Flooring is a very popular and doable DIY project. Tile, engineered products, solid hardwood, I’ve seen plenty of flooring installs that look great, until… The hardest part about some flooring projects is making the transition from one type of flooring to another, usually in a door or hallway. The key to success is to think [...]
Why does one tile make a funny noise?
November 22, 2010 By 2 Comments
Question: I just installed new tile in my front entry way. Seems like it came out just fine but there is one tile that makes a funny noise. When my wife walks on it in her high-heel shoes it sounds hollow underneath. Why is it doing that (is the tile broken—or breaking?) and can it [...]
How do I know if my sinking house is a problem?
September 4, 2010 By Leave a Comment
So, I’ve got a sinking feeling. I’m in a townhouse, in the middle of a group, and it was built about 35 years ago. When I place furniture along either of the adjoining walls, it leans in towards the middle of the house. It’s pretty noticeable to me but I‘m not sure if it’s really [...]
My FixItUpLife talk show: Floored
July 9, 2010 By 1 Comment
We’re talking all-things floors: hardwood, laminate, tile, carpet, vinyl, cork, and more. Whether you are ripping out old floors or installing new, we’re breaking down our top tool picks and sharing design trends and unique ideas to using your flooring cut-offs along the way. We chat with Linda from Armtrong Flooring about the latest key [...]
Any advice for a novice in buying wood flooring?
May 17, 2010 By 1 Comment
Hi Theresa and Mark, My husband and I are living in a 200 yr old center hall colonial in MA that we renovated with our church as a parsonage. It is gorgeous. We own our 1986 home in Florida and my father-in-law is living there. Next month we are going to FL to rip up [...]
Installing Flooring Around Doors: Tools and Techniques
March 20, 2010 By 4 Comments
Problem: Luke from Ambler wanted to know the trick for installing flooring around the bottoms of door jambs. He doesn’t want to notch the tiles around the bottom of the door jamb—good move!—and wants to know how I make this cut. Answer: I use a Japanese style pull-saw. Irwin makes them. I’ve also had great [...]
Deck Building and Wood Flooring Trick
January 22, 2010 By 5 Comments
Theresa and I used a deck-building trick installing our wide plank pine floor as part of our ongoing kitchen remodel. See, we’re using Eastern White Pine and the beauty of it is its imperfection, part of which is that boards are bowed sometimes. So to snug up the seems between boards we used the old [...]
FixitUp Find: QuietWarmth Radiant Floor System
August 27, 2009 By Leave a Comment
Warm is good. In winter my mind turns to keeping warm, and to smart solutions for keeping my customers warm — efficiently, cost effectively toasty — in my remodeling projects. Warm floor concepts are great. I love the notion and the practice of heating large, monolithic elements like the floor instead of whispy molecules that [...]
Passion for Wide Plank Pine Floors
July 13, 2009 By Leave a Comment
There’s something about pine that people connect with. It’s refined yet rustic, making it the right design call for many projects like additions, kitchens and second homes or simple flooring upgrades. The way I really feel, though, is that I love them! The texture, grain, knots, width and patina speak to me. I’ve installed wide [...]
Bruce Turlington Lock & Fold Floors
May 14, 2009 By Leave a Comment
Your customer wants hardwood floors in a basement remodel or over a slab in an urban build-out. You know that for solid hardwood you must install (with loads of glue and a million powder-actuated nails — oh, joy!) a 3/4-inch subfloor to accept cleat nails or staples for solid sawn stock. You might be able [...]
