Floors and tile
Some types of floor cover are more durable than others. Vinyl lasts longer than carpet. Ceramic tile lasts longer than wood block or strip flooring. But no floor material has a life expectancy equal to that of the house itself. That makes flooring a popular focus in home improvement work.
All floor cover requires a base that’s structurally sound, clean, level (to 1/4" per 10’ span) and dry (moisture content of the subfloor should not exceed 13 percent). Concrete makes a good base, assuming the surface is smooth and incorporates a good vapor barrier. Untempered hardboard, plywood, and particleboard also make a good base for flooring. Use either 1/4"- or 3/8"-thick sheets. Underlayment needs a 1/32" gap at the edges and the ends to allow for expansion. Underlayment-grade plywood has a sanded, C-plugged or better face. If moisture isn’t a problem, use interior type plywood. Otherwise use either exterior or interior grade plywood with exterior glue. Trowel on a smooth coat of cement-based underlay to prepare nearly any floor surface for resilient flooring.
Repair, recover or remove?
Adhesive used to secure resilient flooring tends to deteriorate when moisture comes up through the subfloor. If resilient tile comes loose, Parko Home Renovations can reset the tile in new adhesive that’s designed for use below grade. If the resilient tile is cracked, broken or has chipped edges, it’s usually better to install new flooring. Matching new tile with old tile isn’t practical. Resilient tile changes color with age. But it may not be necessary to remove the old surface when installing new. If the old surface is scarred, stained, abraded or has been embossed by the weight of furniture, Parko Home Renovations can apply a liquid leveler, or trowel on a cement-based underlayment to smooth the surface. Parko Home Renovations can install the new floor cover. If unevenness in the underlayment is showing through, remove the old surface and do some leveling before installing the new floor cover. Remove resilient tile if the new floor cover is also to be resilient tile.
If a wood floor is smooth and free of large cracks, refinishing may put the floor back in like-new condition. Most wood flooring can be sanded and refinished several times. Softwood flooring with no subfloor is an exception. Even one sanding might weaken the floor too much. Plywood block flooring can sometimes be sanded and refinished. Thin wood flooring and wood flooring with wide cracks usually has to be replaced – any patch would be obvious.
New Wood FlooringNew Wood Flooring
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Wood flooring, sheet vinyl with resilient backing, and carpeting can be installed directly over an existing hardwood floor, assuming any voids have been filled and the surface isn’t loose. Shrinkage cracks are more common where boards are wide. Parko Home Renovations can install laminated wood flooring over ceramic, wood or resilient flooring, so long as the surface is firm and dry.
New wood flooring
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Hardwood flooring is available in tongue-and-groove strips and blocks (parquet). Some thinner patterns of strip flooring are square-edged. The most common hardwood strip flooring is 25/32" thick by 2-1/4" wide and has a hollow back. Strips are random lengths and vary from 2’ to 16’ long. The face is slightly wider than the bottom so joints will be tight on the surface.
Softwood flooring is also available in strips and blocks. Most softwood strip flooring has tongue-and-groove edges, although some types are end matched. Softwood flooring costs less than most hardwood species, but it’s also less wear-resistant and shows surface abrasions more readily. Use softwood flooring in light traffic areas such as closets. No matter which type of flooring you select, Parko Home Renovations will give the material a few days to reach the moisture content of the room where it will be installed.
Strip flooring is normally laid at right angles to the floor joists. When new strip flooring is installed over old, Parko Home Renovations will lay the new strips at right angles to the old, no matter what direction the floor joists run.
Parko Home Renovations begin installation of tongue-and-groove flooring by placing the first strip 1/2" to 5/8" away from the wall. That allows for expansion and prevents buckling when the moisture content increases. Parko Home Renovations nail straight down through the face of the first strip. The nail will be close enough to the wall to be covered by the base or shoe molding. We nail into a joist if the new flooring is laid at right angles to the joists. Drive a second nail through the tongue of this first strip. All other strips are nailed through the tongue only. Parko Home Renovations drive these nails at an angle of 45 to 50 degrees. We leave the head just above the surface to avoid damaging the strip with our hammer. Parko Home Renovations then use a large nail set to drive nails the last quarter inch.
New Wood FlooringNew Wood Flooring
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Parko Home Renovations stagger the end joints of strip flooring so butts are separated in adjacent courses. We install each new strip tightly against the previously installed strip. We use shorter strips and crooked strips at the end of courses or in closets.
Parquet tile is made from narrow wood slats formed into a square. Parquet block flooring can be applied with adhesive over a concrete floor protected from moisture with a vapor barrier.
Laminate Wood FlooringLaminate Wood Flooring
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Laminate flooring strips are made from layers of wood and finished with a hard synthetic surface. Pergo® is one popular name. Most laminate flooring is loose lay; neither nails nor adhesive are used. Instead, the flooring floats on a cushioning material designed to reduce noise from foot traffic. Laminate flooring can be installed over nearly any firm, flat flooring material. Parko Home Renovations install strips parallel to the longest wall in the room. We keep the strips about 1/4" away from the side wall and end wall so the floor can expand with changes in temperature and moisture.
Resilient flooring
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Sheet vinyl with resilient backing smoothes out minor surface imperfections. Some sheet vinyl is designated loose lay and doesn’t require adhesive.
Both resilient sheet flooring and resilient tile require a smooth surface for proper adhesive bonding. Parko Home Renovations can repair an irregular surface with an embossing leveler or a masonry leveling compound. When the surface is dry, we spread adhesive with a notched trowel, following the adhesive manufacturers instructions. Laying the tile so joints don’t coincide with the joints in the underlayment.
Cork tile
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Cork is a natural sound absorber and insulator. It is quiet underfoot, and can last for decades when properly maintained. Cork will expand and contract based on humidity, although to a lesser degree than wood.
Granite and marble tile
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Common granite and marble surface finishes include polished, honed, and flamed. A polished surface is highly reflective, and is best suited for low-traffic areas. A honed surface has a duller, more slip-resistant finish that’s less likely to show scratches. Flamed tiles have a deeply textured surface that’s useful for applications requiring additional slip-resistance.
Marble is softer and more porous than granite, so it’s more susceptible to scratches, but it can be repolished when necessary. Marble is also susceptible to damage from alcohols, oils and acids commonly found in the home. A penetrative sealer is generally recommended when installing marble in high-risk areas such as kitchens and bathrooms.
Ceramic TileCeramic Tile
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Colors and grains will vary from tile to tile and batch to batch.
Ceramic tile can be set in either mortar (thin-set or thick-set) or applied with adhesive. Tile is set on backerboard, cement board reinforced with polymer-coated glass mesh. Common names are Durock®, WonderBoard®, RhinoBoard® and Hardibacker®.
Ceramic tile definitions
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• Field tiles make up most of the job, the "field".
• Border tiles are trim pieces set around the edge of the field.
• Listello tiles have a decorative design different from field tile and are generally used on the edge of the field, like the frame of a picture.
• Rope tiles, as you might expect, have a rope design, usually in raised relief, and are used on the border.
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Tips on ceramic tile
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Most ceramic tile carries a PEI (Porcelain Enamel Institute) wear rating:
• Class 1, no foot traffic. Interior residential and commercial walls only.
• Class 2, light traffic. Interior residential and commercial walls and residential bathroom floors.
• Class 3, light to moderate traffic. Residential floors, countertops, and walls.
• Class 4, moderate to heavy traffic. Residential, medium commercial and light institutional floors and walls.
• Class 5, heavy to extra-heavy traffic. Residential, commercial and institutional floors and walls.
Indoor vs. outdoor tile
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Tile that absorbs water will crack when exposed to freezing and thawing. Tile with an absorption rating of 3 percent or less is usually considered acceptable for outdoor use. That includes vitrified and porcelain ceramic tiles. Outdoor tile is very dense and doesn’t break easily. Use thin-set mortar with a latex admix.
Matching styles and batches
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Tile colors and glazes can vary from batch to batch. To make matching easier, many tile manufacturers emboss batch numbers into the back of each tile.
