Blog : flooringsupply | Flooring Supply Shop Blog - Part 18Flooring Supplies

Flooring Options for which you dont need an expert

A common practice seen nowadays is that most of the homeowners have started doing repair, renovation and up-gradation of their homes on their own. Homeowners are less dependent on the experts for these jobs as the market is flooded with products that are easy to use, irrespective of the skill set they possess. A common task which has gained immense popularity among DIY enthusiasts is floor installation. Proper floor installation is vital to enhance the aesthetics and render a completely new look to the abode.

There are several flooring options available in the market, amongst which there are few that are easier for homeowners to install. The flooring options that most of the homeowners opt for while doing installation on their own are laminate, engineered wood, cork and vinyl.

Laminate flooring is generally chosen by DIYers as it is quite simple to install. Most importantly, it does not require removal of the old flooring, which is quite time-consuming. Laminate flooring is popularly known as floating floor as it floats above the floor and is not permanently attached to it. These are available in a wide range of choices that suit the budget and preference of almost every homeowner. Besides, laminate flooring can be engineered to resemble wood or stone flooring that are quite time-consuming to install as well as expensive in comparison to the floating flooring.

Another flooring option that homeowners often choose for their homes while doing the installation themselves is the engineered wood flooring. These come as tongue and groove installation system that is extremely easy to install and does not demand any expert guidance. Homeowners have to install this flooring over an underlayment that is mostly rubber-foam. This type of hardwood flooring is considered durable and comprises three layers. The wooden cross-band is sandwiched between the veneer bottom layer and pre-finished hardwood exterior layer.

Cork flooring has also gained immense importance as a preferred DIY flooring option as it is not only easy to install but offers various advantages as well. It is soft, long-lasting and natural insulator, along with being resistant to irritants like mold and mildew. Besides, homeowners can render a unique look to their flooring with the help of numerous stains and finishes. Many homeowners think twice before using this flooring option as it is one of the most expensive flooring options. However, it is one of the flooring options that actually add value to the house and is thus considered as a profitable investment.

With the coming of vinyl flooring in the floating floor format, vinyl sheet flooring has become one of the preferred choices of DIYers. Homeowners just have to lay the dimensionally correct sheets and install shoe molding at the meeting point of the wall and sheets. This is so simple that every homeowner can install vinyl flooring over the old flooring without any hassle.

Thus, homeowners who wish to change the look of their house, but do not want to spend money on seeking professional help can do this easily by installing floor on their own.

Warm Home in Cold Winters with Radiant Floor Heating

Warm Home in Cold Winters with SunTouch Radiant Floor Heating

Solar heating technology has come a long way, with energy being tapped and utilized more effectively. There are innumerable uses of solar energy in households and commercial set-ups, which is conventionally converted to thermal energy and used for heating water, heating home or pool. However, solar heating activities depend on the amount of solar radiation received by the surface area and surface reflectance. Moreover, other factors such as surface emissivity, ambient temperature and thermal convection from wind also play significant part in solar heating.

SunTouch Radiant Floor Heating option is an excellent solution, worth consideration while planning for cold winter months. The method has several advantages, most notable being energy saver, reduced utility costs and clean energy. A radiant floor heating system is viable with solar energy, due to relatively low temperature of hot water that solar systems produce very efficiently. There are several radiant floor heating systems, such as masonry heater and gas boiler, which accept heat energy from sun.

The advanced dual-wire technology of SunTouch Radiant Floor Heating allows homeowners to install mats that end at preferred location. These mats are flexible option for heating, as mat can be positioned in various angles such as 90° and 180°. Entire section is heated thoroughly as wires can be fitted easily at any angle and into curves. However, open weave design of the wire mesh is recommended owing to strong bonding of the thinset to the surface, above as well as beneath the heating mat. For an ideal floor warming application, wire spacing limit is determined to be within 90°.

A heating cable, a foil radiator and a set of power leads for connection to the floor-sensing control are the integral components of the SunTouch Radiant Floor Heating Mats. The heating mats are Aramid reinforced and have ETFE high-temperature insulation along with oxygen-free copper alloys and XLPE (PEX) jacket. These heating mats are appreciated for easy installation, easy connection establishment, convenient management and safe usage.

To ascertain maximum safety, heating element mesh is woven beside the mat in a ring-like shielded jacket. The set-up facilitates power supply to the grounding wire within the junction box for the thermostat. Along with safety and intrinsic attributes, homeowners have appreciated SunTouch Radiant Floor Heating system for its aestheticism.

After continual research and development, solar floor heating systems have become immensely effective and efficient. Over the years, these systems have also provided architectural flexibility to the users and can be installed in any part of the house. Moreover, installation of SunTouch Radiant Floor Heating system reduces amount of air pollution by limiting greenhouse gases that are emitted using alternative fuels such as oil, propane and natural gas for heating. In case the solar system cannot meet heating requirements, back-up systems can be synchronized for heat supply.

For ensuring warm home in cold winters, one can choose SunTouch Radiant Floor Heating. However, planning the layout of the electrical floor heaters, budget and daily or yearly projections are some of the basics that need to be considered by homeowners before availing this solution.

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Do You Need a Residential General Contractor

A residential general contractor is a professional who organizes and executes large home remodeling projects. People often confuse these home remodeling professionals with home improvement contractors, who usually undertake smaller tasks. The residential general contractors can easily undertake projects to add space or make better use of established space; thereby ensuring a better living experience for homeowners.

Keeping in perspective the different requirements of homeowners, residential general contractors provide expert advice and come up with innovative ideas to ensure a better return on investment. These professionals are experienced, skillful, and proficient to carry out different home remodeling jobs with perfection. They do not do all the work themselves; rather they delegate it to a team of professionals, including home improvement contractors, also referred to as ‘subcontractors’.

Many homeowners prefer to do home remodeling projects on their own, especially to save money. However, most they do not realize that every job is not a ‘Do-It-Yourself’ task; and thus, they often end up making things worse; thereby incurring additional expenses for mending their mistakes. Additionally, it also leads to wastage of time, which homeowners could have utilized for doing something consequential. Hence, depending upon the job, you need to assess whether or not you need to hire a residential general contractor.

For example, if you are planning to remodel your kitchen all by yourself; you are only going to mess it up. Remodeling a kitchen is not a simple task; it demands at least five-six weeks of diligent efforts, which is usually not possible in today’s hectic lifestyle. There is plumbing, painting, flooring and electrical work to be done, which demand certain amount of skills. Additionally, counter-top, cabinet and appliances need to be installed efficiently. All this work requires significant amount of skill, hard work, patience, and time. More often than not, you will have to seek help of professionals, like electrician, plumber, carpenter, painter, floor installer and others, which may cost you a fortune. Instead, you must hire a residential general contractor, who not only coordinates the work of all of these professionals, but also takes charge of the entire project. He supervises the project to deliver quality work within the stipulated time-frame.

There are certain things that you can keep in mind while ascertaining whether you need to hire a residential general contractor or not. It is generally advised to avail the services of a residential general contractor if the job demands longer duration of time, such as more than a week. You need to hire a professional if the task requires few permits from concerned authorities; or if the job needs different experts for completion.

Depending upon these parameters, if you do decide to hire a residential general contractor ensure that he is experienced, skilled and proficient. Also, make sure that he is licensed and has certain market credibility. In order to judge the potential of the contractor, ask for references and a portfolio of projects completed by him. Before starting the work, make sure you finalize the payment details with the contractor well in advance. All these simple steps will help you make a wise decision and select the right residential general contractor for your home remodeling project.

The Must-Have Flooring Tools

Best Flooring tools for sale

There has been an increasing trend among homeowners to opt for the ‘Do it Yourself’ task regarding home renovation. Some of these DIY home renovation tasks include flooring, painting and grouting, among many others. These DIY tasks not only demand homeowners to possess a particular skill set, but also require them to have requisite tools.

Possessing adequate tools is necessary to accomplish the task properly. Having necessary tools not only reduce the efforts and stress, but also ensure perfection in job. Moreover, a badly done home renovation defeats the sole purpose of doing DIY, which is to save money. This is so because a badly done DIY task would result in incur of expenses for repair and correction. Hence, homeowners who wish to indulge in DIY home tasks should have all the necessary tools required for successful completion of the job.

One of the most commonly chosen DIY tasks by homeowners is flooring and that too tiling of the floor in particular. While installing tiles at home, one of the most common problems faced by them is lippage. This problem occurs when the tiles are not uniformly set to form one flat surface. As a result, the aesthetics of the house is adversely affected and also lippage may result in cracking or breaking of the tiles. For this, homeowners can opt for the Tuscan Leveling System which ensures that the tiling is done perfectly without any lippage. This leveling system has been designed for DIY enthusiasts and can be used by homeowners with any skill set. Another tool that proves useful while tiling is the tile spacer that facilitates straight grout lines. The uniform finish renders a neat look which enhances the appearance of the place.

In addition, homeowners can also purchase the Primo Bucket Brush, which takes the hard work and mess out of cleaning buckets, saving a lot of time, money, and water.The Bucket Brush is designed to use a ½” portable drill to provide the power. Not only does the Bucket Brush save time, it saves the environment. Mixing buckets can now be used over and over again before they ever end-up in landfills.

Homeowners doing flooring on their own must also possess tools like tile cutters, tile saws, diamond hole saws and undercut saws. In addition, they can purchase straight edges, trowels, grout floats, diamond blades and stone fabrication products. The grout grabber tool, polishing pads and Montgomery degree pitch level tool are few of the other tools that homeowners should have.

Besides these specific tools, there are several other tools that the homeowners must possess to ensure proper completion of DIY flooring tasks. The most important among them is the safety gear, which includes knee pads, gloves, eye gear and respiratory mask, among others.

Homeowners should ensure that they possess all the tools before initiating any DIY project. However, before going on a shopping spree to purchase flooring tools, homeowners should first make an itinerary of the tools that are actually required. This would help avoid purchasing something that is not required and also ensure buying tools that are necessary.

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Slate A Great Flooring Option

Flooring is an integral part of the house, which can significantly affect its appearance. Hence, it is vital to select the right flooring option for your home, which can make it look more attractive and appealing. Among the various flooring options available, more and more people are opting for slate, for residential as well as commercial buildings. Owing to its versatility and aesthetic appeal, it is increasingly being used in interiors as well as exteriors. Not only is it a feasible flooring option, but is also a great option for the walls, ceilings and roofs.

Slate adds elegance and sophistication to an interior, which other flooring options cannot. This sturdy natural-stone flooring option is formed when minute particles of silt and clay bind under high pressure and temperature. Owing to this process, slate gets its monolithic and ultra-fine texture. It is generally gray in color, but can also have shades of blue or green on it. However, it is also available in other colors like purple, brown and white pink, among others. You can make use of slate’s different shades of color for creating unique designs for your flooring. Along with its diversity in colors, slate tiles are also found in varied shapes, thicknesses and finishes. You can combine these variable attributes to your advantage and come up with different flooring ideas for house.

In comparison to various other flooring options, slate is a more durable and long lasting material. Once installed, it can last for many years and you may not have to replace it with any other flooring; thus, proving cost advantage. Additionally, it also has low maintenance requirements, unlike some other flooring options such as hardwood flooring. Slate is also resistant to dirt, and requires regular mopping with mild detergent cleaning.

The fine molecular structure of slate renders several advantages over other flooring options. Along with being tough, it is also resistant to moisture, which guarantees firm footing and avoids slipping or gliding. Owing to this, slate is a great flooring option for high traffic areas, or areas that are exposed to water, like hallways, porches, kitchen and bathrooms. In addition, this anti-stain flooring option is also bacteria and allergen resistant, thereby reducing the risk of diseases. To top it all, slate is quite affordable as compared to most of the other available flooring options, like marble and granite.

Due to the various advantages offered by it, slate proves to be a great flooring option that can enhance the appearance of any décor. However, an important thing which one should always keep in consideration is that the installation must be done in the right manner. If the installation is not done properly, flooring may be susceptible to breakage.

Since slate is a heavy natural stone, it needs to be installed correctly on a strong, solid subfloor instead of a flexible subfloor. Once properly installed, it will last for several years, without much maintenance requirements. Hence, if you are planning to install new flooring, you should opt for slate, which has become a preferred flooring choice of many people.

To seal use Slate Sealer by Glaze n Seal that offers unsurpassed low gloss protection for slate, quarry, tile, and other dense tile. This easy to apply, fast drying, non-yellowing acrylic provides a barrier against oil, water, based stains, acids, and efflorescence indoors and outdoors. With excellent UV and abrasion resistance.

Author: flooringsupply

Flooring Options for which you dont need an expert

Warm Home in Cold Winters with Radiant Floor Heating

Do You Need a Residential General Contractor

The Must-Have Flooring Tools

Slate A Great Flooring Option

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