Select Your Flooring First

When decorating a new home or remodeling an existing home, choosing your carpet or hard surface flooring first is generally a good idea. Flooring not only influences what you choose for a specific room, it influences adjacent rooms as well. This is why a uniform flooring selection through out of same color carpet, hardwood flooring or natural stone visuals are a popular choice.

Secondly, because flooring replacement cycles are generally longer, using conservative flooring choices provide greater flexibility over the long haul. Colorful area rugs can be used to create greater impact in the room. Typically it is easier to select colors and designs that go well with your carpet or flooring choice than it is to select a flooring that coordinates with a wider variety of decorative furnishings.

Do-It-Yourself Porcelain Tile

Interesting New Porcelain Floating Floor Tile Installation

Interlocking hardwood and laminate flooring have been a big hit with do-it-yourselfers but early attempts to duplicate this technique in ceramic tile products haven’t worked so well. A new product from Avaire looks like it might have the answer. The Avaire interlocking system is much different from previous products that tried to use similar systems used for hardwood and laminate flooring. Avaire’s innovative approach is to adhere the tile to a plastic tray that has locking mechanisms along each side that click in place to join the tiles. Next a flexible grout is used to finish the job.

Benefits of a System Like This

The benefits of a floating system are many. First, because the tile is not being adhered to the existing floor it reduces the floor preparation that normally goes with traditional tile installations. Floor preparation adds significantly to both the time and cost of the installation. Secondly, the tray system, and the fact that it is not adhered offers some sound deadening qualities. Third, the Avaire system makes it possible to disassemble the installation and reuse somewhere else. It also makes it easy to repair. To learn more you can visit their website, www.avairefloors.com .

Real Hardwood Flooring in Your Basement

Yes you can install real hardwood in your basement but it needs to be an engineered hardwood product. Engineered hardwood construction is similar to that of plywood where several layers of wood are fused together with the grain of each ply going 90 degrees of each other. This construction stabilizes the product so that it does not expand and contract like a solid wood products.

Please note that even engineered products should not be installed in an area where moisture is a problem. You must correct any moisture problems first. To install your engineered product with an adhesive the slab must be clean and level. You may also choose one of the new edge locking systems now offered with engineered hardwood products. This is particularly nice for you do-it-yourselfers, as these products do not require as much subfloor preparation.

Note that these engineered products can also be used for installations on slabs poured directly on-grade. As with the basement, check for any signs of moisture.