The Flooring Expert

Q: I have a decorating question. In 1998 i put Pergo laminate in my kitchen and laundry room. Let me back up a minute. I live in a mobile home. I now want to put pergo throughout the rest of the house. I now prefer the wider plank look and maybe a little darker than what I have. Have you ever seen it mixed. The fellow who is going to put it down for me suggested that if we did that we might pick up one of the colors that is in my floor now to blend and perhaps replace the molding in the tone of my new floor on my old floor. Have you ever seen anything like this done?

A: I have seen a few laminate floors in the past which were mixed between various patterns (though not specifically a Pergo laminate) and some have looked very good. Typically the better looking ones have a mixture of 3-4 colors so that the color shifts are well spread and the time taken to install the floor and sort the planks to make the floor look good is far more than a normal laminate floor.

This being said, since your Pergo is a bit older it is virtually impossible to marry up your original floor with new Pergo, as you will likely have a difference in locking system specs, dimensions of the planks and gloss level of the finish.

Now if you were buying multiple colors of all new flooring, all from the same collection, you could do a mixed floor, but your best bet would be to simply install the new floor Pergo where you want it and transition to the rooms with the current Pergo, or replace the old Pergo with the same new Pergo you intend to install.

Q: We have a Brazilian Cherry floor that has developed an almost "greasy" residue on it. The floor is 4 years old, and has never been cleaned with anything other than Bona floor cleaner.

The floor was originally acid-cure finished (not our choice) and then it appears two coats of polyurethane were applied over that. We have tried everything from windex, TSP, acetone, lacquer thinner and naptha, and nothing will remove the residue. It almost seems as if the surface coat has softened and has become a greasy, smeared mess.

I have had a wood floor installer look at it, and also a mfrs rep for the finish company looked at it, and neither of them have any idea why the floor looks like it does.

Have you ever seen this problem and, if so, do you have any ideas on how to correct it?

Thank you.

I did a bit of follow-up to find out where this residue issue is occurring, how long it has been a problem, and where in the country the house is located, to help get a better idea of what is likely causing this problem.

Follow-up: The residue appears to be primarily in the high traffic areas throughout the first floor (kitchen, hallway, office, family room). Areas that are under throw rugs do not have this on them. Areas that do not have throw rugs but don't have a lot of traffice like the dining room and living room, look perfect, like they did when we moved in.

We do not wear shoes in the house, but we usually have socks on.

We are in the Chicago area.

The home was new construction in June 03. The floor was site-finished with Synteko acid cure first. When we bought the house, we asked for an additional coat of finish because we have dogs. We can't be sure, but we think they then put two coats of polyurethane over the acid cure.

The residue seemed to start appearing in about Oct 07. I had thought it was from a new detergent I used that maybe left a residue on our socks, but I stopped using the detergent and the residue seemed to continue to get worse. Everything we've tried to remove it has failed. You can actually take your nail and scrape into the surface and get it shiny again, but then if you wipe the floor down after that, it goes right back to having the greasy, smeared look again.

I would agree that it appears to be on the surface. I actually had a tech from Synteko look at it and he is the one who thought the surface coat is a polyurethane. He suggested screening the floor and re-coating with polyurethane. Quite frankly, after I read about acid-cure finishes, I was mortified that it was used on our floor. My wood floor guy isn't real excited about trying to screen the floor and put poly over it, since he's not sure how that will react with the acid cure.

Any ideas you have would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

Judie S.

A: You have quite the conundrum here, but there is a solution and some explanations. I sat down for a chat with Tad A., iFLOOR's director of install, to discuss what is going on. Before we get into a solution, let's do some background to explain the most likely cause of this issue.

Now if the polyurethane coats were added shortly after the acid cure Synteko was applied, this is the most likely culprit. With any acid-based or acid cure finish, you are applying a two-part compound which is mixed, then applied. Due to how this is made, typically a hardener and sealer as your components (Synteko is this with a high enough gloss to not require further acid cure mixtures, but rather just multiple coats of this mixture over time). This initial layer only takes a few hours to dry, but it requires 90 days to cure - this is critical! During this cure period the acid-base finish off-gases. If another finish is applied over the top of this layer before it cures, even another coat of an acid cure finish, the escaping gas will get trapped, meaning that it causes a orange peel like effect with lots of small dimples across the finish. In the case of polyurethanes which are applied over the initial layer of acid-base, this off-gassing can break down the urethane. This residue you are encountering is then, broken down finish which has occurred as the formaldehyde found in the acid cure finish continues to off-gas during its curing period.

To fix this, you can try to screen the floor and apply a new coat of polyurethane, but your floor guy should be able to tell right away if a screen is not enough. When screening, if the current finish layer does not powder, but rather stays greasy and gums up the screen rather quickly, you will need to do a full sand and refinish. Screening will save you about $2 - $3 per square foot, but your floor may require a full sand down to the bare wood, then new finish applied. If this is the case (and even in the case of a screen) apply new polyurethane, water-based being your best bet. As far as finish choices, I would look into Bona Traffic as it is one of the best water-based polyurethanes in the industry. Now the good news here is that if you only need to screen, a polyurethane will adhere to an acid-cure finish (once it has finished curing), so you can stick to a environmentally safe finish.

The other cause of this residue is typically due to environment. If you happen to cook quite a bit, especially if you do a decent amount of frying (this is common in the south), then greasy residues can accumulate on the floor, but typically the cleaning regime you have tried will resolve this. Another environment issue is climate while the floor is being finished. Overly moist environments can cause problems while a finish is curing, which can result in similar issues as to what is occurring.

Basically, you will need to screen, if not fully refinish, your floor in order to rectify this problem. Once a finish gets to this point and cleaning will not remove the residue, it typically means it has affected the finish itself.

June's editorial will go over a few tips for the DIY folks out there as we get into the swing of the DIY season. New flooring is a very common DIY project that can be a great investment for increasing your home's value, but small oversights can turn into huge nightmares when it comes to wood flooring. Let's go over a DIY check list to help get that new floor in right.

Preparation
Preparing for the project ahead is crucial. Countless floors have gone from good idea to nightmare project because preparation was not done. Prep for your floor is more than just the actual work to prepare a new room - it is also the research time to find the right floor for your project.

Determining what floor is best is typically a matter of spending some time speaking with flooring professionals or simply reading on the internet, such as this blog here. Some basic questions to answer which will help you narrow down your search:

What type of subfloor will you be installing over?
This will determine what floors you can install and what installation method you can do.

What level of traffic will this floor see?
Higher traffic areas like a kitchen need tougher floors than low traffic areas like a bedroom.

Will this room have heavier furniture, such as cabinets, in it?
This will help determine what format of installation you should look into.

Beyond these questions, once you have chosen a floor, its important to go through the proper measures to prepare your subfloor and flooring. Acclimation and Moisture testing is critical, if your floor and subfloor's moisture content is not within 4% of each other you are ensuring future failure. Also ensure your subfloor is level - this means FLAT. If that subfloor is not flat, make sure it is before you install your flooring, otherwise you are likely to get some noise and warping.

Installation
Although I will not go in depth with the actual installation process, I will go over some basic principles which will help make your floor project a success.

Measure twice, cut once - if this isn't a mantra you have already from other DIY projects, learn it now. With flooring, making sure your cut carefully and measure well is big when it comes to limiting the amount of waste from your installation. This includes taking time to dry fit or rack out your floor to plan out your staggering and cuts early. While dry racking, pull from multiple boxes of flooring to help ensure variance in shade and grain patterns.

Snap chalk lines and use them to ensure your floor remains straight. Snap chalk lines roughly 18" away from your starter wall, then every 18" from that initial chalk line. This amount will vary based on plank width, but try to have chalk lines for every 3-5 rows of flooring, wider planks you should go for less rows, strip style flooring may require 7-10 rows between each line. This goes hand-in-hand with measure twice, cut once.

Patience is key during installation. Take your time, ensure each plank is snugly fit and that your expansion gaps are in place. Also, make sure you have a stagger pattern going with your floor, with at least 8" between joints.

Although each installation has its own quirks, but if you follow this basic practice of preparation and patience during installation you will minimize any chance of your new floor failing. Also, make sure you have all of the right tools and again, measure twice, cut once.

Q: Is is possible to refinish a solid bamboo floor? If so, would you use the same techniques as refinishing any hardwood floor?

Thanks,
Mike

A: Solid Bamboo floors can be refinished and you do the same process as refinishing a hardwood floor, but before you go ahead with refinishing let's go over a few important bits of information for bamboo floors.

As with most floors which can be refinished, typically all that is necessary is to screen the floor and apply new coats of finish to remove scratches or dull appearance. This can be the case just as commonly with bamboo floors, but a note of caution is important here. Many bamboo floors have aluminum oxide finishes and when aluminum oxide finishes cure it becomes very difficult to get new finishes to adhere over the top of them. The good news is, Bona has brought out a product they call Prep that reactivates the finish, giving you a window to apply new finish which will adhere more effectively, even aluminum oxide finishes.

If your problem is solely at the finish level, so scratches, lack of gloss level, scuffing or marks, then you will want to screen the floor with a 220 grit paper, then add new layers of finish. If your problem actually does to the bamboo itself, such as dents or gouges, then a full refinish is in order. You will want to go through the standard process of refinishing wood floors, keeping in mind to sand in the direction of the grain.

Q: We are building a 2300 sq ft ranch w/ heated basement in the Chicago area. We like the look of wide plank flooring but builder has not worked with it before and we are having trouble finding out if this type of wood flooring would work for us. We would like to have wood flooring throughout kitchen/dining/family room. There is not a formal dining area. We have a large dog and 3 cats. Considering having radiant heat in kitchen but realize this may not work for flooring choices. We do not want a laminate. Would consider a tile in kitchen and foyer but want something that will tie in with flooring. Style of home is French Country. Would wide plank flooring be a feasible option, and what would be the best choice in material?

Thank you,
J.B.

A: Wider planks of flooring tend to give a room a more comfortable and casual feel than the more formal and traditional look of strip style flooring. This being said wide plank flooring can be a great fit for country style homes.

When it comes to radiant heat, you can install wood flooring over these systems, but you have to be careful about what flooring you choose. Your best bet is to purchase an engineered floor for this type of installation as they are more resistant to expansion and contraction due to temperature than solid flooring. If you choose a solid hardwood, ensure that the planks are quarter-sawn, not plane-sawn as these are more stable. Also, look into species which are more dimensionally stable (determined by the dimensional change coefficient), as these species will expand and contract less.

The problem you may run into here is that wood flooring will get damaged. If you drop a soup can from a counter, the floor will dent, though some species of wood will have a shallower dent than others, a dent will occur. If your primary concern is durability in your kitchen, do with a stone or tile floor. If durability is only a matter of foot and pet traffic, wood floors will do the trick, just make sure you get a harder species (Maple or harder being a good bet). Also, keep pet nails trimmed and keep a regular cleaning schedule to keep grit and debris off your floor.

Keep in mind, that it is not suggested for a glue-down application to occur over radiant heat systems. Although this can be done, it usually requires very specific adhesives and professional installers and becomes rather expensive. Try to get a floating or nail-down floor if possible.

To sum up here: Wide plank wood flooring can work very well over radiant heat. Get an engineered wood floor if possible and at the least, get a dimensionally stable, harder species in order to deal with the durability and project needs you have.

Q: We got a decent price on upgrading the flooring in our new home from carpet to an engineered wood floor. They offer mannington, bruce, and shaw. The sample we liked was Shaw.

What is your opinion of Shaw?
Tony

A: Shaw is one of the largest flooring manufacturers in the world. Shaw has a good selection of floors to choose from, ranging from more economical choices to higher quality collections. Overall Shaw has a good variety of products and makes some very good floors including a great mix of domestic and exotic species.

When it comes to engineered floors, Mannington makes some of the best lines in the industry. Superior substrate construction makes Mannington's floors excellent when it comes to resisting expansion and contraction. The downside with Mannington is that you have a bit more limit with species choices, as they focus primarily on domestic species like oak and hickory.

Bruce on the other hand has an amazing selection, which at times seems almost too much. Like Shaw you get a great range of flooring from economical to high end, but there is a big focus on domestic species with a bit less exotic species choices than Shaw.

Overall, Shaw is a great choice for flooring, but I would highly suggest looking into one of the higher grade lines, as these tend to have a superior finish and feature a better substrate.

Q: I want to put laminate or some kind of flooring up at our lake cabin..

The cabin is not heated during the winter time the cabin sits on a wood flood up on a cinder block foundation. The flooring we have now is the 9" square glue down tiles. these tiles are starting to crack and come up. I'm look for some kind of floating floor to go over it so I don't have to pull up the old flooring could be asbestos. Can I use pergo or do you have a better idea.

A: If the tiles which are currently on the floor are cracking and beginning to come up you MUST remove them before installing a new floor. Even with floating floors, with this happening under the floor it will cause the new floor to fail.

This being said, having a place which is not heated during the winter can be somewhat troublesome, if not hazardous, to wood flooring depending on the region of the US said cabin is located. My guess is that this area gets somewhat cold, and a little snow, this being the case, you can expect any wood floor to contract a bit during the winter due to the cold and then to expand back out. This can be fairly problematic for most wood floors. Engineered products, such as engineered hardwood, floating laminates and corks are a bit more resistant to this expansion and contraction, but shifts in temperature of 40 degrees or more will cause expansion and contraction regardless of what type of wood flooring is installed.

Can you install Pergo or a similar laminate in this cabin? Yes, as long as you leave plenty of expansion room for the expansion gap, and are willing to see gaps in the floor after these shifts occur.

Your better bet would be to install a wood-appearing vinyl floor such as those made by Konecto. Vinyl is going to take to these extremes a bit better, but you should still remove the current tile to ensure that it does not continue to come up underneath and ruin whatever new flooring is to be installed.

Q: I just put down my new Pergo flooring my house and it looks beautiful! I was wondering if I can stick 10 self adhesive vinyl tiles on top of Pergo laminate. It is for decorative purposed and am putting the tiles in front of a gas fireplace. It is going to be around 3 feet wide and 3 feet long. Is it o.k. to lay down the self adhesive tile on top of the Pergo?

Thank you,
Laura

A: The short answer here is "no," but let me explain why this would not work. Since your Pergo laminate is a floating floor, this means that as you walk on it, it will flex slightly. Self-adhesive tiles are meant to be installed directly to a subfloor and are not built for movement to occur underneath them.

This means that if they are adhered to your Pergo, as the Pergo moves, the tiles will begin to flex more than intended, which will causes cracking or peeling. Basically put, the tiles will fail. Also, Pergo laminate is not meant to have other flooring installed over it, making it unsuitable as a subfloor, so you would void any warranty on both the Pergo and the self-stick tiles.

Your best bet here would be to either leave the Pergo, remove some of the planks and build a small area for the fireplace, or find a rug or mat which would be suitable to place over the Pergo, under the fireplace.

Q: I am installing 3/8" Bubinga Deep Cognac Engineered hardwood flooring that I ordered from iFloor. I have chosen the staple/nail option for installation, and am curious whether nailing would be appropriate for this product, or if the nails will blow right through the relatively thin tongue and split it. The product information on your sight says nailing is an option, but I wanted to be sure before potentially ruining any flooring. I have only installed thicker solid flooring before which had a more massive tongue. Will the engineered flooring withstand nailing? I see in the staple installation instructions that they mention a cleat. Is this acceptable in terms of use on a 3/8" engineered floor? I need a little fastener education on what is good for what, and maybe a description of a nail versus a cleat versus a staple. Thanks so much!!

Tim

A: Fastener education is well put, so let's dig into a quick 101.

When nailing or stapling a floor, there is a quick general rule you can follow: Nails should be used on thicker wood floors, typically 5/8" - 3/4" (though some 1/2" engineered floors are also suitable), for all other floors, use a staple as this will remove the chance of the nail blowing through the tongue.

Some quick terminology here, a cleat is another name for a flooring nail, which is the standard nail which has a hook at the head of the nail.

For your project with the 3/8" Bubinga, use staples and you should be all set.

Q: I have a long thin crack in my cement slab kitchen floor. The crack is about 1/4 of an inch, but is about 12 feet long. I have tried ceramic tile, but it cracked when a professional did it and when my son and I tried to repair the section. Someone told me that laminate floors would have no problem when used with this type of problem. Also, they suggested I use a padded underlayment like the quiet walk/warmth walk. They said this type of floor is guaranteed by the Shaw company (which is the one I liked due to the 25 year warranty and the style I found). Is this true or is someone 'pulling my leg". Thank you .

Dianna

A: Before we dig too deeply into your option with the Shaw laminate, let's talk about the subfloor and why the tiles you had installed cracked.

With any cracks in the subfloor, it is best to ensure that they are filled before installing any new flooring. Though this is not the precise cause of your tile cracking, it does show that movement is occurring in the concrete, which is normal, and when this movement occurs it is common for tile or stone installed over concrete to crack if an uncoupling layer is not installed. When the concrete moves, this movement telegraphs up through the tile or stone flooring. Stone/tile is not built to handle this movement with out cracking eventually occurring, this means that you need a shock-absorber of forms to remove this in-plane movement, which is why high-end stone or tile installs over concrete include uncoupling layers, so that this movement is absorbed without destroying the floor.

If you wish to install a new laminate floor, I would highly suggest testing your concrete's moisture content, if it is too high, you may need to seal the concrete after repairing the crack. This means removing all of the current tile, then working on the subfloor. Repairing this crack is important if you intend to install a floating floor, such as Shaw laminate. After repairing, make sure the compound you use properly cures, then you can install the Shaw laminate.

You must install a vapor barrier and tape all of the seams, then install your underlayment (such as the quiet walk or 6mm cork), then install the flooring. No leg pulling is going on, but a few details as to the work needed are important. The reason why you will want to go through this work is to ensure the 25 year warranty remains intact, if you skip any of these steps, that rather nice warranty will be voided.

Q: What kind of transitions would you recommend between cork flooring and marble flooring (part of a fireplace)? How about cork flooring and tile flooring?

Many thanks - love the website,
Ed

A: Transition choice will be heavily dependent on the difference in height between your cork and the tile or marble surface. If these are very similar height, differences of about 1/8" or less, then your best bet would be a t-mold. If this difference is larger, then you can look into either a threshold, which will slightly slope down before squaring off or for something like going to cork to vinyl (large difference in height) look into using a reducer.

More than likely you will be using a t-mold as finished marble and tile ends up in similar heights to engineered floating cork flooring.

Q: We have an outdoor cement 'patio' that we are thinking of refinishing with the patio wood tiles and we are wondering what we need to do to the cememt prior to adding the tiles, like would we need to level the concrete with sand or some other product? How would the flooring fair in winter conditions?

Cathy

A: When planning to floor an outdoor area it is important to note than you MUST you a product which is approved for outdoor use. Standard wood flooring simply can not take the abuses mother nature will put it through.

Now if you are looking to get the wood floor tile look, or parquet look, there is a great outdoor decking tile made by Vifah. These tiles feature a click-together composite backing which makes installation very simple and this is specifically intended for outdoor use, which means you can get the wood tile look on your patio.

The concrete on the patio itself should be checked to ensure that it is level and is not sweating more than it should. If you see any white build-up on your concrete, then you will need to clean and reseal the concrete as this is a result of the concrete sweating too much and losing some of the calcium in the concrete.

You can use a simple 2" x 4" to check for low/high spots in your concrete, though a proper level is advised. If you find any high spots, grind them down and for low spots, use an outdoor approved leveler. Once you have leveled out the concrete and ensured any leveling compound has cured, I would suggest sealing the concrete just to be safe. From here all you need to do is install the deck tiles and your patio will be complete.

Q: I am in the process of installing hardwood floor (Kahrs Brazilian Cherry) in our home, and some of the boards are significantly warped out of the box. I called Kahrs technical support line here in the US and asked what is considered tolerable when it comes to the straightness of hardwood floor boards, but he didnʼt want to give me any detailed information. I mentioned that one of the boards is so significantly warped that I can put my hand underneath it, and I measured the distance from the middle to the ground to be approximately 1 inch. When asked if this number would be acceptable, the customer representative mentioned that it is, which of course left me puzzled as I consider 1 inch unacceptable.

Thanks so much for your help,
Gilbert

A: Typically when boards are bowed as much as the ones you have received, replacements are in order from the retailer who sold them. Typically this comes with a claims process of some form. This being said, boards in similar conditions have been installed in the past successfully and there are some ways to relieve this kind of bowing.

Any established numbers would have to come directly from the manufacturer of the product, as it is their duty to determine what is and is not within tolerances. If a member of that company who has proper authorization says it is within tolerance, then I would get some documentation just to ensure your warranty remains intact.

One method suggested by Gene D., iFLOOR's commercial contract manager, for repairing a bow like this involves a simple hand-held clothing steam-iron and a towel. Wrap the towel around the iron, then dial up the steam and begin ironing out the board from the center, working outward. The heat will help to relieve the board's bowing. This is much like the process used to form wood for ships or furniture, a careful application of heat and steam will help to form the board.

Now if this process is a bit too slow for your liking, then install the board and glue, but once the board is in place, before the adhesive cures, use a sand bag to weight down the board so that the adhesive cures with the board in a flat position, locking it in. You can make your own sand bags if you want smaller bags that are a bit more form fitting for the board.

Personally I would first contact the retailer you purchased the flooring from and request replacements. If the retailer can confirm these boards are within tolerance, and provide documentation, then either install them and bag the boards down or do the repair method using an iron before installing.

Q: I want to lay down vinyl composition tile in my garage. I don't know what to do. I have a seam (expansion joint) running down the middle of my garage it is quite wide (1/2") strip of wood. Along this joint there is some high and low spots, what I mean here is the edge of the concrete is higher than the opposing side of the joint. I have included pictures. Is there a way to bridge this gap and make a seamless floor or will I have to end my tile at the expansion joint?

Thanks in advance for you valuable input.
Jeremy P

A: VCT is a great choice for garages and with a bit of prep work to your subfloor you should be set to install it.

Let's first talk about the expansion gap. This is pretty simple, you can fill the top area of the expansion gap, similar to filling a crack in concrete. The dip in the subfloor will be a bit more work, but similar concept. You will need to level out the subfloor so that the entire concrete floor is flat. This means getting some self-leveling compound and putting in a bit of time. I would suggest using a latex additive to help ensure the level has a bit more elasticity and feathers up nicely. This will help prevent cracking as the floor naturally expands and contracts over time.

Once you have leveled the entire floor, make sure that you moisture check the floor and seal the concrete if necessary before going through with the VCT installation. A quick note on your installation, make sure that you use the adhesive approved by your VCT's manufacturer and be patient. Extra time spent during prep and installation will save you many headaches down the road.

Q: I am getting ready to install laminate floors on the entire downstairs of my house - I want these to look as close to wood as possible, and I've found 2 potential Quickstep floors, for which I have questions on both:

Thank you,
Patty

A: Some laminate floors have an amazing appearance and look so real that it is hard to tell the difference when installed and Quick Step does a very good job of making great patterns and colors with their laminate. Before I dig in on comparing the two floors you are looking at, let's first address your question about bevels as this applies a bit more universally.

Bevels come in varying degrees of angle, meaning that some will have deeper grooves than others. Typically an eased or microbeveled edge will have a shallower groove, which is common in laminate floors. The major benefits of beveled edges are that they hide minute differences in plank height and accent each individual plank, giving a more realistic look of wood floors. There is a common worry that the bevels will collect more dust and dirt, but as long as your cleaning regime includes sweeping before mopping, this should not occur.

Let's dig into your questions about the UF987, Dark Varnished Cherry from the Elegance 8mm collection. Since this floor is in a single plank lay out with the bevel, you will see each plank stand out, and there is some small variance in shade of color, much like real wood. The Elegance collection is one of Quick Step's higher priced lines, and overall its a great floor, but based on the ones I have seen it does have a higher gloss level than the Eligna - which depending on your preference can be a downside.

Cherry Double Plank from the Eligna collection is a good line from Quick Step. The Eligna collection as a whole has a bit more matte finish from what I have seen. With the double plank, you will have two strips of of wood per plank. This tends to give a much more varied appearance in the floor and can help to mask any pattern repetition in a laminate floor, but you get less of an individual plank appearance. Eligna replaced the old Uniclic Long Plank Collection, so it has retained similar standards as one of the better floors on the market.

In comparison, both of these are very good floors, it will come down to matter of what appearance you want. If you want a bit more uniform appearance, featuring wider individual planks then look into the Elegance Dark Varnished Cherry. If you want a bit more variance with a more strip appearance floor then go with the Cherry Double Plank.

Q: I have been looking at laminate flooring to replace my carpeting in my home. My major concern is doggie urine. Can these floors resist the urine that my son's doggie brings with him every time they visit.

Thanks in Advance
Penny

A: This is a question with a yes and no answer. Will laminate resist damage from moisture? Yes, if messes are cleaned up promptly and a proper cleaning regiment is observed for your floor. Are laminate floors going to resist this type of abuse over a long time or if left unattended to? Not likely. If you want a floor where there will be no worry about moisture spills and pet messes, then look into stone, tile or vinyl flooring. If you want a wood floor and know that when your son's furry friend is around that you can promptly attend to any pet messes, than you should be safe with laminate.

I would suggest looking into laminate floors which perform very well in moisture resistance testing. Also, have a spray bottle of cleaner on hand because pet urine can damage a floors finish. Wipe up any urine, then follow up with a quick spray of cleaner and wipe with a towel or microfiber mop over the area where the spill occurred just to ensure no residue is left on the finish.

Q: We recently added Lotus Land Quick Click Bamboo flooring in our townhouse (slab - so we ordered the 'float' type). Everything went perfectly and it looks great. However, our dog is scratching it up. We are getting numerous scratches all over the place. So I have several questions.

Thanks
John

A: Dogs seem exceptionally skilled at scratching up a floor, but there are a few things you can do. Before going through the process of refinishing your floor. First ensure that you are actively clipping your dogs nails and ensure that longer fur does not cover the pads on your dog's paws. If the pads are not covered, your dog will rely less on nails to get grip. Also, if the nails are kept trimmed they are less likely to scratch the floor.

If this type of pet maintenance if being kept up, then you may want to look into screening the floor instead of refinishing it. Screening will remove a layer of finish through light abrasion without removing the actual surface of the wood, or in this case, bamboo. One note here is that Lotus Land features an aluminum oxide finish, so you will need to use a product made by Bona called Prep, after buffing the floor, this will allow new layers of finish to properly adhere to the currently aluminum oxide finish.

Your best bet would be to use a finish like Bona Traffic or Glitsa Infinity II. These are two of the most durable finish on the market and are built for commercial levels of traffic. Now if you would prefer to start all the way from the beginning, you can sand the floor down and get a refinish on this floor, but I would highly suggest having a professional do this, as it can be tricky with bamboo. Regardless of whether you do a screen or refinish, make sure that the finish you choose is built for larger volumes of traffic, and preferably one with a higher aluminum oxide content.

Q: I am considering laminate and hardwood for my flooring choice in a lake facing home which will be left unheated for most the winter months (i live in upstate NY)

Thanks in advance.
Doug

A: In circumstances like this I would highly suggest avoiding a wood floor. Wood is sensitive to severe climate changes like you will see as the seasons shift in NY. When wood expands and contracts, typically from moisture or heat, excessive movement in the floor can cause buckling or warping. A glue down cork floor could work here, and it would add some insulation, but even cork is susceptible to the amount of climate shifts you would be seeing here.

Your best bet here would be to either install a stone or tile floor, but this floor must be normally suitable for outdoor installations which means a moisture absorption rate of no more than 3%. An easier option here which can keep with the look of wood flooring would be to look into a vinyl such as Konecto. Keep in mind that temperatures which drop below 55 degrees is not generally approved by any flooring retailer aside from stone floors and typically applications like this will void the floor's warranty.

Q: The owner of the condo above mine has installed laminate flooring. He did so because of the amount of noise (loud talking, TV, and especially footsteps) coming through to our apt below with the vinyl flooring. He installed it himself. I know that the sub-floor is wood joists with 1 by 4 or 1 by 6 wood laid diagonally across the joists. There could be vinyl flooring over that. It is a 1965 building with no insulation between floors. It was intolerable before, but now, a new tenant who is up all hours of the day and night is making life a nightmare. Please give me a few solutions (medium to high cost) to help cut out as much noise as possible while still retaining the owners choice of laminate.

Rudy V.
Miami Beach

A: Condos typically have very stringent requirements for sound when it comes to flooring. The common "standard" in for North American condos is typically 6mm of cork underlayment, or the equivalent sound reduction of 6" of concrete.

Assuming you want to remove the current flooring, and install new underlayment, then reinstall the previous flooring, this can be done, and most likely would vastly improve sound absorption as the floor is likely installed over a cheaper foam underlayment. Another potential, though likely costly, resolution would be to install some sound board or similar sound insulation into the ceiling side of the subfloor between the joists.

Typically with a subfloor set up of this form, it is key to get good sound transmission control. Carpet is a good choice here as it is naturally great at removing sound transmission, but in the case of the laminate, installing 6mm of cork at a bare minimum would do quite a bit. You could go as far as to do 12mm of cork or 6mm of cork with a modified foam underlayment like Sound 6 Barrier, installed over it, then the flooring. These will run you around $2.00/sf, but the sound and impact control gained will remove a majority of the sound problems you are running into.

Q: I recently purchased and installed your Westhollow: Labrador Cork floating flooring and need some technical advice regarding sealing. I know that sealing is not required, but from shopping several other kinds of cork flooring I also know that several manufacturers recommend sealing the floor once installed to protect the seams. Would you advise that I apply a seal coat for added protection? And if so, what - lacquer, polyurethane?

If sealing is not advised initially, can I reseal the floor later when/if it starts to show signs of wear? And with what?

Thanks,
Chris Rauth

A: Westhollow's floating cork does not require sealing, which is part of why it is great for residential and commercial use. This being said, you will not need to seal it as the floor should naturally fit rather snugly together. In the future, should you see a certain amount of wear that you deem is more than desired, rather than reseal the floor, you will want to screen it an apply a couple of new coats of finish. In this case, Westhollow's current finish is a lacquer on the Labrador, although more recent floors are featuring a UV cured acrylic. In this case you will want to buff away the top layer of finish using a 220 grit screen (sand paper) then apply new layers of finish. Typically you want to use the same finish as the one featured on the floor, but I would lean towards a water-based urethane, such as Bona Traffic, or acrylic.

Keep in mind that it should be years before its necessary to screen the floor, as cork is fairly giving when it comes to high traffic levels as long as proper care and maintenance is done on a regular basis.

Q: Hi. I want to install laminate flooring in the basement of our house. Currently, there is carpet over concrete in the basement, but it looks old and I'm just ready for something new. We have never had any problems with moisture in the basement (our house is one a hill, so the back is above ground.) My question is about which laminate to choose, and how to go about installing it. We have 2 very active dogs, and they could potentially wreck a floor if it wasn't scratch resistant. Also, the basement is very cold compared to the rest of the house. Would using a cork underlayment help reduce this problem? Reducing noise isn't a concern for us, since it's in the basement, so I'm just wondering if it's worth it to use cork. (And if so, how thick?) MY choice for the floor would be something that comes in a very light color, since there is limited light down there.

Can you recommend something that would fit the bill?
Cortney

A: Of all wood floor types, laminate is by far the best suited to take abuse, but not all laminates are built equal. Before we dig too far into specific choices, let's first examine a base of what you should look for and go over some basic preventative things you can do to keep the new laminate you get in tip-top shape.

For the floor itself, you will want to look into commercial grade laminate floors. These floors typically carry an AC4 or AC5 rating. These floors have finishes and cores which are best suited for higher levels of traffic, potential moisture spills and similar damage possibilities. A few examples of floors to look into would be Quick Step Perspective, Pergo Select, Westhollow South Pacific or True Flooring Commercial.

For a few preventative measures, make sure you keep your dogs' nails clipped and trim back any longer fur which may cover the pads on their feet. This will help prevent your dogs from relying so much on their nails for traction and when they do use their nails, having them clipped will help keep them a bit duller - minimizing chances for damage.

As far as your underlayment is concerned, cork will provide an amount of insulation, helping to keep the floor's surface warmer. Cork also will help minimize the amount of spring the floor will have as you walk over it. This being said, 6mm cork is optimal if you want to get the best level of insulation for your floor, but 3mm is a good minimum to shoot for. Keep in mind that you must still use a moisture barrier between the concrete and underlayment.

Pattern wise, look into lighter oaks or maples as these are more likely to give you the color you are shooting for in your basement. You can also look into Beech or American Cherry patterns, as these fit the lighter tones you are shooting for.

Q: We are planning our new office and would like to have the hardwood floor in it.
One hesitation is that all our computer stations have chairs with casters.

Thank you
jk

A: Depending on the casters on your chairs and the floors you decide to put in will matter as to what plan of action you may want to take. Let's first talk a bit about the floor itself. Laminate floors are a bit better suited for traffic, but if you want a more traditional wood floor I would suggest looking into one with a good finish and preferably an engineered product as they tend to be a bit better suited for commercial applications. Make sure that the floor you are looking into is