beautifully adorned place, with a dull and lifeless floor is like a bride covering a stained old coat over her spectacular wedding gown. No matter how lovely the space, the bad flooring kills the entire effect-and it is the first thing clients will notice. Similarly a home’s curb appeal soars when its image is complete. Shine on a floor is the pinnacle of clean, a symbol of a company’s attention to detail, and the best foot forward for your clients. You should remember that the floor is the basic foundation of your room and floor and d?�cor should go hand in hand. The function of a floor is twofold: it should be pleasing to the eye as well as practical.
So, you can enjoy that special feeling in with color surfacing. Color surface comes with assured exclusivity, and elegance; and the success of your business is built on the foundation in which it is handled. Just because concrete is underfoot, do not overlook your floor to be a style-maker. Take a look around. You will be surprised at how much plain and dull concrete is actually there.
It can hide future stains
When pouring new color on concrete, you can add colorant during the mixing process, which will provide a uniform tinting. There are also plenty of options for using color concrete mostly on driveway, parking lots, sideways, and other parking areas. With color concrete you can watch your concrete becoming stained with oil and grease, tire marks, and dirt.
It has chameleon like qualities
Colored concrete flooring has some rewarding qualities that will give you decades of service when properly installed and maintained.
Colored concrete remains a staple in the world of decorative concrete. While the technology has changed gravely in the past few years, its uses and popularity continue to grow. Bringing the beauty of colored concrete flooring into your place is a great way to instantly change the look of a business and home.…