Flooring rant

[Crankshaft]

So after 3 years of being in this house i decided to replace the ugly, cheap laminate flooring the previous owner installed before she left. My first surprise came when i pulled the first pieces of laminate off the floor; she poured so much damn adhesive and without proper preparation that there was mold under the laminate(every single inch on it). After taking a whole day to scrape the adhesive off the floor and begin to prepare for tile installation came the second surprise; the floor is so wavy that it is ridiculous(how wavy could it be you might ask, as wavy as a mexican soccer match). I was counting on being done with this project this weekend but as my history goes, there seems to always be some kind of shiet happening to my; i feel like a human version of Wiley Coyote. I was excited to start this project because it was the first time my wife was gladly taking part on it but even that went sideways as she managed to step on the only nail facing up on the floor. Yall's boy is done for the day though, i normally push through but its too much work for one person not to mention my dewalt grinder and drill got rained on while i was inside laying tile. Sorry brothers but i had to get it off me.

[Jarrett]

Keep after it.

What type of floor was the laminate flooring place on? I'm assuming the concrete slab? If so, I would invest in a decent laser level and grab a cheap stringline. Find the corner of the room that looks the highest and measure up from the subfloor enough room for a thin layer of grout and the thickness of the tile. That can be your top of tile marker. Shoot that elevation across the room, mark that spot on the opposite wall and run a stringline from those two points. Then you can go to a perpendicular wall and shoot the laser across that distance. If the laser is level and the light is hitting the stringline running perpendicular to it, then it's at the same exact elevation with no slope. Set a stringline in the same way you did before. I recommend just stapling the string to the drywall, unless you can manage to get some tape to hold it.

You can do the same thing diagonally across the room if you want to be thorough, but you've now established a common elevation to match where the highest point in the room was. Measure down from the string in a few areas to determine how far off you are. You can even keep the string in place as a measure when applying the grout so that you know how thick you need to leave the mud in the bad spots. I'd recommend the strongest stuff you can get simply because it's now having to provide strength to the floor instead of just acting as a bonding agent.

[Crankshaft]

I was doing something similar but using a simple level, at one point I had planned to put vinyl in the garage but didn't because of the same reason(wavy floor). It's ridiculous how thick I have to lay in some areas to keep it level. This will definitely take DAYS to do, and will be a miracle if I can get it close to leveled but at least the room seems square so at least I have that going for me.

[toycar]

sucks, but pretty common during remodels. good luck. be patient. its worth investing the time

[cb9love]

hack jobs

The hack jobs you find on old cars pale in comparison to the hack jobs you find on old houses.

House projects are like car projects in the respect if you just want to live in it or just drive it, you need to find one that was maintained professionally or by a meticulous owner. If you want a full on custom find one that's a shell. It's never a good idea to buy someones project or "maintained" by the owner.(unless the fall into the the meticulous category)

[Raf99]

Ya, you opened up a can of worms there. (Use to do flooring and carpet with my dad). You never know what crap work is hiding under a floor. From leveling techniques to 4 layers of crap. Most times you have to rip it up to the concrete/studs to make everything level again.

[deevergote]

Ugh, I hate glued-down laminate. I want to install some laminate in my kitchen and dining room, but I plan to use floating planks over the existing linoleum. If the next owner doesn't like it, they can remove it pretty painlessly!

[toycar]

Most times you have to rip it up to the concrete/studs to make everything level again.

Only honest/permanent way to handle the job right here

Ugh, I hate glued-down laminate. I want to install some laminate in my kitchen and dining room, but I plan to use floating planks over the existing linoleum. If the next owner doesn't like it, they can remove it pretty painlessly!

Use a good underlayment and you'll be just fine. I prefer the antimicrobial stuff you can get now like this:

http://www.sears.com/roberts-airguar...FdERgQodXeEPmQ


Do the prep work right and laying the floor is easy if you are just going to float over the old floor.

[Crankshaft]

Only honest/permanent way to handle the job right here



Use a good underlayment and you'll be just fine. I prefer the antimicrobial stuff you can get now like this:

http://www.sears.com/roberts-airguar...FdERgQodXeEPmQ


Do the prep work right and laying the floor is easy if you are just going to float over the old floor.

Yeah it took me all day saturday 8am to 8pm to remove all the glue, paint and miscelaneous substances off the floor down to the bare concrete. I had done minimal tile work in my early teens before all this fancy stuff nowadays was used but the concrete was leveled and the tile went on with no problems at all and a basic level had it unbelievably flat; this time it was unlike anything i have seen before(using my garage as an example, there are areas almost a whole inch lower than the rest of the floor) and when i consulted a friend who does this for a living he wanted me to schedule an appointment for a quote. As a man i wantit as perfect as possible but realistically speaking unless i pay a professional it will be darn impossible.

[h22sparkle]

Go with black marble tile or with that dark gold and green I helped my family install it it got a little tedious at first but after the first time laying tile down it never gets old and the accomplishment feels rewarding.

[Raf99]

ya, i'm not sure what you are working with here (concrete floor, multi-level house, etc.) but don't go with a pro unless you have the $$$. They will want to do it right and will either rip up the subfloor and install joist to re-level or use concrete. If the 1" offset is not noticeable I would just clean up the subfloor the best you can and install the new floor. It will look great and no-one will notice a thing. Plus when you spill stuff it will pool in one spot for ya