[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnEAM69nlFU]
May 12
We decided to replace the nasty carpet in our third bedroom which is currently being used as our office. First we thought of using carpet, then pondered wood flooring. In the end we decided to save money and become weekend warriors. This meant go with the wood flooring. The room is about 200sqft, here is the breakdown of the materials we needed for the project.
- 8 boxes of HEMSE flooring @ $25.48 a box ( $203.84 )
- 2 rolls of NIVA floor liner @ $29.99 a roll ( $59.98 )
- 2 rolls of Sparra vapor barrier floor liner @ $17.99 a roll ( $35.98 )
- 1 FIXA floor laying kit @ $9.99
- 2 boxes of Gap spacers $9.99 ( $19.98 )
Grand Total $309.79 + tax.
I also used the follow tools for the job:
- Compound miter saw or table saw (with 60+ tooth carbine blade)
- Jigsaw
- Brad nailer
- Wonderbar
- Undercut saw
- Any available friends/family!
Pre-Install:
Remove baseboards, carpet, padding and tackstrips. Use a putty knife to remove all of the glue and excess padding left behind. Fill all of the holes that the tackstrip nails left in the cement (we installed in the basement on cement floors). Yes, fill all 10,000 of them.
The Install:
Lay one widths worth of the vapor barrier and floor liner across the longest wall in the room. I continued the vapor barrier up the wall for extra protection. It will be hidden by the baseboards later. Follow the install directions for the flooring you purchased.
Post-Install:
Reinstall baseboards and quarter-round. This is where the air brad nailer comes in handy! After a couple of hours cursing at the thresholds 40 trips to home depotd
Tips and Lessons Learned:
- When you come to doorways make sure you undercut the door jambs so the flooring can slip under for a nice professionally installed look. I removed the door moldings. Doing so, made the job 100x easier.
- Remember to flip the board when you are measuring and cutting. If you don’t you will cut the wrong edge and end up with a wasted a board.
- Measure, measure, measure! Make sure you know where you are going to end up (width and length). You don’t want to be left with a little sliver of laminate between the last board and the wall.
