Tips on installing flooring??

[mjr]

Ok, at some point probably within the next year, the Mrs. and I are wanting to replace some of the carpeting in our house with either "click-lock" wood or tile. We found a color of click-lock we love, as well as a tile that we love.

Problem is, it's kind of expensive anyway, but if you throw labor in on top of it, that increases the price.

So my questions are as follows:

1. How hard is it to rip up carpet and put down the click-lock flooring? I've never really done a "home improvement" project before. The Mrs. has confidence in me that I can "do it myself", but I don't want to get the materials, then figure out I can't do it. The last home repair I did was to replace the cartridge in my kitchen sink faucet.

2. How hard is it to actually install the click-lock flooring (Note: This is NOT laminate flooring that looks like wood)? Anyone ever done it? What kind of tools do I need to cut around door jambs and to cut the planks to the proper length?

3. We're thinking of ripping up the carpet in the hallway and putting in some black marble tile. How hard is that to install? About how long would it take?

I've read about what to do, and I've watched videos, but those are vastly different than actually doing it.

Again, I've never done either of these before, and I want to get it right. If I install either of these incorrectly or crooked, it will drive both me and the Mrs. batty.

Any thoughts, tips, or advice?

[Aethian]

1. It's not hard to rip up carpet but you have to know the padding will be DISGUSTING. Even if it's only a few years old it will be yucky. Problems to might run into is various staples, staple strips that are glued and stapled to the floor, pieces of subfloor that need to be replaced, uneven floor...

2. Depends on if you practice first or not. Mom and I practiced and we found it goes down faster and better if I don't help.

3. Don't know but I'm imaging this will be a combo of 1 and 2.

[lordlundar]

1. Not hard but it will be dusty and messy. Label your trim and take it off carefully. You'll need to put it back after.

2. Click lock is extremely easy to place but READ THE INSTRUCTIONS FIRST! Don't try to play it by ear. Measure, plan then place. The big advantage is that you don't need heavy tools to put it in but the same woold laying rules still apply. Any wood cutting tool will work with the click lock stuff. A jig saw with a thin wood blade (rule of thumb is 3 teeth making contact with the wood at all times is what you want) or circular saw with a straight edge for either will cover all your cutting needs.

3. Tiling is a much more involved process, regardless of the stone. You need to lay out the mortar, then tile it, then grout it, then clean up the mess.

4. If there's a place nearby that offers to teach, take them up on it. It's a lot cheaper to learn to do it right the first time than to do it, screw it up, and pay for the repair work. This is especially true with tiling. A mistake on that can cause the end result price tag to triple.

[Jetfire]

Tearing up carpet is messy and dusty, but not that difficult. After its up and out, thoroughly clean the subfloor under it to make sure you get all the staples and nailing strips up.

Click floor is supposed to be easy to do, but I couldn't get the hang of it. Still read the instructions carefully and try a few rows; If you can sort it out go for it. If not call someone in.

Tiling a floor on the other hand I found surprisingly easy to do. It's hard work and you're bent over all the time you're doing it, but just be patient and you can probably do it.

One tip for tiling, how big a space do you have? Is it wider than about 5 ft in any dimension? If so you'll probably want to put an underlay of some sort before tiling. (The big dimpled orange sheets you see Mike and Bryan install on their shows). We didn't do that for our kitchen and main hallway, and we regret that now since tiles are cracking. If you have a smaller space, you can probably skip that step, but you may want to do it anyway.

Rent a wet tile saw (or buy one if you want/think you might do a lot more tiling). I found that a lot easier to use than trying to use the hand cutters and tile splitters. Measure carefully and you'll be bending and cutting the tile around anything you might need to get them around.

[protege]

Ripping up carpet isn't too bad. A utility knife (make sure to have plenty of new blades), will make short work of it. You might want to get a ShopVac or similar machine to handle the resulting dust and other nasty crap. My brother and I tore up old carpet at my mother's house last year. It got cut into strips, rolled up...and then tossed out the window Why put in more effort than you have to?

[BookstoreEscapee]

Measure twice, cut once.

My dad did the tile in my bathroom, and is planning to do the floor in my kitchen/entryway (which will be click-lock laminate, with tile in the area just by the front door). He's done it before, so he knows what he's doing, but he's also 74 years old.

[Seshat]

Be aware that your house might not be straight/square, especially if it's settled. Even if the house' foundations are laid onto bedrock, bedrock isn't exactly square.

Don't assume that it is. Don't assume anything.

Pick one wall, that wall is your 'straight' wall. Usually it's the one you see most, or the longest wall.

If it's going to annoy you that the other walls aren't at 90% or not exactly parallel, either hide that with furnishings/rugs, or use a form of floor covering that doesn't show it.

[Racket_Man]

Tearing up carpet is messy and dusty, but not that difficult. After its up and out, thoroughly clean the subfloor under it to make sure you get all the staples and nailing strips up.

.

Unless you come across a carpet like I did when doing a rehab project with a friend.

Some dummy, in their infinite stupidity, used drywall screws in addition to the normal staples ALL over the place to secure the carpet to the wood underfloor. AND I MEAN all over the place even the stairs. I took us over 2 hours to get every last staple and screw up and out. we could have bought several cases of beer with just the scrap metal value.

[sms001]

Can't repeat the "measure twice, cut once" enough.

Also, prep, prep, prep and patience, patience, patience. Hurrying to get to the floor itself, and then hurrying to "get one more row" done often shows in the final product. Take your time and you'll be happy you did.

In fact, you might find it beneficial to do a complete dry run - lay out the entire floor first, making sure the visible edges meet, but without locking them. (Don't step on them and snap off a tongue though! ) This beats the heck out of getting almost done and realizing you could have started at a different wall and saved yourself a lot of cutting.

Cut the final row one piece at a time to fit. The temptation to measure the gap to the wall at the start of the last row and use that is a big one, but this is where any out-of-square inconsistencies in the room really come out.

Tools you'll need: Jigsaw, circular saw (with both rip and cross cut blades), prybar (I find a flatbar works better, ymmv.), hammer, measuring tape. Also, a plentiful supply of spacers and a tapping block.

Other tools that are helpful: maybe a chisel and a rubber mallet (I found it works better for hard horizontal swings.) Maybe a hand saw if you have to take door trim back. Look around and see if they sell a tapping block for your particular tongue - they're made of a REALLY durable hard rubber and work much better than a wood one, well worth the extra cost.

Good luck, and pop in and ask more.

Oh! And you're probably a better multi-tasker than I am, but I would do one project completely first, then tackle the other. Unless you're renting a piece of equipment needed for both, doing so really increases your patience factor.

[It's me]

Another useful tool.. Not sure what it is called, but it is a flat steel bar with the ends bent at 90 degrees (z-shaped) that is used driving end pieces into place. You hook it over the end and it is long enough that you can tap the other hook with a hammer. That said, I found a large pry bar to be a better tool... Flat shim between wall and flooring, stick in the prybar and push....

Another useful tip.... Sometimes the boards won't fit tight when being clicked, preventing them from being pushed flat. Put firm pressure on the board (down and in). You will see a gap somewhere along the length.... Use a tap block and hammer to drive the gap closed. You have to be careful not to damage the board, so make sure the tap block is properly seated.

[the lawsmeister]

just be careful with the underlay of the carpet if its quite old. In Aus it wasn't unknown for this to be made of material that had previously been used as asbestos wrapping, so make sure you have the proper PPE.

[Sapphire Silk]

just be careful with the underlay of the carpet if its quite old. In Aus it wasn't unknown for this to be made of material that had previously been used as asbestos wrapping, so make sure you have the proper PPE.

Probably not a problem in the US unless the carpet is like 30 years old or older. Unlikely.

I did a click and lock laminate floor in my living room/dining room last Spring. They go in pretty easy, but there are some things to consider.

You do need an underlayment. I used the same kind of tar paper used on roofs; it is far, far cheaper than the orange stuff someone mentioned, but it is not waterproof so I wouldn't use that in a kitchen or bathroom (I'm going to do my bathroom over the holiday and will use something else probably).

Figure out what direction you want the boards to go in. Generally, the length, not the width of the room is the direction you want.

Figure out where the center of the wall is and lay out the boards from a corner so that a board is in the center of the room. Helps the symmetry.

Pay attention to the grain of the boards; the grain should flow together from board to board rather than be interrupted suddenly.

When using a tap box and mallet, be sure NOT to tap on the "tongue." If you break it, it won't lock with the next board. You tap on the top edge of the board.

Wear knee pads. You'll get tired after awhile.

I used (well in all fairness, Evil Empryss and I used) a miter saw and a hand held circular saw to make cuts around the floor vents and the door frames.

The room will NOT be square. No room ever is. That means you'll have to saw boards in half length wise. You want to start laying your boards so that the tongue side is on the side facing the wall where you'll end. The edge will be covered with the quarter round.

You may have to tap very thin slices up the tongue for the final row to get it all in there. That can be tricky; be patient.

If a board doesn't fit in right, use another board. Some boards will be warped or flawed in some way. You should buy just a little extra to account for this, based on the square footage of your room.

It's a two person job. Someone may have to stand on boards to get them to lock in proper.

I tried helping EE out with a tile job once. It is a pain in the ass to do right. DO NOT skip on using the spacers if you go this route, or it will look like shit. Jester has the right idea on renting a wet saw; it will make things MUCH easier when it comes to cutting the tiles.

Whichever route you go, here's the easiest way to get rid of carpet.

Cut it in thin strips, and roll up the carpet and pad together. Watch out for the tack strips and staples. It's easy to cut yourself on them. Pull up all the tack strips and pull up every stray staple. That by itself will take you a long time if the carpet was put in correctly. If you can't pull up a stable, hammer it into the sub floor.

Nail down any squeaky boards on the subfloor. This is your one chance to fix your floor. Sweep carefully and remove as much dirt as possible, then vaccuum. You want a clean surface to work on.

[mjr]

Thanks everyone for the great advice here!

The click-lock will be in our bedroom, and the tile I'm thinking of in the hallway.

Right now we're considering the High Gloss Teak Cherry from the Depot of Homes. It's $3.74/sqft, and I think we'll need right around 200 sqft of it...plus the underlayment (it's just concrete under the carpet & padding). I'll definitely get the quarter-rounds, which will definitely be helpful because that means I won't have to try to shove the flooring under the current baseboards.Though when it comes to securing the quarter rounds, do I just secure to the baseboards, or to the click-lock as well?

As far as the tile in the hall, we're thinking of going with a black marble. Basically, it's $2.99 per sqft (or almost $7/sqft, depending on which one we pick) and we need probably close to 50 sqft.

I'm estimating the cost for putting in the click-lock at around $1,200, and the cost for the hallway at right around $500-$700.

[Seshat]

Though when it comes to securing the quarter rounds, do I just secure to the baseboards, or to the click-lock as well?

I don't have a definitive answer, but:

Buildings move.

Not just from foundation shifting, but from heat expansion and cold shrinking. Different materials expand different amounts in the heat, as well.

I'd secure it to one or the other, but not both. Or I'd use a flexible securing, such as a paintable silicon bead, to 'glue' it to the second material.

[protege]

I'd secure it to one or the other, but not both. Or I'd use a flexible securing, such as a paintable silicon bead, to 'glue' it to the second material.

My parents have click-lock flooring in their kitchen. The panels are glued to each other, but not to the subfloor, or the walls. Instead, the trim over the edges is firmly attached to the walls. The click-lock sort of "floats" over the subfloor. 15 years on and nothing has shifted.