November 13, 2013
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New floor in living and family rooms
On Veterans’ Day I got half of the floor done in the two living areas, thanks to help from my brother-in-law Diego who worked with me from 7:45 a.m. to 3:00.
The flooring is a thick snap-lock floor I got from Lumber Liquidators. (I bought the foam padding online because it was $10 a roll instead of $25.) It ended up being a tricky job, mostly because it’s hard to keep a straight line when you’re connecting two rooms through a doorway. We have found a tapping block to be an invaluable tool.
The first thing we did was reinstall the cedar beams around the fireplace. They look considerably better now that they have been sanded and oiled. There is more scalloped trim to be added once the floor and baseboards are done. I also need to put up the mantelpiece.
Here you can see the cedar up close. There were big plugs in the holes. I need to reinstall the plugs, cut them flush, and oil them.
Working through the doorway required adding flooring in both rooms out as far as we could, then notching a piece of flooring around the wall, trimming off the little lip that provides the snap-lock, running a bead of glue along that edge, and tapping the piece back into place where it connects both sides of the wall. The two rooms are a little different so we had to lever the flooring out from the wall on one side to try to square it up with the other one. It’s still tricky trying to add flooring in this area of the room, because there is still a tiny bit of an angle. (We undercut the door trim so the floor edges don’t show much at all.)
I had fun notching around this piece by the chimney. I cut a little curve to fill in where the cedar has splintered. (The hole to the right of the column is maybe 1/8″ or 3/16″ but looks bigger in the photo.)
I have done all this work without a tape measure; I just hold the piece I’m going to use against the space or wall or beam, and mark with a pencil. If I need lines I use a scrap of flooring as a square or ruler. I’d use my square but I can’t find it. So far I’m very happy with my level of precision.
Comments (16)
the flooring goes perfectly with the cedar fireplace surround…is the flooring cedar too?
Great Job Tim and Diego!
Thanks. The floor is supposed to be rustic hickory. I would have preferred a lighter color but this was what we found that met our criteria, and we’re happy with it.
It’s going to be beautiful, Tim — do remember to post final “after” pictures too!
Thank you. I will. There’s still outlets to switch out (the ones in there are black), baseboards to touch up or paint and reinstall, and the book shelves to paint and put back.
This is not just skill but a level of artistry not generally seen in the workmanship of most contractors. I love the color – I’m sure it will be a source of pride when all done!!
Thank you! One of the things I love about being my age is having skills (cue Napoleon Dynamite). I’ve done a number of these floors before, and this is the best work I’ve done. We would have liked a lighter color, but this is fine, and it met our other criteria (price, durability, texture)
Nice job!
Thanks. I’m enjoying this work tremendously. It’s handy having Alicia in Colombia right now because she hates mess and sawdust. I’ll have a lot of cleaning to do before she returns.
I’ve put this stuff in 3 rooms in my house, it always ends up looking beautiful, that laminate flooring has such a nice look to it.
I’ve done laminate floors before but not for myself. This seems to be a high-quality product. Much thicker than the 7mm or 8mm stuff I installed before.
my brother-in-law is a contractor and he said that he had trouble putting a floor down. LOL so you did well.
Not only do you save money doing it yourself, but you can have the pride of knowing you did it. It’s a lot of work, but it seems like it is worth it. I’m glad you had some help. It’s a nice looking floor.
Looking good! I bet Alicia will be pleased.
Beautiful job, Tim and Diego! Are you available to do other people’s floors!?
I’m so glad, Tim, that you are getting to use your amazing talent on your own house! I know you’ve helped so many other people through the years!
HUGS!!!
You always amaze me , Tim . This is pure antique art .
Congrats
In friendship
Michel
Thank you. I love doing this kind of work.