New flooring | Imamother

amother

Sat, Sep 15 2007, 10:40 pm

Carpet is a no-no due to allergies.
It's a choice between linoleum or adhesive tiles. Which is least expensive? Where can I get 'em for cheap?
Brooklyn area, but can shop online of course.

southernbubby

Sat, Sep 15 2007, 10:45 pm

There is a lot of waste with linoleum because it comes in large rolls but has to be cut to fit the room. Self-stick tiles of course are the cheapest and you provide the labor but I think that most of those projects are very temporary. I think that the tiles start to come unglued if you mop with too much water.

amother

Sat, Sep 15 2007, 10:50 pm

I don't think I'll ever mop that room. If anything I'd wash with a damp rag.

southernbubby

Sat, Sep 15 2007, 10:52 pm

I use a wet swiffer. I don't have self-stick, I have laminate that fits together like a puzzle and was professionally installed but it cannot handle much water due to a foam layer underneath.

greenfire

Sat, Sep 15 2007, 11:38 pm

what is the base floor ... is it plywood ... or other ... have you checked ...

amother

Sun, Sep 16 2007, 3:23 am

Green, does it really matter?
I will go check it out within next two weeks...in the meantime can you tell me what to look out for? Like if it's plywood, then what would be a better choice for me? And if it's not plywood, then what do I do?
Thanks!

Tefila

Sun, Sep 16 2007, 11:06 am

Op I think Green was asking b/c sometimes especially in older homes the floor underneath could be hardwood and then all you will need to do is fix if up and finish it, so yes do check.

Southern bubby if the under layer is put on well and tiles are put on well with a roller after wards, then nope they do not lift even with lotta water. Though I have done this job in one room I sealed over it to further prevent any lifting Confused

greenfire

Sun, Sep 16 2007, 12:06 pm

yup ... the difference is a plywood floor MUST be covered ... but if the floor is a hardwood you can sand and coat with varathane and with a little elbow grease and time you can do the floor for the least amount of $$$ ... and sometimes a floor that has been covered is actually in pretty good condition ...

southernbubby

Sun, Sep 16 2007, 3:31 pm

The floor that is going to be covered with self stick tile must be very smooth and level, otherwise it will have a hard time adhering. National Warehouse Liquidators has self-stick for cheap. Do they still have a Booklyn branch?

amother

Sun, Sep 16 2007, 3:33 pm

OK, took the carpet off and one room has beautiful parquet beneath the carpet. The other room is a whole different story. Beneath the carpet there's the typical 'sponge' material, and beneath that sponge there's what appears to be a board of linoleum or something. I know it's not linoleum. It's some kind of hard something upon which they glued the sponge. Anyone know what that surface is? I tried plying it off but it is going to require some hard work, and I don't know which tools to try.

southernbubby

Sun, Sep 16 2007, 3:45 pm

If you don't know what is under it, are you sure you want to pry it up? Maybe you can clean up the foam and the glue and put your self-stick tile on top of that. When you start pulling up flooring, be prepared to patch up the subfloor.

Tefila

Sun, Sep 16 2007, 4:19 pm

I agree with southern if I were you leave that hard surface alone and just worry about getting rid of the carpet sponge and staples vip!

greenfire

Sun, Sep 16 2007, 4:38 pm

oh so you found a beautiful parquet floor ... hm ... see that is what I was referring to ...