Archive for the ‘Flooring’ Category

Save Money On Flooring – Use Ceramic Tiles

Monday, January 25th, 2010

Ceramic Tile:

Ceramic tiles come in wide varieties like floor tiles, wall tiles, mosaics and decorative tiles.

In creating the right look for your home color and design are important. This industry offers right blend of colors, sizes and textures that you find it easy to express your individuality.

Ceramic tiles are being used from centuries. Today’s ceramic tiles are indistinguishable virtually from travertines, slates, natural marbles and other stone products.

Porcelain tiles and glazed ceramic tiles are a great choice for kitchens, sunrooms, greatrooms, bathrooms and foyers.

Ceramic floor tiles are more durable than ceramic wall tiles. Wall tiles are available with a matte surface or a glaze of semi – gloss finish. This glazed surface has a very low slip resistance and becomes slippery when wet. So glazed wall tiles are much more suitable for countertop applications or wall applications rather than floors.

Glazed Tile:

Clay and water make up the two basic elements of glazed ceramic tile. Various clays are blended to a fine powder by mining them and grinding them and to form the body of the tile they are pressed together. To reduce the moisture content the pressed body is dried. Then they paint the surface of the tile with a colored glaze which is similar to glass. Then to fuse the glaze to the surface of the tile the tile is heated in kilns at approximately two thousand degrees Fahrenheit. This forms the finished product.

Porcelain Tile:

Porcelain tiles are used for both interior and exterior applications and it can withstand heavy foot traffic and at the same time maintain it’s color and beauty. A blend of fine – grain clays and other minerals are used to produce porcelain tile and this is highly resistant to moisture, wear and staining as it has a very dense body.

There are standardized industry tests and classifications to determine the overall performance and durability of glazed surface of ceramic tiles and this rates the tiles specific resistance to breaking, moisture, abrasion, scratching and more.

Patterns and designs can be chosen by planning floor patterns, wall patterns, floor borders and wall and floor combinations.

You can plan and design your own flooring by choosing the right design for your home. How do you do it ? By following the right pattern and choosing the right pattern for your home. This to a large extent depends on your taste and lifestyle.

You can be your own designer. You can do this by deciding on various factors like- scale, color, design style, texture and pattern.

Scale – You can use larger patterns for larger rooms and smaller patterns for smaller rooms.

Color- To choose the color of the floor tile find out the color of your wardrobe, your table, chair or sofa, wall and more. You have to base the color of the tile floor on the color of various gadgets in your room. Meaning that it is best if you choose a contrasting color of floor tile for your floor.

Design style: It is always a general notion that a theme will often reveal itself in colors, styles and textures. So, collect all of your favourite items like stamps, photos and other items of your interest and if possible collect and place them on a design board.

Texture and Pattern : Next comes texture and pattern after color and style. Every floor style and type has a texture.

How to protect your flooring investment:

1. Regularly sweep or vacuum to remove any grit or dirt;

2. Under heavy pieces of chairs and furniture use felt protectors ;

3. Clean residual from spill by removing spills promptly using a dry, clean, terry microfiber cloth ;

4. The grout and the glazed surface of the tile can be damaged by acids and ammonia discolors the grout. Therefore make sure that cleaners never contain acids or ammonia ;

5. Make it a point that all exterior entrances are protected by protective mats ;

6. Never use oil soaps or wax while cleaning your tile floor ;

7. See your flooring retailer for a professional strength grout cleaner while removing stains such as soap scums, mildew stains and grease from grout joints ;

8. Contact your flooring retailer for an adhesive remover and tile sealer when you have to remove waxes or sealers from your tile floor ;

9. Always bear in mind not to slide or roll appliances or heavy furniture across the floor; protect your floor when using a dolly for moving appliances or furniture.

What are the benefits of using Ceramic Tiles

Tags: ,
Posted in Flooring | No Comments »

Finding Discount Hardwood Flooring From Start To Finish

Sunday, January 24th, 2010

If you are in the market for discount hardwood flooring, you can take more than one approach to finding it. If you are installing hardwood flooring in more than one room, or in a single exceptionally large room, you may be able to negotiate a lower price because many flooring vendors offer discount hardwood flooring if the square footage involved is large enough.

If, on the other hand, you’re not going to have your flooring installed for a few months, you can ask to be placed on the mailing lists of the flooring suppliers in your area. You’ll then have information all their sales or closeouts mailed directly to you.

If having hardwood flooring is what’s important, and you are flexible as to the wood and finish you will get, you can simply call around to the local retailers and ask them for their rock-bottom discount hardwood flooring prices. If they have been sitting on a particular type of hardwood and need to shrink their inventory to make room for new flooring lines, you might be able to get a terrific deal.

But don’t commit yourself to anything unless you have actually seen the discount hardwood flooring for yourself. You may be flexible about appearance, but you should insist that your flooring is free of defects.

Discount Flooring On The Internet

If you have Internet access, you can do some comparison shopping to get an idea of what discount hardwood flooring should cost. And if you are an experienced DIYer, you might even choose to order your discount hardwood flooring online and eliminate the labor costs by doing your own installation. What time you lose in having a contractor find, deliver, and install the flooring you will make up for in the money you save, and in the pride you will take in doing the job yourself.

Buyer Beware

If you decide to buy your discount hardwood flooring online, be very careful to check the warranty and return policy. Also take the time to read customer reviews of the website from which you want to purchase your flooring; they will give you a pretty good idea of what to expect in terms of customer service and the company’s willingness to see that you are fully satisfied with your purchase.

The last thing you want is to watch the money you thought you were saving on your discount hardwood flooring be eaten up because what ended up on your floor was damaged or had a defective finish, and you have to either replace it or spend a huge money having the finish redone!

You can also find more info on Discount Hardwood Flooring and Engineered Hardwood Flooring. Homeflooringhelp.com is a comprehensive resource to know about Home Flooring.

Tags: ,
Posted in Flooring | No Comments »

Marble Tile As A Decorative Choice For Your Home

Saturday, January 23rd, 2010

This is probably one of the reasons why marble was as popular as a building material during the times of the Greeks and the Romans, wherein they used slabs and tiles of this natural stone to create works of art and sculptures, as well as wonderful architectural structures, which is why marble tiles are a great decorative choice for your home.

Marble’s Decorative Features

One aspect of marble tiles that makes them such a good decorative choice for your home is that it comes in an abundance of variety in colors, shapes and design patterns, giving its users a wide array of choices in improving their home’s aesthetic value. What is good about this is that the tiles can be chosen and incorporated to your home’s design, making it easier for you to find tiles that would simply complement the existing design of your home instead of changing everything just so your home or a particular room in your house and your marble tiles would complement each other. The myriad of choices allow you to pick the best marble tiles that would best accent your room or house without making too many drastic changes in your home.

Also, the variety in colors, shapes and designs allows you to incorporate the marble tiles in almost anywhere in the house possible. You can use these marble tiles as counter tops, wherein it can make your kitchen look even more beautiful. You can also uses these marble tiles as flooring materials, giving you with very little need for other improvements in the house since your floor alone is able to raise the aesthetic value of the house. And with the variety of colors, such as green shades, peachy-tones, shades of white, black and gray, and other colors, you can create whatever design and look that you want for a particular room or for the house in general.

Aside from these, marble tiles are also known for its versatility, wherein you can literally create different structures and sculptures using marble. The use of marble is not only limited to flooring and wall tiles, but it can also be used for sculptures and for other structures as well, giving you a wide array of applications for this type of natural stone. You can create sculptures to accent the look of your main hall way, or even create most of the structures in your home using marble as the main material, giving your home an imperial regality to it.

Marble tiles can also be created to give off a certain shine to them, thereby greatly improving the overall look of the room, or wherever you may choose to put it. And if installed properly, these marble tiles will require very little attention in terms of its maintenance, making it ideal as a decorative choice for your home, especially since these types of tiles are resilient and durable against certain damages, giving you very little reasons to worry.

Vanessa A. Doctor

Marble Tile – TileNet.Net

Vanessa A. Doctor from Jump2Top – SEO Company

Tags: ,
Posted in Flooring | No Comments »

Glueless Bamboo Flooring – Easy Installation With No Messing Around

Friday, October 23rd, 2009

The terms “glueless bamboo flooring” and “click-lock bamboo flooring” are often used synonymously. This particular type of bamboo floor installs on top of the existing floor and does not need gluing down in order to secure it in place. Although it just clicks and then locks into place, you do not need to worry about it moving on its own or actually coming apart, because the design of the system ensures that everything is tight and snug once it is clicked in place.

The boards are manufactured to high precision such that once they click together, they align automatically. Because of this simple system, not only do you avoid having to buy and mess around with adhesives, you will also need only a few simple tools to get you going. These can include a hammer, a carbide-tooth saw, spacers and a pull bar. Not only that, you don’t need a high level of carpentry skills to be able to do the job correctly.

Also because it is designed to simply “float” over existing flooring, there is less time, effort and money required to prepare the sub floor before installation can commence.

So although it is slightly more expensive to purchase per square foot, this is more than offset by the savings in labor cost as well as the cost of extra material such as glue or nails. Just as important is the fact that you get your beautiful floor much more quickly than with the traditional floors, and you save yourself a lot of stress dealing with the clutter and the subsequent cleaning up usually associated with floor installation.

Buying this type of bamboo flooring is relatively easy. Many of your good quality flooring stores will have this kind of flooring in stock. Even if they do not have any on hand when you arrive to make your purchase, it usually wouldn’t take them long to get another supply delivered to their store.

You will also find that these stores often have a large assortment of styles and makes from which you can choose. It is important that you take your time and look at all the various types available before making your final decision.

As with the traditional method of installing bamboo flooring you will find that glueless bamboo flooring is just as resilient and tough-wearing. In fact both types of installation methods use the same manufacturing process to produce each board.

If you want to have the beauty of bamboo flooring within your own home and want to know that it is going to be installed in no time at all, you should seriously consider the glueless bamboo flooring option.

Ernest Jarquio is a dedicated family man hopelessly addicted to do-it-yourself projects. For more information, visit his website, where he discusses various subjects such as glueless bamboo flooring, how to buy bamboo flooring and bamboo flooring in Oregon. Read various articles on the different aspects of hardwood, bamboo, laminate, tile and vinyl flooring.

Posted in Flooring | No Comments »

What You Need To Know Before You Buy Bamboo Flooring

Thursday, October 22nd, 2009

There are many reasons why people choose to have bamboo flooring installed in their homes. Probably one of the best reasons is that it is extremely beautiful to look at. Moreover, it is a renewable resource and therefore it is environmentally friendly. This has added to its popularity not just with homeowners but also construction contractors as well.

So what does one need to know in order to buy bamboo flooring with confidence? In this article we will take a look at some things you will need to consider when thinking of buying and having bamboo flooring installed in your home.

Firstly you need to decide what kind of flooring you want. Do you want solid, engineered or strand woven? Below we will take a closer look at these different types.

1. Solid. This comes in a variety of different lengths and can be attached together using either an adhesive or nails.

2. Engineered. This is very similar to what a laminate flooring is and can float on the surface of another flooring and often is able to be installed using a method known as click and lock. With this type of bamboo flooring you do not need to use either adhesives or nails to ensure that the floor stays in place.

3. Strand Woven. This is where the bamboo strands have been woven together, which makes the floor as durable as possible. There are some people who say that this particular kind of bamboo flooring is bomb-proof. This is probably an exaggeration and there is no evidence to substantiate this type of claim, but it is an indication of how well-regarded it is in terms of durability.

Next you need to look at the age of the bamboo that the flooring has been made out of. Generally a high-quality bamboo flooring should have been made from bamboo cane that is no less than 4 years old. It usually takes between 4 and 5 years for bamboo to fully mature.

Also when it comes to buying bamboo flooring avoid purchasing mixed bamboo as this can lead to problems such as warping and mold on it.

The next thing to consider when you decide to buy bamboo flooring is the finish. The better the final lacquer finish on the bamboo then the longer it will last. Generally, the standard finish being used by many bamboo flooring manufacturers today is Klumpp lacquer. Not only is this lacquer extremely hard wearing but often bamboo flooring covered with this will have a much longer warranty compared to others.

By remembering these few simple hints and tips above you should be able to buy the best quality bamboo flooring possible at a price that suits your budget.

Ernest Jarquio is a dedicated family man hopelessly addicted to do-it-yourself projects. For more information, visit his website, where he discusses various subjects such as how to buy bamboo flooring
bamboo flooring in Oregon and tips on
bamboo flooring installation. Read various articles on the different aspects of hardwood, bamboo, laminate, tile and vinyl flooring.

Posted in Flooring | No Comments »

Solid Hardwood Flooring vs Engineered

Wednesday, October 21st, 2009

Solid Hardwood Floors

Appearance, historical: Solid hardwood floors have been used for centuries, and they never seem to loose their charm and warmth. There are solid wood floors that are several centuries old and are still in good condition today.

Construction: Solid wood floors are one solid piece of wood that come in either prefinished or unfinished styles. Solid is milled from a single 3/4″ thick piece of hardwood: 3/4″ thick plank that is in narrow 2 1/4″ strips. This is the classic strip wood floor but the solid wood floors can be manufactured in a variety of widths and thicknesses. The most popular hardwood species used for solid wood floors are red oak, white oak, ash and maple.

Refinishing: Because of its thickness, a solid hardwood floor can be sanded and refinished over several generations of use. You can refinish, or recoat solid wood floors several times, which adds to their appeal and to their long life.

Moisture, humidity: One of the properties of solid wood flooring is that it expands and contracts with changes in your home’s relative humidity. Normally, installers compensate for this movement by leaving an expansion gap between the floor and the wall. Base molding or quarter round is traditionally used to hide the extra space. The other very important characteristic of solid wood floors is that they react to the presence of moisture. In the winter heating months, moisture leaves the wood causing the floor to contract which leaves unsightly gaps between each plank. In the summer months when the humidity is higher the wood will expand and the gaps will disappear. If there is too much moisture it may cause the wood planks to cup, or buckle. This is why it is important when installing a solid strip floor to leave the proper expansion area around the perimeter and to acclimate the wood prior to installation. Solid wood floors are sensitive to moisture and it is not recommended to install these floors below ground level, or directly over a concrete slab. These floors are for nail-down installations only.

Engineered Hardwood Floors

Prefinished engineered wood floors have become extremely popular and offer many advantages over solid wood floors. These floors are very durable, come in a wide variety of styles and hardwood species, and can be used in almost any room in the home. Engineered hardwood floors are constructed from several thin sheets of wood that are laminated together to form one plank.

Engineered floors are actually produced with three to five layers of hardwood. Each layer is stacked in a cross-grain configuration and bonded together under heat and pressure. These floors will range from 1/4″ to 9/16″ in thickness, and from 2 1/4″ to 7″ in width. The lengths will generally be random and range from 12″ v 60″ in length.

In the manufacturing of engineered hardwood floors the wood plies are stacked on top of each other in the opposite directions. By having plies reversed they help counteract the natural tendency of wood to expand and contract with different levels of humidity and moisture. Engineered wood planks are much more dimensionally stable than solid wood and can be used over wooden subfloors or concrete slabs.

If moisture is a concern, then you should consider an engineered wood floor versus a solid wood floor. The finish layer of an engineered wood floor can be a different wood specie then the plies underneath because this allows manufacturers of engineered wood floors to offer a wide variety of both domestic and exotic hardwood species without driving the costs out of sight. You can use these floors in almost any area in the home because of its dimensional stability. Most engineered floors can be nailed-down, stapled-down, glued-down or floated over many different types of subfloors. As a result, engineered wood flooring is less likely to be affected by changes in humidity and can be installed at all levels of the home.

Tanya T

http://www.barefootfloor.com

Home Design and Remodeling

Tags:
Posted in Flooring | No Comments »