Ask the Flooring Expert

Q: I want to replace the carpet in my basement rec/TV room. The carpet was nice but could not withstand kids, dogs, etc.

Can you suggest another type of flooring that might fare better? The room is rather large (600sf) and the carpet gave it a warmer, more comfortable feeling than tile or hardwood.

Thanks.

A: When it comes to warm and comfortable, carpet tends to be very popular, but the natural appearance of wood floors can not only open a room, but make it feel very inviting. Let's talk about what will work in your current room.

Since this is a basement, this limits your choices somewhat. Also, we want to look into a floor that can take a bit of traffic and abuse from the kids and pets. When it comes to a resilient floor, stone and tile take the cake, but if you're trying to avoid a cold floor there are some alternatives. The first option would be to use an electric radiant heat system that is built for tile in the thinset mortar bed for your tile. This will keep the tile at a nice temperature.

Other alternatives would be to look into slightly less resilient floors, which are a bit more warm and comfortable. With wood flooring, the most resilient bet would be a laminate floor. The nice part about laminate, beyond being built for traffic, is that laminate is installed floating which is a real breeze to do compared to other installation methods.

With any floating floor, typically they will sit at room temperature, especially if the heating in your home is forced air. Now if you want to ensure the floor stays a bit warmer and feels very good under your feet, this will come down to a matter of what underlayment you chose. As I have suggested many times in the past, cork is by far the best stuff out there for underlayment. Cork is a natural insulator, so as you can expect your floor will stay a bit warmer, also, cork's density gives a floating floor a very solid feel and sound under foot.

Another alternative would be to look into floating cork flooring. Cork is naturally softer than laminate, but this is its benefit when it comes to dent resistance and comfort. Cork has a feature known as memory. When cork is dented it naturally attempts to return to its initial state, and thus will push dents out over time. Much like using cork as an underlayment (which when combined with a cork floor is a home run for floating floors) cork flooring stays warm compared to most other wood floors because of its insulation properties. The only downside you will have with cork is if any heavy objects are being dragged across it. Cork, much like linoleum flooring, can be gouged if particularly heavy pieces of furniture are dragged across it.

In the end, what will make the decision for you here is what abuse you will expect this floor to take. Cork will most likely be the warmest and most comfortable floor under your feet. Now if you expect heavier furniture or anything with sharp corners to be in your basement that is like to get moved around a bit or a bit more traffic and dropped items then you may want to look into a laminate floor. The killer to this would be if you expect a bit of moisture, like spills or such that may not be noticed or cleaned up right away. If this is the case, stone or tile will be your best bet. However as long as any spills you would encounter would be cleaned up relatively quick (within a few minutes) then you should be ok to go with a wood floor.

For this month's editorial I'd like to go into a bit of depth about flooring for bathrooms. As we get closer and closer to the start of the remodeling season, folks will be looking into what sprucing up they can do around the home. One of the most common questions I get has to do with flooring bathrooms, so let's dig in a bit here and go into viable choices.

As with any floor, you will first need to go over what performance and expectations you have for your floor. If you have children, especially younger children, you will want to consider different floors than for a home with only adults. With bathrooms, the biggest concern you are going to run into is moisture. As I have mentioned many times wood and water do NOT mix; however, it is not impossible to make a wood floor succeed in a bathroom or similar higher moisture places.

I borrowed this great photo from Steve's blog. Below is a bathroom done with Tigerwood out in the Magnolia area of Seattle, WA. This particular home was amongst a small group done by my good friend Gene D., iFLOOR's commercial contract manager.

Step One
Determine what you will expect your floor to do and the type of traffic and moisture potential for the bathroom.

If you have younger children, intend to take very hot showers (lots of water vapor in the air), or tend to leave wet towels/clothing on the floor you will want to look into flooring which is more resilient when it comes to moisture.

If your home is one with adults or older children and you expect little to no water to be on the floor and intend to use proper mats near showers/baths to protect the floor, you have more options.

Step Two
Determine your flooring options and the pros and cons of each.

Stone or Tile
Stone and tile are the most resilient floors you can get. Stone and tile not only can take abuse, but are virtually impervious to problems from moisture. The down side you get with stone is that it is usually cold under foot and not as comfortable feeling as other flooring types.

Hardwood and Bamboo Flooring
Hardwood flooring's natural beauty and elegance make it one of the most popular flooring choices available. With wood flooring the choices are seemingly endless. The downside to wood flooring is that it is susceptible to moisture damage and is less resistant to scratching and denting although this is based on the species of wood used.

Laminate Flooring
Although still in the wood flooring category, laminate is a step above traditional hardwood floors when it comes to abrasion resistance and moisture resistance. Although more resilient than most traditional wood floors, Laminate is still made from a wood fiberboard core and is thus susceptible to damage from excessive moisture.

Cork Flooring
Cork flooring has a few advantages over the rest of the wood flooring genre, especially when it comes to a bathroom. Cork is a naturally water resistant product, hence why we use it for bottle stoppers. Much like wood, cork can have problems when excessive amounts of water get on the floor or standing water is left on the floor. Another big benefit to cork is that it is a natural insulator, which means that the floor will remain a bit warmer than most other floors, typically staying at the same temperature as the room it is in. A final perk to cork is that it is naturally softer than other hard surface floors, which means it feels great under your feet, but unlike other wood floors, cork is naturally dent resistant. Cork has a feature known as memory, so when cork is dented it slowly will push out these dents as it tries to return to its natural state (essentially remembering how it is supposed to be). The downside to cork in this case is that it is susceptible to gouging much like vinyl, so avoid dragging heavy items over the top of a cork floor as this can dig in and gouge the floor.

Vinyl
Much like stone and tile, vinyl is virtually impervious to water and is fairly resilient, which makes it a common choice for high moisture areas. Nowadays vinyl comes in various appearances including some very nice looking wood plank appearances. The only downsides you will get with vinyl is that, much like stone/tile, will be fairly cold under foot. Also, much like cork, vinyl is susceptible to gouging when heavier objects are dragged over vinyl without using casters or furniture movers.

Step Three
Choose your floor based on performance and its qualities.

If you are unsure here, I would suggest looking into Vinyl or Stone/Tile as these are the most resilient options when it comes to high moisture potential areas. If you won''t be encountering kids having cannonball contests in the bath and a likeliness for wet clothing or towels to be sitting on your floor, looking into wood flooring types is an option.

Step Four
Choose your installation type and install your floor.

In the case of stone and tile or vinyl, you have specific installations that must be done. In the case of stone, one thing to keep in mind when laying your thinset mortar that if you are installing over concrete, use a uncoupling membrane to ensure that you will not have issues with the stone or tile cracking.

With wood floors, look into a glue down application when the product allows for this type of installation as it can give you a bit more moisture sealing. In the case of floating floors, look into putting a bit of tongue and groove glue into the locking mechanism in order to add a small bit of moisture protection into the joints.

Final Notes
When working on your bathroom, keep in mind that the biggest problem you will encounter is standing water getting on the floor, especially with wood flooring. Being able to prevent standing water or high amounts of water vapor in the air will vastly increase your flooring options as well as the longevity of the floor in your bathroom. Use proper mats near bath tubs and showers to prevent standing water from getting onto the floor. Do not leave wet clothing or towels on the floor and clean up any spills ASAP. Around toilets, use a bit of silicone caulking or something similar to add a bit of moisture seal around the edges of your floor.

Here is another great image I borrowed from Steve's blog. Again we are looking at a home finished by Gene D. in the Magnolia area of Seattle, WA. Here you can see the bathroom done in natural Slate tiles.

Q: I'm interested in the Brazilian Rosewood BKH Laminate by Moderna SoundGuard and would like to know if this type of flooring is the easiest to install. I plan on installing it diagonally but am not sure if my husband and I will be able to do it ourself?

A: Laminate is the easiest of all wood floor types to install. Although floating floors are easy to install, there is a learning curve to getting used to each type of locking mechanism. Be prepared for a bit of hassle for your first row or two, but afterward it should be pretty easy to lay down the floor and should be easily accomplished as a "weekend warrior" project.

What I will warn you about here is that installing at a diagonal is the hardest installation out there. Unless you are fairly familiar with installing floors I would suggest avoiding this type of installation. The big thing about installing at a diagonal is accounting for additional waste from cuts and a need for about 15-20% additional product or more (instead of the usual 10%) when installing at a diagonal.

If you are dead set on installing at a diagonal, make sure you spend plenty of time measuring and preparing your install. Measure twice before you cut once and be ready for a much longer install.

Q: Under what circumstances would a vinyl floor be fully glued vs. perimeter glue?

Diana
Buffalo, NY

A: Vinyl has come a long way as far as how it is manufactured and how it can be installed. The old rule of thumb was that a fiber back vinyl was fully glued and flex back vinyls were perimeter glued, but in recent years this has changed quite a bit. Nowadays, the few remnant collections of flex back vinyl are still perimeter glue only, but now many fiber backed vinyls can be installed with the perimeter glue method.

In the case of smaller rooms, such as a bathroom, you will still usually want to install vinyl with a full spread across the entire floor. With how small these areas are (relatively speaking of course) there is not much vinyl to weight the floor down (this is very similar to the philosophy behind floating wood floors), so you want to use adhesive across the entire floor to ensure it remains in place.

In rooms any larger than a bathroom, many installers will use only perimeter glue method including around all vents and in front of appliances. Typically a 3-5 inch band of adhesive, although follow the adhesive or vinyl's instructions if this differs, suffices to form proper bond and anchor the vinyl down without fear of peeling or excessive movement. When vinyl is installed in larger rooms with a perimeter glue method, you still need to leave some room for expansion and keep in mind that these floors are slightly more susceptible to damage from moving heavy furniture (dragging heavy objects) over the floor than a vinyl floor which is fully glued.

Beyond objects being dragged, perimeter glued vinyl is just as resilient as fully glued vinyl and you get the benefit of them being less likely to telegraph any discrepancies in the subfloor through. However, much like fully glued vinyl, you should still use an embossing leveler in order to ensure there is no issues with the subfloor being telegraphed through the vinyl.

In the end, if the vinyl you are looking at can be perimeter or fully glued, it becomes a matter of opinion and room size. Some vinyl installers will use only the perimeter method as it is much easier to remove should it need to be replaced. Most apartment complexes use the perimeter method for ease. If you intend to do this install yourself, examine the room(s) you will be installing in and decide if they are larger enough for a perimeter glue install. If they are, use a thick perimeter of adhesive just to be sure. In smaller rooms like bathrooms, ensure to fully glue the floor.

Q: I am going to install an engineered wood floor (Kahrs-Woodloc Original Collection - 15mm) in my basement. I understand some self leveling compound can be used if needed in certain areas to ensure the floor is flat, but my question is how to handle the "crack control joints" that are cut into the floor. In certain areas, the joint will be perpendicular to the floor boards and I'm not as concerned, but in other areas the joint will be parallel to the boards and I'm wondering whether I may run into future problems if one of the flooring board joints lies over a concrete joint providing less support. The concrete is 9 years old and overall in excellent shape. The control joints are around 1/4" wide, but the edges are rounded over making them appear ~1/2" wide at the top surface.

Thanks for your advice.
Scott Roehrborn

A: As long as you account for these control joints in the concrete you should be fine to install the Kahrs floor floating over the top. If possible, try to ensure that the gaps run along the center of a plank rather than very close to the locking area of the planks. Luckily the Kahrs woodloc features nice wide planks, so you should have little issue here.

If you are concerned about particular joints which run parallel to the planks, you can use a piece of shim or some self leveler to fill these gaps. Depending on the underlayment you are using, you should have little worry about these control gaps as the concrete is fairly new. If you are using a relatively dense underlayment like cork or sound 6, you should have no issues at all here.

Q: I would like to know what is the best /least expensive option for a floor over concrete. I have a shop that is built on a floating slab of concrete. as you can imagine the floor is cold. We are turning a 14'x17' part of it into a photo studio , that will also be used for dog obedience training once a week , so no carpet.

Matt

A: My guess here is that you have a forced air heating system that will run in this room currently. If so, and assuming any spills will be cleaned promptly, you can look into a laminate floor. With floating wood floors like laminate, the floors typically will remain at room temperature even with how cold the concrete below may be. Now if you use cork as an underlayment, cork will insulate the floor a bit more and make sure the floor stays along room temperature even more.

If you are looking for something where moisture will not be an issue, such as if you expect a spill to happen when you won’t be able to quickly clean it up, I would personally suggest looking into tile or stone. Stone/tile is far more resilient all around than any other flooring out there, but your concerns about cold will need a bit of help to over come. Luckily this is an easy fix. Nowadays there are wonderful electric radiant heat systems which are built to go right into the thinset mortars used when installing stone or tile. One of the big names out there is Nuheat, which comes in both pre-sized mats and electric cable so you can account for oddly sized or custom floors.

I personally would avoid putting OSB over an insulation matting as the OSB will not be properly adhered to the subfloor and this can lead to a world of trouble in the future. The reason why is that as the OSB (or plywood) shifts, this shifting will telegraph through your floor and in the case of vinyl this movement can cause peeling.

The reason why OSB is not suggested for a VCT floor is that VCT must be glued into place. Due to its construction, OSB is not suitable for glue down applications, there are a few more expensive rated OSBs which can take adhesive, but even then it is not suggested for something like VCT and rarely will be suggested for any glue down application.

Q: I just purchased a 4x6 of the recycled rubber tire flooring. What temperature can this flooring withstand before melting? I would like to “print” on it with a UV flatbed printer, but the printer heats up quite a bit and I don’t want it to melt.

Teresa K

A: The rubber flooring made by RB Rubber is great stuff for gyms and various other applications. According to iFLOOR's rep over at RB Rubber, the tiles are heated up to 280 degrees Fahrenheit during the manufacturing process without melting, so you should be ok to use this as a printable surface. Also our RB Rubber rep mentioned:

We have used several printers who successfully print on our rolled rubber. I know at least 2 of them use UV dryers and one printer air dries

For those not accustomed to this type of flooring, the great part about it is that its made from recycled rubber, so it gets a big thumbs up on being a product made with the environment in mind. The other big benefit here is that most of the rubber tile is made similar to a puzzle piece, so they lock into place very easily. I have seen these floors used rather well in gyms and martial arts studios and similar applications, which seem like a perfect fit. These also can work rather well in a kitchen as they give a bit of cushion underfoot while still being relatively dense, much like cork.

Q: Our question is concerning what type of flooring to install in our upcoming bathroom redo. Our home is a 1950's ranch duplex with a 3' crawl space underneath. The current vinyl bathroom tile floor gets chilly in the wiinter months. We're looking into cork but aren't sure what water will do to it. We're not wanting to do wood and I can't help but think ceramic tile will be worse than the vinyl in the Chicago winter months. Can you offer suggestions as to what we should use.

Thanks
Jeannie C.

A: Bathrooms can always be fairly complex when it comes to flooring choices. A few things to keep in mind with any area which has a potential for quite a bit of moisture, but most importantly: wood and water do NOT mix. This being said, standing water or high amounts of moisture in the air is a big problem for wood floors, cork included. If you take real hot showers where a lot of water vapor will be in the air or if you are not using mats to prevent standing water from getting onto the floor I would avoid a wood floor.

Now if you're not leaving wet clothing or towels on the floor a cork floor can work rather well in a bathroom. As my good friend Sean H. on our sales team likes to say as long as you don't have kids doing cannonball contests in the bath you should be ok.

There are a few tips to make these floors more successful in a bathroom as well. First off, look into a glue down application if you can, as the adhesive in in the seams of the flooring can be a great help to add a bit of moisture sealing. I will mention that if you play on doing this project DIY, avoid glue down cork and look into a floating floor. With floating cork, put a small bead of tongue and groove glue into the locking mechanism to help add a small bit of protecting in the seam. Also, use 3mm cork for an underlayment over foam based underlayments. The density of cork and the moisture resistant nature of cork (hence why we use them for bottle stoppers) will help out against moisture vapor in the air. Although cork is moisture resistant it is not impervious, so keep in mind excessive moisture will cause problems.

If you are likely to have a few cannonball contests or have someone in the house who like real hot showers, there are a few alternatives. Your best bet would be stone or tile. This will give you a very resilient floor which is essentially impervious to moisture. Considering you want a warm floor, you can look into adding a stone/tile approved electric radiant heat system installed into the thinset mortar bed. Electric radiant heat systems are great for keeping a floor warm, but don't expect this system to heat the entire room.

Another alternative would be a composite floor like Mannington's iCORE. iCORE looks just like any other laminate floor, but instead of having a Medium or High density fiberboard core it has a composite plastic core which is impervious to water. Similar to your current floor, this could feel a bit cold under foot, though not quite as cold, but you will have no worries about moisture with a floor like iCORE or stone/tile.

In the end here, its a matter of what you will expect this floor to handle. If you have very little moisture worries, cork will be great, but if you have moisture concerns, look into something built to take moisture.

Q: I was reading your blog and it, along with the rest of the website, is super helpful.

Thanks,
Rachel R.
Albany, NY

A: Radiant heat is great in homes, but certain floors perform better over them than others. In the case of wood floors, you will want to stick with floors which are engineered - this includes floating cork and laminate floors. These types of floors are far more stable and are less likely to adversely expand or contract from the heat.

With cork, which is likely to be the most comfortable floor under foot for you. Cork is a natural insulator, which means a certain amount of warmth from the radiant heat system will not conduct through the floor. The good news here is that 3mm of cork will only reduce the amount of heat coming through the floor by 3-5%. This being said, as long as you account for this minor loss in heat, you should still get a decent amount of warmth through the floor.

In the case of bamboo, very few solid bamboo floors are approved for radiant heat, so you would want to look into a floating or engineered product such as those made by Springwood. In the case of the engineered bamboo, you will treat this much like any other floating wood floor and you will want to give it plenty of time to acclimate, then post install gradually increase the heat from your radiant system until it reaches the intended temperature over the process of several days.

End result here is that stone and tile will be the easiest floor to lay down over your radiant heat system, but as long as you account for the proper product and a bit of time to slowly dial up the temperature of the heating system, many wood floors, especially engineered or floating floors, will work nicely.

Q: I would like to install a light maple hardwood floor in my basement, poured in 2000 and is level. From reading your responses to other questions the steps I need to take are: cleaning, sealing and taping, then adding a moisture barrier, getting a moisture reading of less than 5%, applying an adhesive and letting that cure for one month and I need to making sure the hardwood is 5/16” and engineered and at least 2000 hardness.

Sincerely,
Shana

A: Looks like you have a great start. A few notes I would like to give you that will help your process. For maple, Hard Maple has a hardness of 1410, so that means you won't find a maple with 2000+ hardness, but 1410 is still very good and should do the trick for you.

As far as what products to look into, you can do either a floating or glue down application and you will want to use either an engineered floor which is approved for basements (generally all engineered floors are) or a 5/16" solid floor.

Now if you are planning to put any heavier furniture over this floor, you will want to glue down the floor. This would be something like a large entertainment stand, fish tanks, pool tables or similar furniture. Now if this will be an area with normal furniture like couches and tables you can look into a floating floor and you should be ok.

Let's talk subfloor preparation. First you will want to ensure the concrete is nice and level, which you already have covered. Then make sure to test the moisture content. You will want to have it less than 8% and hopefully around 5-6%. Give your flooring plenty of time to acclimate, and test it for moisture content. When you flooring is within 2% of the moisture content of your subfloor it is ready for installation. So if your subfloor is at 6% and your flooring is 5-8% you are all set for installation.

For a moisture barrier and tape, this is only necessary if you are floating the floor. You will then install a 6mil poly vapor barrier (basically thin plastic for the floor) and you will want to carefully tape the seams of the barrier. Afterward you will lay down your underlayment and then install your floor.

For a glue down application, the adhesive acts a moisture barrier, so all you need to do is trowel out your glue, allow it to get to a tacky consistency then being laying your flooring. This is usually done in small areas at a time, about 2-3 rows worth depending on the width of the floor - very wide floors you will typically down about 2 rows at a time, where floors which are 5" or less you will trowel out enough adhesive to do about 3 rows before beginning on row 1.

Once your installation is complete, you will want to give the floor about 24-48 hours before moving heavier furniture into the room (especially glue down floors) just to make sure the room has plenty of time to settle and in the case of glue, the adhesive has time to cure. A month is much longer than truly needed, but after about a month the floor will have completely acclimated to its current state and you will then just want to ensure you keep a regular maintenance routine to keep the floor in tip top shape. Also, remember to use furniture cups under contact points of furniture to the floor or use area rugs (for table this tends to be a nice touch). These will help protect your floor from scratches from your furniture and you should be using felt pads at the very least, though I prefer full furniture cups.

Beyond these few tips, you are all set to go, but let me offer one final tip here. Always remember, measure twice before you cut once and give your floor plenty of time to acclimate. Also be patient during the installation and you will end up with a beautiful floor as a reward.

Q: I have wood floors in the basement. As I have an art school it has very high traffic. The wood floor has lasted for about 8 years and it is already damaged. I have been told that laminated floors will last longer, it will resist scratches from moving chairs and eventually could be clean with water if watercolor or other liquids spill on the floor or dust of pastels falls on the floor.

First, I would like to know which would be a good laminated to install in the basement.

Second, Can the laminated floor be installed on the wood floor or do I have to remove the wood floor.

Sincerely
Luis Meade

A: One thing that I will mention is that any wood floor will scratch over time. There are several things you can do to prevent scratches on your floor, especially from furniture. Before you install a new floor, I would highly suggest you get some furniture cups for the furniture in your studio. This will help prevent a majority or the scratches you are running into on your current floor.

If you wish to put in a new floor, rather than refinish your current floor, it will be fairly easy to install a laminate floor right over the top of your existing floor. One thing I will suggest here is to make sure you get a decent underlayment, as you will not want a weaker underlayment between these two floors. Also run the laminate floor perpendicular to the current wood floor you have installed as this will make the floor more stable.

As far as which laminates to look into, I would suggest one that is rated AC4 or AC5 as these are built for higher levels of traffic and abrasion. Floors like Pergo Select, Westhollow Vise-Loc, and Quick Step Perspective all fall into AC4 and AC5 rated laminate.

Q: Can a urethane finish, acrylic-based or otherwise, be applied to a Hartco Pattern Plus acrylic impregnated floor? Will there be adhesion issues?

Thanks,
John E.
Beavercreek, Ohio

A: One thing about any acrylic impregnated finish is that it is nearly impossible to get a layer of polyurethane finish to the floor. Luckily in the case of Hartco there is a process and a few products Armstrong (whom owns Hartco) provides to allow you to refinish these floors. The big problem is a matter of adhesion, but with the right process and products you won't have this worry.

Here is a quick breakdown from Armstrong as to what you will need to do:

1. Use the Pattern Plus Shine Remover per directions on the label.
2. Clean the floor using a proper floor cleaner. Armstrong suggests using their hardwood floor cleaner, but you could also use the hardwood floor cleaner from BonaKemi
3. Apply the Armstrong Spray Tone per directions on the label.
4. When the Armstrong Spray Tone has cured, apply several thin coats of Armstrong Pattern Plus Shine.

When you are applying the Spray Tone, make sure to rub it in using a soft cloth or microfiber mop. Ensure that it fully absorbs into the wood and do not leave any excess Spray Tone on the surface. Also, give the Spray Tone 24 hours to cure before you apply any of the Pattern Plus Shine.

Another note here is that using the Shine remover is only when working with the Oak versions of these floors, for species like Maple you will remove blemishes and old maintenance materials by thoroughly buffing the entire floor with a Square Buff vibrating machine and a maroon pad made by 3M company, or equivalent grit sand paper. Use new pads frequently. All materials and blemishes need to be removed. After you have buffed the floor, make sure to vacuum using the brush attachment to the tube of your vacuum and do NOT use the beater bar attachment as this can cause damage to your floor.

If you follow this process and use the proper products you should be OK to refinish your floor, but keep in mind that patience is key here and don't rush anything.

Q: I have another situation with a new laminate floating floor that was also just put in my home. The last plank which is up to a door way with tile in the next room, pushes down when stepping on it. Someone suggested gluing that plank to the concrete subfloor. Do you know if that could cause problems with the other planks attached to it, and if so what could it cause. Would that present a problem with expansion?

Thanks. John

A: Toward the edge of any given floating floor you are a bit more likely to feel movement, but this usually only occurs when part of the subfloor is uneven or if rather heavy furniture is place on another area which is causing the floor to tilt slightly. Usually the movement your are experiencing occurs when a small valley is present in the subfloor that was not leveled out. To resolve this you will want to remove a few rows at the edge of the floor, map out where this valley is happening and apply a self leveling compound.

Now if you know for sure that the subfloor was level when the floor was installed and there is not any excessively heavy furniture on one end of the floor then you might want to look into what underlayment you have under the floor. Some underlayments which are less dense than the premium underlayments will put a bit more spring into a floor, especially at the edges. If you are using an underlayment like Cork or Sound 6 this should not be an issue, but if you are using a combination underlayment or one of the underlayments made by the floor's manufacturer this could like be your problem. The solution here would be to either add a bit of extra underlayment under the edge of the floor or to put in a similar additional support to help reduce the movement you are getting at the edge of the floor.

I have heard of folks gluing down planks of flooring before, but with a floating floor this can be difficult as you have to account for the underlayment as well. I would suggest avoiding this though, as you can run into expansion issues with part of the floor anchored down and the rest free floating. Your best bet here would be to have the contractor come out, look at the problem itself to determine why it is occurring and what the best solution would be.

As for your trim, you can glue it down to the laminate floor, and I know a few contractors who have done this in the past, but do your best to anchor the transition to the subfloor before being forced to glue this to the flooring itself. This will allow the floor the freely expand/contract underneath the expansion gap of the trim. If absolutely necessary you could glue the trim to the laminate, but make sure your home stays at a constant temperature and moisture level before doing this. If your home's temperature or relative humidity changes quite a bit throughout the year I would avoid adhering the trim directly to the floor.

Q: What is your opinion on how to place tongue and groove flooring over concrete slab ?

Jack Flounders

A: Any time you are putting a wood floor onto concrete there are certain considerations and rules you will want to adhere to. First and foremost is that you should not put a 3/4" solid floor over concrete. Also, keep in mind that you can not nail into concrete. The reason for these first two has to deal with moisture vapor being released by the concrete. With nail down applications, this would leave the wood vulnerable to moisture and beyond being very hard to find a proper nail that would not splinter the planks, it would then absorb moisture and would warp, buckle and more. With 3/4" solid, it is naturally less stable than other types of flooring and is more prone to movement. As these floors expand and contract so much more than other floors, they can not be glued in place which is what would be required to install over concrete.

With those two out of the way, let's look into what solutions are available for your project. Your best bet over concrete would be to look into floors which can be floated. For tongue and groove floors, this means only engineered flooring, and then when you are installing you will have to use tongue and groove glue to adhere the planks together (since you will not have a locking mechanism like the click-together floors). Floating floors, even those that require glue in the tongue and groove, tend to be far easier to install than doing a glue down method, which is the only other option here. Keep in mind that with a floating installation you will need underlayment and a moisture barrier. For underlayment, get something relatively dense so that your floor feels a bit more solid and has less spring when you walk over it. Since you intend to install over concrete you must use a moisture barrier to prevent the moisture vapor, which slowly off gases from the concrete, from getting into your flooring.

If you are looking at a floor that can not float, but is an engineered or 5/16" solid floor, you can glue these floors down over concrete. In this case your adhesive will act as a moisture barrier, so there is no need to purchase an additional barrier. The biggest problem with glue down applications is that they are the most likely of the DIY installations to fail. The reasons behind this is that if a subfloor is not perfectly level and the adhesive is not cured properly before laying planks, then the entire process will usually fail. Typically I suggest allowing only a professional installer to do a glue down application as they are relatively complicated and quite messy.

So let's sum up: For T&G flooring over a concrete slab you can only install engineered floors or a 5/16" solid floor. Your best bet would be to find a floor which can be installed as a floating floor, but your other option would be a glue down floor.

Q: It's been a long time since I shopped for vinyl flooring, but now I m looking for some for my entryway and kitchen.

Thanks a lot,
Karen

A: When it comes to vinyl flooring, especially rolled flooring, every manufacturer uses some embossing features to one degree or another for a few reasons. Embossing helps to hide scratches that would normally show up on a perfectly flat plane and it will disguise small irregularities in the subfloor it was installed over. Keep in mind that just because this material is embossed it does not mean it will be difficult to clean. If a current running line of sheet material is hard to clean, it will not be on the market for long, it's one of the great things of a free market, it just won't sell as people are dissatisfied with the product.

A great little trick suggested by Gene D., iFLOOR's commercial contract manager, is to find a few types of vinyl you like. Get a few samples then take them home and purposefully get things on the vinyl you would expect in your home, then see how hard it is to clean. If you find it easy to clean despite the embossing techniques used, set it aside as a potential choice. For those which do not clean easily you will then know they would be a bad choice.

When it comes to patterns, very few vinyl manufacturers make a solid color rolled vinyl, although some have much less variation than others. The bigger players in the vinyl market are companies like Armstrong and Marmoleum, which both have good selections and should have something closer to what you are looking for. Another manufacturer you can look into for solid colors would be Mipolam, which is made by Gerflor.

Q: I installed bamboo engineered click flooring on my garage floor that was converted to a media room. Floor wasn't completely flat in a couple of spots...there is a cushion of air that you feel about 2'x3' in diameter and about 2' from the edge of the floor. would a humidifier help the floor conform to the concrete, maybe some weight on that area? I also think i might have installed a couple of warped boards...only about 2 of them...my end gaps keep appearing after the floor is walked on. thanks for any help.

A: Before we get into the problem occurring let me first stress that you do NOT use a humidifier in this room. Adding moisture to the floor will cause it to expand and most likely begin to buckle or warp if it absorbs too much water, getting above about 8-9% moisture content. Also, I would not suggest putting weight on the floor sitting over this valley in your subfloor.

The right way to fix this problem would be to remove planks of flooring (which is much easier since it is a click) until you uncover the 2'x3' valley in your subfloor. Then, level this area out using a self-leveling compound. Once this compound has cured, reinstall the bamboo planks.

The gap you are encountering is happening because the floor is flexing down into the cushion of air you describe. This area is larger and deep enough to cause enough movement when weight is applied to the floor that it is flexing and creating this gap. The only way to actually fix this problem would be to fix the subfloor by leveling it out, or to get a shimming material into the valley to help support the floor.

Here are a couple of photos that were sent a long to illustrate the gap that is happening:
In this photo you can see the gap in the center and the substrate below the finished bamboo surface.

Here in this photo you can see where the floor is flexing over the valley in the subfloor being described. The two lighter colored planks below and to the right of the gap can be seen slightly lower than the rest of the floor.

Q: We installed American Cherry flooring about 2 1/2 years ago in our new home, through out the 1st floor (kitchen, family, dining and play room). I was not impressed with the person we hired to sand and finish these floors. I believe he used a standard poly, 2 coats, maybe 3.

We have 2 young children and a very active Golden retriever. With out thinking ahead, we picked out the American cherry flooring for its Rich color and pattern. We did not consider how soft this wood is.

Now the wood has scratched from the dogs nails through out the entire floor. I believe the the majority of the scratches are in the finish. We will start looking for another contractor to re-sand and finish the floors. What type of finish do you recommend? We will be able to vacate our house for about 10 days. Is it hard enough to help prevent some of the scratches (being the father of two rowdy boys, I understand that some scratches are inevitable)

Thank you for any input on this matter.

Patrick

A: A vast majority of scratches on any given floor are only scratching away layers of finish. Very few scratches will actually be so deep that they gouge into the wood itself. When it comes to abrasion resistance, this tends to be mostly a matter of finish.

There are several finishes you can look into, but I would suggest using Bona Traffic. Traffic is one of, if not the, best finishes in the industry when it comes to its ability to stand up to traffic and abrasion. The other nice part about Traffic is that it is a waterborne finish, which means its a bit more on the green side that oil-based finishes. The only downside you can find with Traffic is that you have a few less options when it comes to gloss level when compared to some of the other finishes out there, but when it comes to being tough, Traffic is top notch.

Another great finish you can look into is Glitsa's Infinity II. Infinity II is a waterborne finish which features several different gloss levels without losing durability. The Glitsa finish is rather durable and fairly easy to apply, but overall I would suggest using Traffic to stand up to a couple of active kids and a dog.

On average 2-3 coats is fairly standard when it comes to refinishing a floor, but you could have more coats of a finish applied given the time and labor. The key to success here is laying several thin coats in order to maximize the performance and appearance of the finish. When you get a contractor lined up, make sure that they are familiar with the products you intend to use and get their suggestion about how many coats of the finish would be best for your concerns. Typically 3 coats of Traffic is sufficient even in the commercial aspect, but normally after a few years the finish is refreshed to be sure, so in your case you may want to look into a few more coats to get a bit more longevity from the finish.

Q: Purchasing a house and it has all white tile downstairs (large tiles). I am used to having wood floors so the tile must go! The kitchen also has white tiles, but they do not match the other white tiles. I want to put wood (hardwood or bamboo) over the white tile and cork or bamboo in the kitchen. I know you can put floor leveler over tile, or float wood/bamboo, but is one option better than the other? Can you put cork over tile for the kitchen area? I know the base moldings would need to come up, etc.

Thanks much!

Mrs. Burr
Fort Myers

A: When it comes to installing wood flooring over tile, stone or concrete there are a few things to keep in mind. First off, you will need to account for what type of subfloor is underneath the tile itself. Secondly you should determine what flooring can and can not be installed in the downstairs portion of your home. If the downstairs sits at ground level, with no portion below ground level (also referred to as grade) then you have more options. If this is a basement or a portion of the downstairs is below grade (like when a home is built into a hill) then you can only install an engineered product or a 5/16" solid which is suited for below grade locations. Also you will need to keep in mind what you expect this floor to do. If the floor will have a bit of heavier furniture on it, such as entertainment centers, fish tanks, pool tables, book cases, etc., then you will want to look into a floor which is glued down.

As far as flooring choices, I would suggest looking into an engineered product as they are far better suited for installation over concrete and tile. When installing over tile, you will want to level out the grout lines as best as possible. With floating floors, you will not need to do much prep work beyond making sure the tile is as level as possible, but in the case of glue down floors you will need to do a bit more work. Keep in mind, you will only need to glue the floor down if you will have heavier furniture over the floor.

When gluing a floor over tile, you will need to abrade the surface of the tile in order to make sure that the glue will properly adhere to the tile. If the tile is not abraded, it is likely that the adhesive will not set properly and the floor will fail.

You can install a cork floor over tile, but I would suggest looking into a floating cork plank rather than glue down tiles. Much like any floating floor, cork can be installed over tile and I would suggest for any floating floor going over a surface like tile that you use 3mm or 6mm cork as a underlayment. Cork's natural density compared to foam or rubber based underlayment makes it far better under a floating floor when it comes to reducing the spring in a floating floor. This is also good when there is a variance in the subfloor, such as grout lines in tile being filled.

Between bamboo and hardwood, you can choose either so long as the floor is an engineered product. This will give you a much better chance of having a successful project than any other floor. In the end this becomes a matter of which appeals most to you, if you prefer a more traditional wood floor look, go with an engineered hardwood, if you prefer bamboo, get a good engineered bamboo.

For brands I would suggest looking into Kahrs, Saso, Sun Paratech or Westhollow for hardwood, Springwood or Ming Dynasty for bamboo and APC or Westhollow for cork. Remember, your best bet is an engineered product and if you have a floating floor, it would be a good best to use a moisture barrier a long with your underlayment.

Q: We had a laminate floor installed in April. I was concerned from the beginning that noise would be an issue but was promised that it would be okay. After the floor was installed, it has a squeaking and popping sound when walking on it in various areas. The installer, who came highly recommended and boasts that he prides himself on ''quality work'', has been out to try to remedy the problem 3 different times. He has used a flooring glue two times and the other time he drilled a hole and used a tube and a can of insulating foam sealant in order to raise the floor in the squeaky areas - all to no avail. On the front end of the job he charged $1000 extra to "float the floor" due to the areas that he thought were unlevel.