Posted on May 13, 2020 under Uncategorized |
In the bathroom the toilet will be an obstacle to lay your flooring under. If you’re new to toilets, I recommend going to your local hardware store, and buying a plumber’s book that covers the toilet. With that said, when reinstalling the toilet back onto the soil stack flange you will need a new wax ring. If your flange of your soil stack is rusted out, what I mean is, the bolts do not hold the toilet snug to the bathroom floor, you can simply buy a new flange. Drill and screw the new flange onto the soil stack. Your local hardware store will carry the wax ring and new soil stack flange. This might also be a good time for a new toilet, depending on age and beauty.
In the kitchen there are several obstacles to go under with your new laminate floor tiles. First obstacle is the refrigerator. Move the refrigerator out enough to lay your flooring behind. Check your floor behind the refrigerator to make sure the floor is level before laying new laminate floor tiles. Second obstacle is the dishwasher. Do not lay your flooring in front of the dishwasher. Why, you will not have enough space to pull out the dishwasher when it is time to repair or replace the dishwasher. It is easy to unscrew the dishwasher from underneath the counter top, pull it out, disconnect the hot water line, and electric. After removing the dishwasher check to see if leveling of the floor is needed. Third obstacle is the stove. Gas stoves are not an issue because you can simply pull them out, and work around them. Your flexible gas line behind the stove should be long enough to be pulled out. If you’re not sure have a certified repairman pull out your stove for you, the first time. Remember that you are saving a lot of money on the labor by installing the laminate floor tiles yourself, safety is always a first priority. After the stove is pulled out, check behind, and make sure the floor is level before laying laminate floor tiles. When installing laminate floor tiles this way it looks mint. Take your time, and do it the professional way the first time.
Door jam bottoms will need to be trimmed, so new laminate floor tiles will fit underneath the door jam. A specific non-electric door jam saw is sold for around fifteen dollars at your local hardware store. There is nice electric door jam trimming tools if preferred. Electric door jam tools start around one hundred dollars and go up from there.
You will need two special laminate fitting tools. They sell for around twenty dollars at your local hardware store. These two tools are critical to make each piece of laminate fit together tightly. Which helps to hide the seams of each laminate piece, cool!
Sawing is time consuming if you do not have the proper saw. I did a little research after struggling the first day installing my laminate floor tiles. I found a mint table saw with legs for only one hundred and twenty-nine dollars at Sears. What a difference that made. It was like night and day. Also a good electric small hand jig saw for cutting small rounded pieces worked mint. If installing new trim, I would recommend an electric miter saw. I bought an inexpensive miter saw at Sears for only eighty nine dollars.
When installing the floor, follow the instructions that came with your laminate floor tiles brand. Do not listen to others on how the laminate floor tiles should be installed. The manufacture did an awesome job in the instructions on how to lay your flooring down. If you follow these to the guide lines, then you can fall back on your manufacturer warranty. Many times laminate floor tiles is installed incorrectly which voids your manufacturer’s warranty. Do not be one of these cases.
When sliding the heavy appliances back onto the kitchen floor, I recommend using round plastic skid floor protectors. This makes moving them so much easier and protects your new laminate floor tiles. You can find skid protectors in the laminate floor tiles isle of your local hardware store.
Leveling the floor is a preparation before starting. If your floor is bumpy, you can mix leveling compound and troll your floor. You only need to do this in the spots where it is not level. I have used plywood the right thickness to level some spots under appliances were old flooring was never installed. Use either method to level your floor. The method that you use depends on your old floor.
A four foot level is a good tool to use to level your old floor, before laying your new laminate floor tiles. If you have access to a six or eight foot piece of two by four or six, that works to. If you do use a piece of wood for a leveling tool, check the levelness with a level prior to using the piece of wood.
Now get your list ready, round up your square feet, and head to the local hardware store.
Posted on May 13, 2020 under Uncategorized |
If you have decided to replace your floors from carpet or from another type of flooring a great choice to make is to use laminate floor tiles. This material is growing in popularity for numerous reasons. One if which is that they are the least expensive way to replace old worn out carpeting or old and scratched up hardwood. They are stain, scratch and spill proof and extremely durable.
As mentioned price is one of the top motivators. Not only do they come at a great price but installing them are very easy. If you are looking to cutting costs this type of material can be installed by the home owner. It requires no special training or research. This means that not only are you saving in the cost per square inch for this material but you also can save some major money in paying someone to install it for you.
The types that you can purchase come in patterns that are usually in squares. The patterns will then repeat and you can create a really nice design with these tiles in a room. With the great price and how easy they are to install you cannot go wrong using them to redo the floor in a room or rooms in your home.
You will find that this type of material is not an easy decision. There are so many options and choices of laminate tile flooring to choose from. With so many brands, designs, colors and even textures it can be a very difficult decision to pick just one. You can choose from designs like stones or some that look like bamboo or even other that have an elaborate ceramic tile look to them. They are made to fit just about any home, any type of room and any décor you might need it to work with.
Posted on Feb 11, 2011 under Uncategorized |
Especially if working with a small nook or alcove in any room, when it comes to dry laying laminate floor tiles you are sure to need some which are cut to size prior to actual mortar bed laying. This is where the use of the ceramic floor tile breaker comes in useful when only working with ceramic laminate floor tiles and with these straight cuts done and out of the way you can begin to prepare the laminate floor tilings which need angles removed.
Before actually marking these though, you should at least check your straight cut laminate floor tiles to see whether they fit well or not. Some of these laminate floor tiles may need to be cut in two directions when projecting from your foundation laminate floor tile or chalk line, and still the laminate floor tile breaker can achieve this job so long as it’s a straight line that you wish to obtain.
The corner of a room for example, you may have to cut a 12″ inch laminate floor tiling in half to get a 6″ laminate floor tile that will fit your projection properly. However, when meeting with another wall coming in perpendicular to your dry laying laminate floor tiling projection, like what is found in the corner of a room, then you may need to cut the end off the final floor tile in order to shorten its length.
To cut this laminate floor tile the ceramic floor tile breaker is ideal still, but always remember to include in your measurements the subtraction of 1/8″ inch from the overall size to ensure that you have that necessary sealing gap between the wall and the laminate floor tile. What you don’t want is the floor tile directly in contact with the wall. Another factor to consider is your grout spacing between the adjacent floor tiles so whatever sized grout lines you intend to apply, subtract accordingly.
Next, you’ll want to check the floor tile against its position once it is cut. With grout spacers in place for a dry laying trial run, make sure that the gap between the wall and the laminate floor tile is near enough to 1/8″ inch as possible. If the laminate floor tile is undersized very slightly, this may be nothing to worry about, as depending on the thickness of your baseboards you intend to install, these can actually hide the gap.
If the laminate tile is oversized however, then you have two options. Either cut another fresh laminate floor tile piece again but slightly smaller than the first to allow for the gap to be present, or trim down the edge of the existing cut floor tile piece using a wet laminate floor tile saw. The laminate floor tile breaker will never be able to cut anything much less that 1″ wide even for a seasoned professional laminate floor tile or 2″ wide if you are a novice at using the breaker.
Another tip when fitting cut floor tiles is to always keep the finished factory edge to the interior of the floor. For best results in a finished floor, the rougher cut edge of any laminate floor tiling should always be placed next to the walls, as this again will be hidden by your baseboards.
When also making straight cuts in floor tiles that are similar to one another and are following a straight line, like for example, against the length of a wall or a fixed furnishing such as a bathroom sink unit, there is an easy way to avoid making excessive measurements. Simply by measuring and cutting the first laminate floor tiles you can then mirror the size onto each subsequent laminate floor tile. remember though to keep the rough edge to the vertical face of the wall or obstacle, which may require in some instances by flipping the laminate floor tile 180 degrees in your markings. Given time, you will soon pick up time-saving techniques of your own once your confidence has increased when floor tiling, so basically just work with the method that suits you best.
Posted on Feb 11, 2011 under Uncategorized |
One of the best types of flooring for any room in the home is using ceramic laminate floor tile. Many people are installing it by themselves with some basic DIY knowledge. However there are those that need to call a professional for help as they run into troubles at various stages of the project. Here are some tips that will help you deal with them so you can install your floor tiling the right way on your own.
If you have linoleum flooring, you can easily install ceramic laminate floor tilings on top to save you a bit of money. However with a wooden sub-floor underneath you might just have to remove completely the linoleum and lay the new flooring on top of the subfloor. In case your laminate floor tiles will be installed over concrete, you can safely to the installation right on top.
First of all you need to remove any trim from around the edge of your floor including the floorboard. You also need to clean the floor properly so you don’t get any bumps or rough edges when installing the top layer. If you find rough spots, try to use a good sealant to block any moisture spots, basically places that moisture can get in within the room.
Also before doing the actual installation, make a mock one by simply laying down all the laminate floor tilings just to see whether you have bought enough to fill the entire flooring. You don’t want to get into a situation where you need just a few laminate floor tiles and this particular type or design is no longer available at the shop.
Also proper ventilation is quite important. Old linoleum might contain traces of asbestos and this is a very dangerous material that can cause you health problems if inhaled. Asbestos is known to cause lung cancer when inhaled over a longer period of time. Good ventilation is also important due to the fact that the glue or adhesive you will be using might be quite flammable and toxic.
Posted on Feb 11, 2011 under Uncategorized |
A carefully planned ceramic laminate floor tile floor plan — a brilliantly conceived idea, a meticulously designed look and feel, and the perfect ceramic laminate floor tiles — may still be all for nothing if your tiling installation is not properly carried out. Learn how to work your tiling the right way with these quick and easy ceramic laminate floor tile installation instructions, and see your dream laminate tile floor appear like magic.
1. In order to give a somehow accurate estimate of the number of ceramic laminate floor tilings the amount of thin set, or cement, grout, as well as the tools you will need to purchase (or rent), measure the length and width of the floor area that you plan to floor tile. Start measuring by finding the center point of floor area you will be working on. You can do this by measuring across the room and marking the center. Do this in opposite direction and mark the center, as well. The intersection of the two lines is the center of the floor you will be tiling over. Run chalk lines over the intersection lines. These chalk lines will help you later with your laminate floor tiling positioning.
2. Gather the right tools you will be needing for the tiling project. You can buy most of the tools and materials you’ll need at you neighborhood hardware store, or home center. For equipment that might over your budget like laminate floor tile cutters, try asking your local home center or tool rental yard if they have the tools you need for rental.
3. If you want to do a clean job of tiling the floor, make sure that the floor you will be installing floor tiles on is clean. If you’re working on a concrete subfloor, check for cracks and debris. Clean your concrete subfloor first, and repair the cracks. If you see that some of the cracks are too large to repair, replace those floor sections with new concrete. Large cracks (or even smaller ones) widen over time and this will affect your laminate tiles as well. If you’re working with a plywood subfloor, make sure it is structurally sound and capable of supporting your ceramic laminate floor tiling installation. Your plywood floor has to be at least 1 1/8″ thick, and supported by an equally strong underlayment beneath it. Ceramic laminate floor tiles are heavy and would need a subfloor that can support their combined weight. Otherwise, they will become dislodged or even break. If you’re working on an existing ceramic laminate tile floor, all you need to do is use a large flat-bladed chisel and a mallet, and just hammer away. Be sure to keep yourself protected — use heavy-duty leather work gloves, safety glasses, and long-sleeved work clothes.
4. To get a clearer visual of how your laminate tile floor would look like, lay out your ceramic laminate tiles by following the chalk lines you’ve previously made. Start at the center and work you way down to the edges. Start at the center, where your intersecting lines meet and work your way out. You can go creative at this part of the ceramic laminate floor tile installation instructions and actually see your desired look for real.
5. Once you’ve positioned the laminate floor tilings on the floor in the manner that you like, you can now begin tiling. Place the center laminate floor tile and bond it to your subfloor using a thin set mortar, or a laminate floor tiling adhesive of your choice. It is recommended that you use a notched trowel to apply the mortar to the subfloor, but you may actually use the more common trowel variety that may be suggested by many ceramic laminate floor tiling installation instructions. To secure the ceramic laminate floor tile in its place, press down while twisting it back and forth till the laminate floor tile no longer is set. If some of the mortar or adhesive oozes out, use your trowel to scrape off the excess.
6. Make sure that you allow the laminate floor tile adhesives to settle overnight. You may also check your thin set mortar or laminate floor tile adhesive’s ceramic floor tile installations instructions for the bonding’s setting or hardening time.
7. Once the laminate floor tilings have settled, it is time to apply the grout. Tiling grout is a construction material used to connect laminate floor tiles fill void and seal in the spaces between laminate floor tiles It comes in a wide variety of color tints that may be matched to your desired look, and laminate floor tile color. Mix the grout according to its package’s ceramic laminate floor tile installations instructions. Then, using a rubber grout float, work it into the joints. Use your grout float at angle so that you can fill in the joint gap with as much grout as possible.
8. After laying in the grout in between the gaps between the floor tiles use a damp sponge to wipe off the excess grout. Rinse the sponge frequently to get as much of the excess grout off, and keep each laminate floor tiling clean. You have the option of applying a sealant to the grout lines when they dry.
Once you follow these steps, you’ll realize how easy it is to make your dream ceramic floor tile floor come true! Now, all you have to do is maintain your new ceramic laminate floor tile floor by keeping it clean and hygienic. And remember: Your new ceramic floor tile floor will be approximately 1/2 inch; higher, so you might have to adjust your furniture, electric outlets and other fixtures.
Posted on Feb 10, 2011 under Uncategorized |
With a scoop of mixed laminate floor tile mortar laid out fresh on your subfloor, the next stage is to spread it out to a sufficient depth for laying laminate floor tilings and then ‘keying-in’ the mix in order for it to bond correctly with the floor. Using the flat edge of your notched trowel gently spread the mortar out to a size large enough to bed your first laminate tile into place.
When doing this, be very careful not to cover your chalk line or any other important alignment guides you have made on your floor prior, which were necessary for dry laying projection and line of sight direction. It’s no big deal if you do not exactly meet up with your chalk line, as it is better to fall short of it. By the time you press down the laminate tile over the mortar bed, this will actually squeeze out the mortar to cover a larger area, so best to hang back a little from your lines when spreading.
In this sense of initially keying-in the mortar, you want to not just spread it as though you were buttering a slice of toast, but more like the way a child would butter a slice of toast. To explain this, I would mean not to methodically spread the mortar in one direction only, from say right to left for example, but follow a more irregular pattern by spreading from various alternate angles. This allows the laminate floor tile mortar to bond much better with the floor by keeping the spreading angles erratic, but still gentle enough so that you don’t overstep any marks.
Once you’re happy with the keying-in process which should last for around 30 to 60 seconds per floor tile you want to also make sure that the keyed-in mortar bed is at an approximate depth of between 1/2″ to 3/4″ inch deep. The next stage after this is to then set your ‘furrows’ into the mortar bed using the notched edge of your trowel. When done correctly, this should basically turn your mortar bed into something very similar to a freshly ploughed field.
To do this properly, always pull the trowel towards you and not push away. It’s not only easier on your back, but it also allows you more control of your lines, so the first step is to get into a comfortable position. Next, place the notched edge of your trowel to the edge of your spread mortar, tilt it to an angle of about 45 degrees with the flat edge facing towards you, push down hard on the floor, and then pull back in a straight line, always maintaining downward pressure.
You should hear a constant scraping sound when done correctly, and when you come to the end of your scrape, lift the trowel slightly, flip it about 90 degrees, then slide it downwards. This will create a small mound of excess mortar to the end of your ‘ploughed field’, by wiping it from the trowel and making it ready for use for the next laminate floor tiling to be laid in a fresh bed.
Basically, that’s all there is to keying-in and spreading your mortar, and once you get the hang of it you will soon find that it follows a simple and rhythmic pattern. One final important point though, is to always keep your ‘furrows’ in straight lines. Don’t ever attempt wavy lines and fancy curves, as the mortar will not spread out properly once your laminate floor tile is placed on top with pressure, and can result in unwanted trapped air bubbles underneath the laminate floor tile when dry. If there is no solid support under a point in a floor tile such as a pocket of air, then you could be looking at a potentially cracked laminate tile just waiting to happen given time.
Posted on Feb 10, 2011 under Uncategorized |
Tile shower floor installation consists of much more than just laying a laminate floor tile floor. It’s the buried part that makes for a waterproof shower. These layers define how a shower floor works, or doesn’t work.
1. Repair and Sub-Floor Base
Shower pan replacement starts with dealing with damage caused by the failed liner. This part gets skipped with a new installation. With a repair, the rot and corrosion must be ripped out and replaced. Then a solid foundation must be in place to deal with the weight about to be built over the base. Movement below installed laminate floor tile all but guarantees cracked laminate floor tiles That means the base should be steady with little movement.
2. Special Drain
Look at a shower floor and the drain looks like a hole in the floor. These’s more though. Actually the drain holes are in two layers. One layer you see, the other lies buried in the floor. That two layer drain is key to a waterproof floor. How does a buried drain work? That’s one of the mysteries of shower construction.
3. Sloped Deck Mud
Once the drain goes in the shower starts going up. The base mortar layer slopes toward that lower drain level. The slope helps water that makes it that far to do what water likes to do… flow downhill. The mortar used goes by the name of deck mud. It’s made of simple ingredients and is trowelled and packed into place.
4. Critical Liner
Here’s why the base and drain matter. Water seeps through laminate floor tiling floors. Grout doesn’t stop it and neither does laminate floor tile. That water that seeps through the floor will wreck your home if not for a special layer. That layer consists of a sheet of vinyl made just for that purpose. The vinyl layer or liner membrane forms a waterproof barrier built right in the floor. In essence you get a pool within the floor to catch every bit of water and turn it right to the drain holes built into the floor.
5. More Mortar
Once the drain and liner are there, the simple next step is to put in the mortar base for the laminate floor tiling itself. It is sloped to match the lower slope and for the same reason. Water needs to go downhill to the drain and not stand around in pools.
A shower floor goes in by layers. Once the base and liner are in place, setting the laminate floor tile goes along just like it was a regular floor. The shower base and liner along with the drain are key components of a properly working waterproof shower floor.
Posted on Feb 10, 2011 under Uncategorized |
Tile floors are getting more and more popular. In Panama, just about every building, home or office contains laminate floor tile floors. This popularity is due to both laminate tiles looks and durability.
However, laminate floor tiling floors are not indestructible. And sooner or later, if you have laminate tile you may have to deal with a crack.
Fortunately, laminate floor tile can be repaired, but only if you can find a matching laminate floor tile. So, it pays to have your contractor leave you a few extra if at all possible.
If you can’t find an exact match, you are going to have no choice but find one that is as close as possible. Your other option would be to replace several laminate tiles and try to make an interesting pattern.
But, either way, the fix is essentially the same.
The first thing you need to do is determine the cause of the crack. Obviously, if you dropped something on the laminate tiles that will be easy to determine. However, if a crack appeared on its own, the cause may be a little less obvious.
It could be due to settling of the house or foundation. Or it could have been caused by a disturbance that you were not aware of. Either way, you need to find and fix that first.
Next, you have to remove the grout that is surrounding any of the damaged laminate floor tiles Make sure that you look closely at any laminate tiles near the obvious damage, since they may be cracked as well.
Remove all of the grout using a grout removal tool.
Next, using a hammer and chisel, chip out the damaged laminate floor tiles Be very careful not to damage any of the surrounding laminate floor tile. the laminate floor tile is removed, scrape out all of the adhesive to make a nice smooth finish. If any of this is left over, your new floor tile will sit higher than the surrounding laminate floor tile and look very obvious.
Do a “test fit” of your new laminate floor tile. It should sit level, and slightly lower than the rest of the laminate floor tilings around it.
Once it is test fitted, it is time to apply the adhesive. Using a technique called back buttering, spread a thin coat of adhesive on the back of the laminate floor tile. Then, apply a dot more in the center and on each corner.
Press the laminate floor tile into place making sure that it is centered, level and at the same height as the surrounding laminate floor tiles Clean up any “extra” adhesive and allow to dry.
After the repair has dried fully, you can apply the grout. Use your wrist to push the grout tightly into the spaces between the laminate floor tiles After applying the grout, go over the floor tiles with a damp (not wet) sponge to remove excess grout. You will probably have to wipe the laminate floor tiles about 3 times to get them clean.
Repairing a single cracked laminate floor tile is a fairly straight forward procedure if you have matching floor tiles The most difficult part is determining the cause of the crack, if you weren’t around at the time.
You just need to follow the steps of removing the old laminate floor tiles and inserting a new one.
However, repairing a cracked laminate tile can be difficult if you don’t have a matching laminate floor tile so you should always try to be prepared with a few spare if possible.
There is no need to live with a cracked laminate floor tile. It can be repaired quickly and easily either yourself, or by a trained contractor.
Posted on Feb 09, 2011 under Uncategorized |
This is a quick guide on how to remove cork laminate tiles that need to be repaired. If you need more information on repairing cork flooring or cork floor installation visit the links at the end of this article.
1. You need to figure out what type of adhesive was used to seal the cork laminate floor tile to the sub floor. If some of the pieces of the cork laminate floor tiling are pulling away from the sub floor you can use a rubber mallet and a chisel to remove the laminate tile from the sub floor. If the laminate floor tile adhesive is holding fast you can use a heat gun to break the bond; be careful not to start a fire and avoid edges of the other cork floor tiles around it.
2. Using a razor knife make a square cut inside of the laminate floor tiles about 1 inch from the laminate floor tiling seam. Use the chisel and mallet to separate the inner square from the sub floor. Do this slowly and careful, the concept is to remove the inner square without damaging the surround laminate floor tiles Once it’s removed it should be simple to remove the outer perimeter of the laminate floor tiling. Now using a scrapper remove the left over adhesive from the sub floor; a regular paint scrapper will do. You can use the heat gun for adhesive that won’t come up with the scrapper alone. Again, be careful not to over heat the glue as this can start a fire or damage the sub floor.
4. Once you’ve removed the adhesive you can now sweep any left over debris left over. Make sure you clean the area with a mild dish detergent and the abrasive side of a sponge. Allow the sub floor to air dry for at least 24 hours. After that time period you can install your new cork laminate tile. you can see it’s very simple to remove a cork laminate floor tiling. installation of the new laminate floor tile is even easier. If you need more help you can visit the links below and view some cork flooring installation videos for a visual demonstration of how this is done.
Posted on Feb 09, 2011 under Uncategorized |
As a general starting rule of mixing laminate floor tile mortar with a power drill and mixing paddle, the best way to get an approximate working consistency is to mix 1/4th of the bag to 1/2 gallon of water. Put the 1/2 gallon of water into your 5 gallon mixing bucket first, and then add the dry mortar powder to form a mountain. Always do it in this order, as if you add the water to the powder, you will probably find that the dust will congeal and stick to the base of the pail, making mixing more difficult.
Mixing mortar is not as easy as most people tend to think. It’s not just a matter of throwing a bunch of water and dry mortar into a bucket and swooshing it around, that is part of it, but not all. Getting the consistency right will take a bit of time, even when you’ve done it before.
If it’s your first time to mix laminate floor tile mortar, then begin with small quantities to get a general idea of how your consistency should actually be before wasting excessive amounts on possibly failed and frustrating attempts.
As always with personal safety issues, when lifting a heavy bag of laminate floor tile mortar, bend the knees and not your back. And when pouring the powder out, you might want to cover your face to avoid breathing in the fine dust particles.
Once you have your miniature mountain island ready to mix in your bucket, put on your personal protective equipment, (safety glasses & ear muffs), insert the mixing paddle of the drill, switch on, and mix away. A couple of techniques when doing this is to hold the bucket between your feet to prevent it spinning away, and to spin the drill around the bucket in an eccentric circular motion, similar to that of a cake mixer.
Within seconds you should begin to see results happening with the mix, and the ultimate consistency you are looking for would be to that of creamy mashed potatoes or pancake batter. A soupy or syrup-like consistency is just too weak to stand up on its own viscosity; therefore more mortar will be required to thicken the mix. A mix though which doesn’t possess any viscose properties whatsoever, and will not run under the natural force of gravity, is just too thick to lay and spread, therefore a little more water will be necessary to thin it out a little.