How to Install Hardwood Flooring, Tile or Linoleum.

You have many selections for refinishing floors, they are wood, tile, or linoleum. They come in many distinct styles, colors and designs. Each one requires a skill set to install but the plan is the same for any type of upgrade. The flooring and style you decide to use all depends on your liking and wishes for your home.

Hardwood comes in thickness from 1/4" to 3/4" or (6 mm, to 19 mm). The hardwood planks can be solid, or engineered wood. The planks can be tongue and grove or interlocking. They can be pre-finished planks or unfinished, so they must be sanded and finished after installation. The engineered hardwood should have a wear layer of 2 mm to 4 mm thick. The planks can be attached to the sub floor by nails, glue or interlocking floating, 1/4" thick planks cannot be floated.

Which method is recommended or required for the flooring you want to use. What is your sub-floor, cement or wood? Cement sub-floors are normally on the ground or below ground level and need to be checked for moisture content. If they exceed the recommendations, a moisture barrier must be installed over the cement. Check for the manufacturers recommended practice.

You can install this flooring as a do it yourself project, learn all the recommendations, by talking with knowledgeable people. Decide which material you want to use and how are you going to fasten it.

If the manufacturer requires that you glue the floor down, check out the process, you may have to use their glue, and they may have put a tracer element in it to verify if you have used their glue. Does the manufacturer require that a professional install the flooring?

Tile flooring can be either ceramic or vinyl. If the application is for a high traffic area such as a hall way or entrance or if it is a high moisture area such as bathroom?

Ceramic tile can have a glazed top layer that is very pretty but can be scratched easily in high traffic areas. Other kinds or unglazed tile will have the color clear through the tile and are resistant to scratching. Ceramic tile can be installed over a sub flooring of cement or wood which must be structurally stable. A cement board recommended for wood sub floors can be installed and fastened to the sub floor per the manufacturers recommendation.

Vinyl tiles are usually the least expensive tile and easiest to install. They can be installed over an existing resilient floor, over plywood on wood floors or on dry concrete. The sub floor must be clean, dry and level, remove all oil, wax or grease. Again study all the pros and cons for which ever flooring you select for the job you want it to do.

Linoleum can be fabricated from natural materials such as linseed oil, wood or cork powder, resins and ground limestone which are environmentally prudent. Linoleum can come in many rich colors and patterns. It comes in a sheet that is usually 2 meters wide (6' 7") and 2.5 mm thick is suitable for household use.

Linoleum can be placed over most sub floors but if placed over concrete, the moisture content must be below the limits set by the manufacturer. A pH level of 10 for the concrete can break down the adhesive and it may not bond if there is a sealer on the concrete. If two sheets of linoleum are butted against each other, they need to be sealed either with special seam sealer or a color coordinated linoleum rod that is heated with a special welding tool.

Linoleum may expand in width and shrink in length over time so this needs to be compensated for when it is installed.