How much carpet do I need?

Carpet is advertised by the square yard or by the square foot depending on the market you live in or the store you go to. A square yard is 9 square feet. Pricing by the square foot can help you compare costs with tile or laminate or wood flooring. So if the carpet you are looking at is sold by the yard just divide by 9 to get your square foot cost.

 

Knowing how much carpet you need is not as easy as figuring out the square footage of your room. That approach works fairly well for tile and wood floors, if you figure in a 5-10% waste factor. Carpet is different because it is manufactured in 12 foot or wider pieces. Carpet is a textile and when it is laid it all has to run the same direction on the floor or it will not appear to be the same color. If the room is wider than the carpet you will have seams where the pieces of carpet are connected together and a decision will have to be made on where those will look best. Also if the carpet has a pattern that needs to be accounted for, you will want the pattern to match on the seam so it will be less noticeable. You can take a diagram of your room(s), including measurements with you when you go to look at carpet, generally people at the store can give you a close estimate of how much you need. But before you buy you should have a flooring professional come out and measure. They can then tell you exactly how much carpet you need depending on the width and pattern repeat* of the carpet you choose.

 

You will want to get three estimates before you make your purchase. So you can compare apples to apples, the estimate should include:

• carpet
• labor
• pad - since there are many types of pad make sure they are quoting the same kind.
• stair labor - if applicable
• tear out and disposal of old carpet - if you are not planning on doing this yourself

We found a great resource for how to create a simple floor plan at The Assistant Product Group site.
Click here to download the pdf instructions.

Look for articles in the near future about types of carpet (wool, nylon, polyester etc.) and types of pad.

*Pattern Repeat is the length and width of the pattern in the carpet.

Dustless Floor Refinishing

If you have ever had your floors refinished you know that sanding floors is a huge dusty mess. Is there a better, cleaner way? Yes, there are specially designed dust containment systems from manufacturers like Bona that take the mess out of sanding. Just like a big vacuum the Bona system pumps the dust out to a trailer. All the equipment used (belt sander, buffer and edger) are connected by hoses so the dust particles can be captured during the sanding process and sent directly to the containment trailer.

The man who invented the original dustless containment system, was said to be, a professional carpet cleaner who realized that by reconfiguring his carpet cleaning machine he could make it suck in dust rather than water. Such a simple notion but it has revolutionized floor refinishing. Less particles floating around in the air means a cleaner, healthier, environment for your family. Wood dust is not healthy to breath and neither are the chemicals in the old finish being sanded off your floor. OSHA states; 

“Wood dust becomes a potential health problem when wood particles from processes such as sanding and cutting become airborne. Breathing these particles may cause allergic respiratory symptoms, mucosal and non-allergic respiratory symptoms, and cancer.” 

So a dustless system means your family can stay in your home while the work is being done without worry.  This saves you time, money and stress of displacement. It also means a clearer finish because there is less chance of dust settling on the finish before it dries. 

Dustless systems have been around for less than 10 years but are becoming an industry standard. The cost in your area can be similar or a little more than a regular sand and finish but the health and other benefits easily outweigh the costs.

Make sure to ask your flooring professional about dustless refinishing.

Newly Finished Hardwood Floors - What Do I Do Now?

So you just got your floor installed and finished or perhaps you had the surface refinished. Now what do you do? How do you keep the floor looking its best? Here is a little fact: In the first 24 hours the finish reaches 90% of its hardness, but the last 10% of  its hardness happens over the next 3 weeks. The 3 weeks are crucial to the quality of the finish. Here are a few dos and don’ts to help you keep that floor looking great.

1. Once the final coat is dry, the floor may be walked on with clean socks only, No bare feet and No shoes.
2. After 24 hours shoes or bare feet are ok and furniture may be set on the floor, No dragging or pushing. Furniture feet need felt pads. These can be purchased at home improvement stores or department stores, they can sometimes even be found at your local dollar store.
3. No Pets on the floor for 1 week – since the finish isn’t fully hardened claws and paws can cause damage.
4. No Rugs on the floor for 3 weeks – rugs smother the finish and make it change color.
5. No Tape or any adhesive product for 3 weeks – this means no painting, just hold off.

Some of these restrictions will be hard to follow but the results will be well worth the patience you put into preserving the quality of your newly finished floor.

Solid Hardwood Floors vs. Engineered Wood Floors

If you ask people, "Which is better solid hardwood floors or engineered wood floors?" Most people would instantly respond that solid hardwood floors are the best and engineered floors are a poor second choice. This really is not true. They are both great products.

Let's start with the similarities, both solid and engineered wood floors are:

• real wood
• available unfinished so you can stain and finish on site
• available prefinished (usually an aluminum oxide finish)
• available in different board widths and lengths
• will scratch and dent
• need special care
• beautiful

Solid hardwood floors are just that, solid wood cut from the tree species of your choice, traditionally ¾” thick. Most times it can be refinished more often than an engineered product. It is usually installed unfinished and the finish is applied on site. This way, the color and type of finish can be customized for your home. Solid wood floors are a good choice for ground level or above ground level with a wood, plywood or OSB subfloor. To install this at below ground level or on concrete or a gypcrete (radiant heat) floor, first a subfloor layer would have to put down of plywood, wood or OSB. This can create a height issues with the other floors in the house.

Engineered floors are a veneer (thinner piece of premium wood) over layers of other wood all glued and pressed together to make a ½” to ¾” product, which can be installed just like a solid. Sometimes the top piece of wood (the wear layer) is deep enough to be refinished multiple times. Engineered flooring will be more stable and affected less by changes in humidity than a solid wood floor. It is the best candidate for below ground level and over concrete or gypcrete floors. It’s like the subfloor is built in.

 Once a solid hardwood floor or and engineered wood floor is installed you really can’t tell the difference so it comes down to what works for your application and what you prefer.