The Flooring Expert

As we get into the height of warm weather, DIY projects and various home make-overs, I'd like to go over outdoor flooring options for decks, patios and similar applications. As spring and summer roll around it is very common for questions about what product to use for a patio/deck/etc come in to the iFLOOR staff here - so let's dig in and go over good solutions.

First and foremost, indoor flooring is NOT suitable for an outdoor environment. Simply put, wood flooring and even some vinyl, tile, linoleum and similar products are not designed to handle the shifts in temperature found outdoors nor deal with the shifts and exposure to moisture. This is especially true with wood flooring. Unlike other products which are suitable for outdoor applications, typical wood flooring is not treated to handle the moisture and climate changes of the great outdoors.

If you plan on doing a project outside which involves flooring, like patios, then you need look into a product which is designed for this environment. Decking or stone tends be very common so let's look into these options.

Wood Decking

We all know it and it is the best outdoor wood solution out there. Nowadays you can get more than just the old long plank look from decking, companies like Vifah make snap together decking products which come in parquet styles and plank set ups to vary your appearance. Also, many companies make a variety of different species, but softwood species like cedar, pine, and others still remain very popular. If you want to have a wood floor outdoors, use decking material - not only is it easier to get, but it also is a bit less hassle than finding another product and ensuring it gets the proper treatment to withstand the outdoors.

Outdoor Stone/Tile

Stone has always been a popular choice for out doors. From stepping stones to a simple concrete patio, stone products are, simply put, the best resilient option out there. Stone and tile are great options for outdoor patios or various other outdoor applications because they are virtually impervious to moisture and climate shifts.

Another option would be to use patterned concrete. Patterned concrete or stamped concrete now comes in many different patterns, colors and appearances that simulate the look actually stone tile patterns or even cobblestone style looks.

Outdoor Carpet

Carpet is one of the largest selling and most widely used flooring options out there, so why not make it for the outdoors as well? Outdoor carpet has several great applications such as screened-in porches, lounge areas besides pools and many others. Outdoor carpet is a great option for bringing a warm, comfortable look to the outdoors as well as some comfort under foot. Outdoor carpet also comes in a myriad of colors and patterns so you can achieve virtually any look. The only issue you may run into with outdoor carpet is resiliency. Although its built for the outdoors, the weather will take its toll and unlike stone and most wood decking, outdoor carpet will eventually need replacing.

There are other options out there including types of vinyl, rubber and composite floors. Although not as commonly seen, these are still great options and provide a myriad of looks.

My ending advice here is simply to reinforce that flooring meant for indoor applications is not suitable for outdoor environments. Make sure that the product you select for your outdoor floor is meant for this application. Whether its stone, decking, outdoor carpet or other options, ensure you install a floor which is treated and built for outdoor applications. Also, make sure proper expansion room is left for those needing it. Decking typically needs a good 1/4" or so between planks and stone typically needs about 3/8" or so for grout lines to ensure that the surface is properly set and can shift throughout the seasons.

Q: I have installed laminate flooring. I own a Bissell steam hard flooring cleaner. It heats water until steam comes out and its special padding mops the floor. I have used it on vinyl and ceramic tile. Bissell says that it is safe for laminate. However, I am afraid the heat of the steam may eventually warp the laminate. What do you say?

A: This is a matter of opinion in some cases, but I had a quick chat with Tad A., iFLOOR's Director of Install, to get his opinion as well. We are both in the same boat here, we don't have any experience using the Steam Mop with a wood floor and we share a concern similar to yours. Simply put, hot moisture over a floor seems like a recipe for disaster.

Typically, we suggest an appropriate cleaner, such as those made by Bona/BonaKemi or one from your floor's manufacturer, and a microfiber mop. Now, if you wanted to continue using the steam mop, I would suggest first asking your floors manufacturer for what they suggest and if the warranty would remain in tact when using the Bissell mop. Follow-up with Bissell if you want to be safe here, if they are willing to replace your floor should the warranty be invalid due to using their product which they claim is safe for laminate, then you're good to go with the Steam Mop.

Personally I would stick to a more typical floor cleaner and microfiber mop. According to Bissell it is safe for laminate, but personally I am a bit skeptical about using a steam mop over wood flooring.

Q: How do you know how much carpet you need? I have a split level with big stairs.

Thanks,
Iris

A: Your best bet here would to to measure out each room, so that you have the length and width of each room (account for the longest direction in the case of rooms that are not square). Multiply the length of the room by its width to get each room's square footage, then calculate the square footage of each stair and riser so you know the amount of carpet needed for the stairs as well.

Make sure to keep the square footage and measurements of each room on hand, as well as any hallways and the stairs. This will help for estimating any overages needed (such as to wrap over the lip of the stair and then tuck down for the riser).

From here you should be pretty set to go, but I would suggest working with your carpet retailer or installer to ensure you order plenty of carpet. Adding some spare square feet of carpet to each room to ensure you have proper allowances for cuts is important.

Q: I currently live in a condo and my upstairs neighbor wants to install a wood or laminate floor. They currently have the builder supplied carpet and underlayment. While we can't hear them talking, we can definitely hear them walking and other thumping noises from above. We are reluctant to give permission for them to install new flooring since we feel the noise might increase. Is there a solution to letting them install wood/laminate flooring and reduce to noise we hear now? Is cork underlayment the solution?

thanks,
Warren

A: There are two very important factors to noise transmitting from an overhead floor, STC and IIC. Now let's break down these terms, STC or Sound Transmission Control, is a measurement of how much sound transfers through the floor. IIC or Impact Isolation Control measures how well something absorbs impact. When combined, these two ratings will give you an idea of how much noise you will hear from ambient sound, like talking, and impact, such as walking.

Finding carpet statistics is very hard, but roughly put your average carpet pad and carpet will give you an STC rating around 55-60 with IIC ratings around 75. Carpet is the king of impact control, which is why it is so commonly used in apartments (it can also be very cheap). With 6mm cork you will have STC ratings of 51 and IIC ratings of 50 - so you have similar sound control, but much less impact control. Now the other typical underlayment option that you can look into is something like Sound 6, which will give you STC ratings of 73 and IIC ratings of 61-63.

This leaves a fairly tricky scenario, but a solution that has been recommended in the past is to use 6mm cork as a substrate and then put Sound 6 over it. This combines all of the benefits of both, which when combined should give you the best solution for getting a hardwood floor to perform at the levels of carpet. Keep in mind that regardless, this will still be a hard surface floor, and some noise will change, but with this underlayment set up over a solid floor (might want to avoid some of the cheaper laminate floors), you should be able to satisfy both your wants for sound suppression and your neighbor's want to have a wood floor.

Q: I am going to install a 12mm laminate over new concrete slab. The slab has some imperfections, notably some uneveness, noticeable only when laying a long straight edge on the floor, also some roughness. The installer swears he has used a 1/4" thick 2-in-1 underlayment in the past, claims it was from Pergo, and if that is used the resulting floor will be perfect.

Are there any underlayments 1/4" thick?

A: I can't say that I know of a 1/4" underlayment made by Pergo, but 6mm cork is roughly 1/4" thick, so there are some underlayments out there which are 1/4" thick, but aside from carpet padding or cork I can't think of any wood flooring underlayment that is a foam type or oil-based (like Pergo's) which is that thick.

Regardless, your subfloor should be leveled out if there are variations in height of more than 1/32". You could go as far as 1/16", but even then its best to level out the subfloor to ensure that you get a floor which not only sounds and feels great, but will stay that way for a long time with proper maintenance.

Q: Is a wood floor ok for a bathroom?

A: Tough question because the answer is not simple. Yes and no both apply here, so let me dig in a bit and explain. Generally speaking you can install some wood floors in bathrooms successfully without it being a massive risk of the floor being ruined.

Assuming you don't expect standing water from splashing around, wet clothes on the floor or general spills and those using the bathroom are typically all adults of older children, than you can install some wood floors. I would not suggest 3/4" solid wood or even engineered wood floors if this bathroom has a shower or bath tub, as the risk involved with spills can be detrimental to these floors. Cork and laminate both are good choices here.

In bathrooms which do not have a bath tub or shower, engineered or even solid wood floors can be looked into, but I would highly suggest either site finishing these floors, or at the very least finding a product which is suited to glue-down or glue-together installations. The reason here is to get a small bit of glue into the tongue and groove area to help give a bit more sealing against moisture.

Even with these cases, I would still caution against solid or engineered wood floors in bathrooms because wood and water do not mix. A high-quality laminate, bamboo or cork floor is a great choice here as they are a bit better suited toward this environment when compared to traditional hardwood floors.

A great alternative for a wood looking floor would be the wood appearing vinyl floors made by Konecto or Congoleum. Konecto is a bit more user friendly when it comes to installation and durability, but both of them make great floors for environments like a bathroom while still keeping a wood look.

Q: Have ceramic tile on my floor now thinking of replacing it with laminate do have to remove the tile or can I lay on top of it

A: Assuming that your tile is in good shape, which means that no tiles should be loose or have any large cracks, then yes you can install over the tile. It is still advised to level out the grout line areas of your tiles if the variance in height between the tile and grout lines is more than 1/32".

If your tile is glazed or polished, you will need to abrade the tile some to ensure that your leveling compound properly adheres and sets to the tile and grout. Once this is completely, you can then go about installing your floor. I would highly suggest using a moisture barrier, taped up at the seams, then follow up with your underlayment and flooring.

Q: What is the significance/meaning of the the term "Builder" Bamboo? Thanks.

A: Basically put "builder" grades are commonly made of a mix of grade A and B bamboo. This means it tends to be slightly less expensive, but it is very rare to visibly see most of the differences in the bamboo because of how bamboo is made and looks.

Differences in grade:

Grade "A"
Relatively free of markings, considered to be the "cleanest" and most desired quality of bamboo flooring.

Grade "B"
Very subtle flaws in the plank surface but still maintain even coating on plank surface. Grade B bamboo may contain small splits or cracks on the tongues portion of the plank.

Typically, builder bamboo is just a good way to save some money, I can't say that I have seen any "builder" bamboo which is not still of great quality and will not lay as a good floor.

Q: Our new laminate is only a week old and it goes from our entry way throughout our kitchen.....the entry way feels solid and has no noise, the kitchen however is very noisy with popping and crackling....any suggestions....it was professionally installed.........

Jill

A: Its likely that one of a few things is happening here. One possibility is your subfloor in this area is uneven and the movement in the floor over it is causing additional noise. Another option is simply that if it is a different subfloor material (concrete in the kitchen, wood elsewhere for instance), then it is likely that the underlayment itself causes more noise over this subfloor.

One other possibility is that the flooring itself may be the issue. It could be that one of the boards installed was out of square or that some of the locking mechanism did not lock properly and so as the floor moves with this problem, it causes noise. If the noise only occurs in a specific spot in the kitchen, rather than the entire area, then its likely a subfloor issue. If the entire area floor in the kitchen is noisy then it is likely a problem with the floor or underlayment.

My suggestion would be to get in contact with your installer and request him to come out and take a look. If they are unwilling, it might be a good idea to hire a third party, certified inspector to come out and determine the problem with your floor.

Q: We are refinishing our basement and I want to use a waterproof flooring material to prevent potential flood damage, yet it must be very comfortable to walk on (no ceramic tiles). What do you recommend?

Thanks!
Drew & Lauren

A: There are very few truly water-proof floors available. Your best bet considering that this is concrete would be to either install a rubber floor, such as RB Rubber's zip tiles, as these provide a bit of cushion and are water-proofed. Another option would be an epoxy floor. Simply put this would be one of the most resilient options available, but similar to tile, you will get a more solid floor.

Basically, any floor which will be water-proof is going to be a rather solid floor, such as composite floors, stone/tile, epoxy, etc. Rubber flooring is about the only floor which is water-proof that will have a bit of cushion underfoot. You could look into something like a vinyl plank flooring such as Konecto which is made to be water proof and makes a great choice.

Q: About 10 years ago I had installed "Cherry Blocked" Pergo laminate in my kitchen. I am in the midst of redoing my kitchen and need to patch the floor in several places. Can you tell me what color replaces Cherry Blocked, or something similar. I do not need to replace the entire floor, just a few small areas.

A: Pergo no longer has a cherry blocked floor available. Its important to note that over this much time, it will be virtually impossible to find a Pergo laminate which will marry up to your old floor properly. Depending on the damage done to your current floor, it may be possible to repair some planks by using a color-fill type product, but actually replacing a single plank or two in the floor and keep it floating over this much time is impossible.

Should you find a product which looks similar to your current floor, it is likely that the sheen from the finish will be different as well, which can stick out like a sore thumb. Your best bet here might be to take your time and look for a product with similar appearance and then compare a physical sample to your current floor, side-by-side.

Another option, although it is a long shot, would to be try places like Ebay and Craigslist to see if anyone who previously bought the same floor and is now selling off left overs.

Q: I've just had my old Pergo oak floor removed due to warping from water damage. My house is on the market and I can't afford to wait weeks to match the stuff in my living/dining room. I chose a nice Brazilian cherry (DuPont) and at the doorway between the rooms, I'd like to lay the flooring to maximize aesthetics...don't want it to look like I couldn't match it up. Any ideas for direction? The dining room and living room run the "long way" and I thought of going side to side with the different laminate. The slab floor just dried with 3 days of those huge fans and I'm ready to move on this. Your ideas or thoughts would be VERY appreciated!!

Thanks,
Mary

A: I'm guessing this will be one of DuPont's floating laminate floors so you can install it going in a different direction than your previous Pergo floor. Keep in mind that regardless of which direction you choose to run this floor, you will still have to use a transition molding, likely a t-mold, between the two floors to ensure proper expansion gaps.

Since the transition will be in place, having both floors running in the "long way" direction should be less glaring if the actual rows do not match up, but alternating direction is not going to kill you here. From a floor strength perspective, the direction will not change anything as this is being installed over concrete. In the end here, its all up to you as to what you think will look best. If you want the room itself to appear larger and more inviting, it may be best to install the floor in the same direction as the old flooring. If you want the floor to stand out some and be clearly different, install in the opposite direction of the previous floor, width way, and use transitions to match this floor so your transition to the old floor looks smooth and clean.

Q: I would like to install a wood laminate in a new sun room. The room is built over a wood deck, but will be insulate. Is a laminate a good choice for me? The room will not be heated or air-conditioned.

Lynne

A: Considering that this room will not be heated, so that mother nature's temperature fluxes will be present in the room, to a point, I would suggest avoid something like laminate which is built for a home environment where the temperature is controlled somewhat. What you will run into is a bit of expansion and contraction, likely more than the flooring itself is built for, depending of course on how the area under the deck is built and how/where the room is insulated.

A better option here would be to look into decking material which is built for an outdoor application. Vifah makes a great outdoor decking which comes with an easy click together mechanism in both a plank and parquet style set up. Another option here would be to try a wood-appearing vinyl such as Konecto. Another option would be to install a stone or tile floor as these tend to be a better suited to outdoor based applications.

Q: I read in our local paper someone complaining that they got bamboo floors and they were drying out and falling apart in our dry Colorado climate. Is there a real concern about this?

A: That's quite the claim there, and to be honest, it sounds like a manufacturing defect rather than climate - unless the bamboo was left out to get tons and tons of moisture from rain or snow, then was put immediately into 90 degree dry weather.

Unfortunately, there are so many bamboo manufacturers out there and so few of them produce quality bamboo floors and so a bit of a stigma has become attached to bamboo. Typically, the cheaper bamboo is made with lots of glue and lower quality production, making a far insuperior product. This being said, the problem you read about sounds more like poor quality product or dry rot rather than climate.

Is there a real concern with bamboo in Colorado's climate? Yes and no. There is a concern if you buy very cheap bamboo, but this concern would be present no matter where it was installed. If you purchased a quality bamboo floor which comes from one of the better manufacturers out there and proper acclimation and installation is completed there is no concern and you will end up with a great looking, contemporary and earth-friendly floor.

Q: Hi good morning, we have a concrete floor in our walkout basement we are putting in an apartment I would love to have hardwood flooring we have radiant heat under the concrete please advise what wood and also at a reasonable price. Sq FT is 850.

Thanks,
Marie

A: Your best bet here is to look into an engineered hardwood floor which is suitable for radiant heat, which most are. Your best bet is to look into some of the higher quality ones which have better built substrates, as this will be far better suited to radiant heat. Good choices here are Saso, Bellefloor, Sun Paratech, Westhollow and Kahrs. If you can float the floor, Saso or Kahrs being great here, this will be your best option, but ensure it is installed over a dense underlayment such as cork or sound 6. You can do glue-down, but many floors have very strict requirements for doing a glue-down floor over radiant heat, but not impossible.

Another good option here would be to look into laminate or cork. Both are suitable for radiant heat and in the case of cork, I would suggest using the floating cork floors over glue-down.

If you want to go for the best bang for your buck, look into Saso for engineered hardwood, Westhollow for Cork, and for Laminate try Quick Step, Pergo or Westhollow.

Q: I had Bruce hardwood floors installed in my retirement home. Weeks later, holes and cracks and everything else started happening to my floor. Called in licensed floor inspector that says it must come up, poor quality and poor installation. Since I can't afford to have this taken up and more wood put down, could I use another type floor (like the floating floor) on top of this just to make it look better and if so, would that last a while? Thanks.

A: If your floor is in as bad a shape as your are describing you should not install anything over this floor and expect it to succeed. This type of damage makes a completely unsuitable substrate for a floor.

Based on your inspector's report, you should pursue your installer and have him remove and replace the floor. This is due to installer fault, which means the warranty would also be voided. The installer should, at the very least, remove the floor and prepare your subfloor for new flooring; however, the installer should also replace the flooring, because its condition is due to installer error according to the inspector.

Q: I am interested in purchasing some engineered flooring. I have installed engineered flooring before that could be glued or stapled down. I chose to staple the flooring down. I see on the website some of the engineered floors must be glued down and cannot be stapled. What is the reason for this?

Thanks,
Jon

A: A majority of engineered floors can be both stapled and glued down, but in some cases manufacturers will not approve a floor for stapling and its only suitable installation method is to glue. The primary reason tends to be floor thickness. You'll notice most flooring which is only suited for glue-down installation is 5/16" and this tends to be a risky floor for staples as they are too likely to blow through the tongue.

This also tends to be the case with parquet floors, where they are only approved for a glue down installation. If you would prefer to staple-down your engineered floor, look for one that is a bit thicker. You can also look into some of the click-together floating engineered hardwood floors out there rather than looking into a glue down floor.

Q: We currently have a raised wood deck off our living space, and we are wanting to have stone laid on top of the wood. I have heard about floating tiles that can be placed over a deck. Are we able to put tile on top of our existing deck, and if so, do you know what product we should be looking for? Thanks so much for your assistance!

Michelle

A: The short answer is "yes," but lets go over some details about what tile to use and certain precautions to take. First off, make sure that your deck will be able to support the additional weight from all the tile, while still being able to handle foot traffic and potential furniture. Second, when looking at tile, make sure you are looking into a tile that is approved for outdoors. It may also be necessary to create a plywood substrate over your deck if you have gaps which are too great for the product you intend to install, check with your tile's manufacturer to make sure.

There are lots of outdoor tile and patterned concrete which can give you many great looks while being built for the great outdoors. When doing your installation, make sure you leave proper grout lines as suggested by the manufacturers. Many outdoor tiles for patios and such suggest 3/8" grout lines between tiles to help give the stone more room and move as the weather changes.

Q: We have laminate over the majority of our upstairs and in some rooms it connects to ceramic tile and the laminate piece in between the two types of floors will not stay glued down. It's very unattractive when it comes up and it traps lots of dirt and other junk under it from being unglued. What type of glue would you suggest we use to glue this piece down so it will stay? Thank you.

Robin

A: Your best bet here would be to replace the current molding with a track-based mold. This way, the track is anchored to the subfloor using liquid nails, then the molding itself simply snaps into the tracking. This means there will be less need for the adhesive itself to adhere the molding to the two floor surfaces, but rather it is firmly anchored to the subfloor and the trim should sit nicely into the track, allowing just enough room for the tile and laminate to slide underneath.

Depending on who makes your floor, part of your problem may be that the trim you have is meant for a track, but a track was not included with your trim when you purchased it. Its more common than you might think as so many trims are never specific as to whether they are built for a track system or not, and those that are so rarely come packaged with the track, but rather have it separately packaged.

If this is not a route you want to go, then you can try to track down some D-815 adhesive, typically used for carpet tack strips and rubber moldings, then clean out the current area for your trim, apply the new adhesive and trim and give it time to cure before walking over it. D-815 can be somewhat tricky to track down, but its one of your better bets.

Q: Can you use wood flooring in the bathroom, which get very wet with children? Thank you - Nancy
Click Below For The Answer!

Q: My contractor wants to use tongue and groove pine flooring on the deck. The deck doesn't have a slope. Will there be enough space for the wood to move in the South African weather conditions. ( Winter -5 degrees Celsius and summer 35 degrees Celsius and a fair amount of rain in summer.) Shouldn't he rather be using deck wood made of pine or Rhodesian Teak? Please help? Kind regards. Elma
Click Below For The Answer!

Q: I have 2 dogs 10,13,yrs. So i have to plan for accidents.my mother had gym finish on her floor, does any hardwood come with a protective finish or should i go for another type flooring? I've been told tile is out because the urine would stain the grout. I 'm on s.s. so cost is a major consideration. Thanks, Jan
Click Below for the Answer!

Q: I am expanding my kitchen and some part of the expansion will be over an open area underneath; therefore, I want to put in a heated floor, preferably electrical. I like the look of cork or bamboo floating floors. Can I put a heated system under these products?Gloria, Silver Springs, MD
Click Below for the Answer!

Q: I'm going to install Mannington Caspian 5" LocNgo and I have a problem with the hallway. One side of the hall is wall, the other meets the molding to the railing overlooking stairs. The easiest solution would be to lay a board flush with the molding and the milled straight edge should look fine against the molding. By doing so however, a 1 inch strip of floor will be required on the wall end. I think 1 inch is too small. I don't want to rip the plank that hits the stair molding because I don't think the cut will be straight enough. The floor and banister molding are the same height. Do you have any ideas? Is there some molding that I could put between the railing molding and the floor that isn't as wide as a T-molding or end cap?

Thank you for any advice.
KC

I did some quick follow-up in order to get a couple of photos of the hallway and stair. Here's what KC sent along:

Attached are 2 pictures. The width of the wood where the balusters are inserted is 6 inches.

I've thought of another idea which would mean replacing that piece of wood with 5.25 landing tread that would go all the way across. That would take care of the step down to the stair as well, but entail a lot of work with the railing. I should also mention that the hallway width at the newel is 37 inches and at the wall end of the rail is 36 inches.

Here you can see the hallway and the board KC mentions.

Here you can see the Newel and the stair.

A: Assuming you are willing to put in the work, replacing the board below the posts will be the most professional appearance. Now as far as a molding solution, even baby thresholds or end caps are still going to be about 2" wide.

A way to get some extra room would be to under cut the base mold and dry wall area along the walls for your expansion gaps. This will allow the flooring itself to slide underneath, look professional and give you a few extra inches of room so you can rip a wider plank than 1". If you were to use a baby threshold or end cap before the board under your posts, leaving a small expansion gap under the trim if its overlapping, then you would have about a 3" or slightly wider board to rip to go against your wall, which would be more than enough. I do agree with your suspicions that a 1" wide plank is not a good idea, simply put, its not stable.

End result here, if you are willing to put in the word to use a tread, that will be your best result. Undercut your base molding and drywall to get just a bit more expansion room and you should be set. Otherwise, keep with the undercutting and use an appropriate trim along the board under the posts and up to the newel.

Q: I am looking for 9" by 9" tongue and groove parquet flooring to replace water damaged tiles --

I believe it may be model "K-36." Do you know where I can get it?

Thanks
John

A: The only Parquet that I know of off-hand with K-36 as a product number was an old Bruce Oak Parquet, but this stuff has been discontinued for some time now. To be honest, the only parquet I know of now is all 12" x 12" and almost all of the good quality stuff is tongue and groove. Your best bet for replacement would be to either contact a company which can custom build some of this for you or take some 12" tiles and mill them down to a 9" size.

I'm sorry that I can't give you much better help here, but one long shot you can try is somewhere like Ebay or Craigslist. I have had some customers in the past have luck finding discontinued product is this manner, but again I stress that this is a long shot.