Flatweave throw rugs are often used in Japanese homes where they provide both a practical function and considerable elegance. Their sturdy construction makes them durable, where they keep high-traffic areas protected from wear. Their highly colorful and individual designs add the perfect esthetic touch.

But even the lowly ‘throw away’ throw rug can perform a useful service, and still look decent in the process. Machine-made from inexpensive materials, they can rest in a foyer where they keep winter snows and spring mud from migrating to the living room carpet.

After six months, they can be replaced at low cost and give the area a new look. No need to exert a lot of effort to care for since they’re easily washed or cheap enough to just discard.

Area rugs made of durable Olefin can be the perfect addition to a tiled sunroom.

Resting in a section of the house that leads to the patio, they’ll see plenty of traffic. But thanks to the sturdy synthetic surface they’ll last for years. A multi-colored geometric design can liven up the room and blend in well with a soft umber-colored ceramic tile.

The kitchen is an obvious candidate for a couple of good throw rugs, too.

Obviously, you’ll want to select something that resists food stains unless you plan to replace the rugs often. Many can be thrown into the washer, though, then hung to dry. For that to work, latex and rubber backings should be avoided.

Also, if the kitchen floor is covered with vinyl, keep in mind that certain latex or rubber backings can stain the floor yellow. Those made with jute or a cloth backing will not create that problem. If you place underneath it a layer of material to keep the throw rug from sliding, make sure it too isn’t made from latex.

Bathrooms often get covered with throw rugs, often of varying types.

Stepping out of the shower onto bare floor leads to cold feet and leaves a mess to clean up. If the flooring is wood, the water can introduce bigger problems. Mold and mildew are major potential attackers of wood floors. Keeping even well coated wooden floors dry is one key to their long life.

A quality hooked rug can provide an individual design and work perfectly in front of the bathroom sink. It receives only minimal water, so it will hold up well. Backed with a non-slip material, they can be both durable and beautiful.

Choose a material and construction method that’s appropriate for the application you have in mind. With a little investigation you can find the perfect throw or area rug that will protect your flooring and add beauty to your room.

Related posts:

1. DIY – Flooring – 5 Types of Carpet
2. DIY – Flooring – Concrete, Not Just Durable
3. DIY – Flooring – Flooring Hits the Ceiling

A laminate is constructed from layers. In the case of laminated flooring, there are typically four: bottom, core, design and protective.

The bottom layer in a good laminate is Melamine, a type of molded plastic made from resin. It is heat resistant and will support high pressures. Some cheaper laminates use a paper backing, but those don’t offer the same degree of support.

On top of that is laid a core, usually made of fiber board. Like pressed wood, it’s inexpensive, but very strong and still somewhat elastic. That makes for a more comfortable floor. It’s designed with an interlocking geometry, similar to the tongue-and-groove of hardwood flooring. That provides additional stability and support.

The next layer up is the design layer, where the artist displays his creativity. Design layers can resemble the grain in fine wood or the rich look of a good ceramic. Colors and patterns are available that will keep anyone searching for laminated flooring busy for hours.

Uppermost is the protective material applied to the design layer in order to keep moisture at bay and prevent deep scuffing and scrapes. As with any floor, those can all occur. But having a good protective layer prevents them from moving downward. Being kept on the surface makes them easy to clean off or repair without permanent damage to the floor.

Laminates can be used anywhere in the home, but they’re especially good for certain applications.

Have a kitchen that cries out for hardwood? Great, but it will be expensive and can be damaged by hot grease, dropped pans and other common problems. A laminate will be less expensive, easier to repair and still look outstanding.

Thinking of wood or ceramic for the bathroom? Either would work well. But laminates are more water resistant than wood and clean up easier than the grout between ceramic tiles. They provide a strong, softer surface and will be a little less costly to install.

Laminates usually come in planks, so they can be laid down like wood. With a several inch-wide, three-foot plank you can cover a floor very quickly. When done right, the interlocking mechanism keeps the boards from moving and the underlayer and core will minimize the possibility of squeaks.

Laminates are easy to keep free of dust, since they stand up well to vacuuming and can be easily wet mopped. That reduces dust mites, pet dander and other potential allergens, making laminated flooring a very healthy option.

At the same time, the surface is highly stain resistant so it will work well in the kitchen or bathroom where things tend to fall onto the floor. Anything that does is easily wiped up with little risk of soaking in.

There are hundreds of laminate floor options available. Look into them when you consider any flooring material.

Related posts:

1. DIY – Flooring – Flooring Hits the Ceiling
2. DIY – Flooring – Sub-Floor Repairs
3. Feeling Floored: How to decide which Floor is best for you

The first criterion is whether to elect to get pre-finished or unfinished hardwood.

In days past, unfinished was definitely the way to go. It was easier to select a type of hardwood, install it and stain or finish it with stain or lacquer to optimize appearance and wear.

It was also generally less expensive to get unfinished hardwood flooring, even adding in the cost of staining or lacquering. The price difference was so great that getting unfinished hardwood, then exerting a little effort was a bargain on balance. No more. Unfinished is still often less expensive, but the difference is smaller than in the past.

Pre-finished hardwood has many advantages, too. When re-flooring an existing space, or flooring a new room addition, there’s no smell or mess. Hammer in some planks and you’re done. Ok, it’s not quite that easy. But it’s decidedly easier than sanding, staining and varnishing. It’s definitely gentler on the lungs and eyes.

Which to choose comes down to weighing costs against budget, and the amount of free time and skill or desire you have for this type of project.

But, you still have to select the specific hardwood desired. What’s available? Today, the choices of hardwood are legion. They come from around the world – Brazil, China, Australia, the U.S. and elsewhere.

Bamboo is one of the more interesting options. Not technically a wood, it’s still woody and very hard, when correctly processed. It has a delicate yellow-brown color that is perfect for certain decorating schemes. It’s also on the lower end of per square foot hardwood flooring prices typically around $5 per sq ft.

On the opposite end of the cost scale is Brazilian Walnut. Running up to $13 per sq ft, this rich-looking hardwood comes in a range of color shades. It may be a lighter brown, resembling the shell of the nut that everyone is familiar with. Or, it may run to darker shades. Though more expensive, it provides an extremely hard surface, which is great for long wear but can make for a more difficult installation.

Mahogany resides in the mid-range of the cost scale, but there’s nothing middling about the look. This is ultra-beautiful hardwood flooring. Reddish-brown, it has a rich, dark grain and will stand up to heavy use for decades.

Red Oak is a favorite with many do-it-yourselfers. It comes in a variety of widths and is available at the lower end of the price scale. Yet it yields an extremely strong and durable surface. Finished properly, it will create a floor that is as beautiful as any.

On the lighter side, both in price and color, several varieties of Ash can cost as little as $3 per square foot. Less hard than other woods, it gives a great knotty look. Rustic Ash is one variation and for rooms where an extremely natural look is desired, this is a good choice.

Several woods, of these types and others, are available in distressed, pre-used and other forms. That gives yet another dimension along which to judge a wood. If you want that old, lived-in look, but still need a wood that will stand up for years and years, this may be the way to go.

Related posts:

1. DIY – Flooring – Hardwood Floors
2. DIY – Flooring – Caring for Hardwood Floors
3. DIY – Flooring – Flooring Hits the Ceiling

Floor heating systems today generally come in one of two types: electric and radiant or tube.

Electric floor heating systems use a layer of material embedded with wire mesh or other conducting material. Electricity passes through the mesh and that heat is slowly conducted up to the surface where it keeps your feet and, to a degree, the room warm.

At first blush it doesn’t sound very safe, especially in areas like the bathroom or kitchen where liquid on the floor is a common occurrence. In fact, electric floor heating systems are as safe, or safer, than an electric blanket. The mesh is well insulated and the floor material itself – whether wood, ceramic, vinyl or other – adds an even larger safety factor.

Electric floor heating systems cost a few hundred dollars to install in the average bathroom, but they typically operate on a few cents per day worth of electricity. Depending on the size and model, they can add considerable heating ability to the bathroom. Kitchens tend to be more open and they’ll do well on the floor and provide some area heating.

Radiant floor heating systems have the same goal – to warm the floor and room. But they operate very differently. Whether they circulate air or water (both are technically fluids), they radiate warmth through a series of tubes. Those tubes can be installed either above floor or below floor.

Above floor systems are not literally above the floor. You don’t walk on the heating system. Rather, they are installed above the sub-floor such as the plywood over a concrete floor but below the actual walking surface.

Below floor systems reside below or, more usually, in the sub-floor. Embedded in a series of panels or grooves, the tubes snake throughout the entire area a few inches apart. Sometimes the tubes are laid at the same time as the wet concrete. Reflective material is usually installed underneath the tubes, to direct the heat upwards.

In all systems, the effect is to take advantage of two things: (1) heat rises, (2) cold through the feet tends to make the whole body feel colder.

Heat from the mesh or tubes heats the surrounding material. Also, as warm air rises, it has to start at the floor. So, the floor is kept warm, which is a universally pleasant feeling on the feet. Nobody likes stepping out onto a cold bathroom or kitchen floor. It continues upward where, depending on the system, it warms the room from a few degrees to any temperature desired. Many radiant heating systems will keep an entire large area very comfortable without any supplemental heating from another home heating system.

Among the advantages of both are the absence of any air flow from the outdoors that has to be heated, as is the case with many forced air systems. They’re also unseen. There are no heat registers or vents. That gives the room a very clean look and makes possible heating in the kitchen where it can be difficult to locate vents.

Which is best depends on local factors of cost, quality of installation and so forth. Radiant heating can be quieter, since electric systems can sometimes generate a low hum. But fluid moving through a radiant system can be heard, too, if the system isn’t of good quality.

Shop around and you’ll quickly find a dealer that can offer just the floor heating system you want.

Related posts:

1. DIY – Flooring – Flooring Hits the Ceiling
2. DIY – Flooring – Sub-Floor Repairs
3. DIY – Flooring – Specialized Floor Materials

An ‘emergency kit’ of club soda, vinegar, ammonia and some needed application tools is a good idea. Everyone sometimes runs out of commercial carpet cleaners just at the wrong moment. Using sponges and rags soaked in those can help remove tomato juice, and lessen the impact of dog urine or other common carpet stains.

For example, just apply club soda to a rag and soak up as much of a tomato stain as possible right away. Just as with clothes, the longer they sit, the deeper and more lasting they become. Cold water is, paradoxically, usually better than warm. Warm water is good for dirt, which it helps dissolve. Cold water slows the spilled chemical from reacting more quickly with the carpet fibers.

Once most of the spill is soaked up, a good brushing with white vinegar and a bit of laundry detergent will get most of the rest. Scrub the remaining stain, then place a dry towel over damp carpet and press it in with your feet. Carpets that stay wet too long get mildewed.

Small burns are another common problem. Even the most heat or fire resistant carpet material can be burned from a dropped cigarette or an ember from a wood stove or fireplace. In rare instances, clipping a fiber or two from a pile rug can completely eliminate the problem. In most cases, the damage is a larger spot. More extensive repairs are needed.

Whenever installing new carpet, be sure to save any extra for just such repairs. Take it out of the closet or storage shed and lay it on top of the regular carpet from time to time. Otherwise, it will be a completely different shade when used as repair material.

If you don’t have any spare, it will be necessary to sacrifice a small section in an unseen area, such as the back corner of a closet or from under a piece of furniture that is never moved.

Cut out the burned area with a utility knife or Xacto blade. You’ll need to remove a little of the good carpet around the burned area to ensure that it doesn’t unravel. Insert the blade well into the backing between the fibers and make your cuts as straight as possible.

Using that piece as a guide, prepare a piece of replacement carpet. Err on the side of making the replacement a hair larger than the section removed. Excess can be trimmed away. A piece that’s too small will be useless.

Now you have two options: whether to glue the replacement piece to the sides of the existing carpet or to the sub-floor. The latter will give you a stronger repair, one less likely to shift or come up later. But anything glued to the sub-floor will mean a more difficult job when it comes to replacing the entire carpet. Also, there is a possibility that the plywood sub-floor can be damaged when yanking up the old carpet piece.

Which technique to use depends on the location of the burn and how likely you are to have to replace the carpet in the future.

Related posts:

1. DIY – Flooring – 5 Types of Carpet
2. DIY – Flooring – Sub-Floor Repairs
3. Picking the Carpet that Suits your Lifestyle

It’s usually expensive and never pleasant but, like dental work, putting it off generally leads to bigger problems before long. Depending on the extent of the problem, it may require anything from removing a few tiles to stripping the entire top floor surface off and beginning anew.

The need for repairs can be detected in a number of ways, again depending on the nature and extent of the problem. In some cases, it’s an area in the top floor with a visible gap, say in the bathroom where water will certainly leak down. In other cases, it may be just a musty odor from mildew that won’t go away no matter how well the floor is cleaned. Sometimes it appears as a dip or bowled area in a section of carpet, which becomes especially obvious when it’s walked on.

Once confirmed, tackle the problem as soon as possible.

How to go about that will vary with the type of top floor installed. Vinyl, for example, can very rarely be reused and will have to be replaced from new material. With care, some stone tiles can be removed without cracking, then reused. Wood is a borderline case. Laminates can sometimes be reused, but it’s usually not worth the extra effort required to remove it without damage. Carpet will often have to be replaced with new carpet or another flooring material.

Remove any flooring in the damaged area. Then inspect the damaged sub-floor. The most typical problem is water that has rotted plywood. Though never easy, there are worse things to have to repair. Cut away the rotted plywood, removing an entire sheet if possible. If not, simply cut a large enough area around the damage to ensure that all the rot has been cleared out. Mildew is made of living organisms and they can spread. Termite or other insect induced damage will require an exterminator. If not stopped, they’ll continue to do more damage.

There’s one potential upside to an incident of damaged sub-floor. It creates the opportunity to reevaluate the type of flooring desired. A plywood sub-floor covered with carpet can be re-fitted with finished concrete or a laminate, for example.

Even if the same type of sub-flooring and flooring is laid down as a replacement, it’s a chance to use improved materials for the repair project. Wood sub-floors are much better than their predecessors from 20-50 years ago, thanks to improved treatments that will reduce the odds of ever having to do the work again. Carpets today have better water-resistant chemicals embedded in the fibers than in decades past.

Ensure that the new sub-floor materials, whatever you use, are perfectly flat to support the new floor. They have to be sturdy enough to bear the pressure of intended traffic. Sub-floor repairs are not something anyone wants to have to do twice.

Related posts:

1. DIY – Flooring – Floor Heating Systems
2. DIY – Flooring – Flooring Hits the Ceiling
3. DIY – Flooring – Specialized Floor Materials

Preparation

As with any do-it-yourself project around the home, preparation is often 80% of the effort. That’s true in spades where installing a tile floor is the project. Laying down the tile itself is simple. Getting ready takes some effort.

For an existing floor, all the material has to be completely and cleanly removed. Old wood, previous tile, vinyl, whatever it happened to be have to be chipped, chiseled or stripped off.

Any sub-floor problems have to be addressed at this stage. Even the best tile with the most careful placement will be uneven if the plywood underneath sags or has holes. Any moisture that has collected has to be dried and any mildew removed. If left down, the problem will only continue to expand beneath the tile, leading to early cracking.

Edges are important, too. Professional-looking results can only be achieved if the job is finished properly. That’s impossible if there is any remaining grout, partial tiles or other elements left over from the previous floor.

Even brand new floors installed for the first time say in a new room addition project or a basement that has never had flooring have to be prepared. Ensure that any concrete is perfectly level. Any gaps will cause tile to crack as pressure is applied from walking.

Some concrete floors will require a sub-floor of plywood, pressboard, cork or other material in order to make the surface ready to receive tile.

Installation

Once the floor is well-prepared, the rest of the job will go quickly. Read the instructions that came with the tile. They’ll tell you something like the following…

Measure the floor and calculate how many tiles will be needed, and whether partial tiles will be needed around the edges. They usually will. It’s optional at this stage whether partial tiles will go around only one edge or the floor will be laid symmetrically with partial tiles all around.

Test any tiles first by laying several down without any adhesive. Get comfortable with the tongue-and-groove system, if the tiles are designed that way. If they have flat edges, practice laying them down straight without grout.

Then, remove the backing from tiles with pre-applied adhesive and lay them down, starting at one edge if you plan partial tiles along only part of the perimeter. If you plan partial tiles around the entire floor, start in the middle and work out.

For tiles with no tongue and groove system, it can be helpful to lay down tiles without adhesive and use a thick pencil to make lines between them.

For tiles with no backing, apply tile adhesive to the back and press the tile in place. Before it sets, quickly use a long straight edge (drafting T-squares work well for this) and keep all tiles along one line. Then ensure they’re straight in a perpendicular direction. Once dried in place (usually overnight), use a caulking gun to spread a bead of grout between the tiles and quickly wipe off any excess before it dries.

Repeat until you near the edge. Use a tile cutting tool to make any partial tiles needed around the perimeter. Lay them in the same way, leaving a thin space for expansion. About 1/8 inch is usually good, but this will vary with climate.

Related posts:

1. Three Top Reasons NOT to Tile over Vinyl Flooring
2. DIY – Flooring – All About Tiles
3. Groovin Grouting Tips: Five Key Things to Consider Before Applying that Grout

For most, especially do-it-yourselfers who are strongly motivated to save money, budget is the first consideration.

Carpet is often the least expensive option, but there are many low-cost vinyl floorings that will allow homeowners to pinch pennies as well. The difficulty here is that you often get what, and no more than, you pay for. Cheap carpet doesn’t just look cheap, it is cheap, this means poor quality. Ditto vinyl.

That means that many desirable qualities like durability and ease of cleaning are often absent. If the material has to be replaced every couple of years is it worth the price? If you have to spend inordinate amounts of time cleaning carpet with low stain-resistance, are you really saving much? The answers will depend, of course, on individual circumstances, including application. Some areas, such as basements, may not warrant more expensive options.

Hardwood is fairly expensive, but it has excellent durability, is easy to care for and looks outstanding. But not everyone can afford Brazilian Teak or Chinese Cherry. One option is a laminate. They can often be quite attractive and they last for years. Their wear characteristics aren’t quite as good as hardwoods, which can easily last 50 years if well cared for. But they do quite well and they’re pleasant to walk on.

If investigating a laminate, look for the AC rating. These are assigned based on careful testing and represent the durability of the material, resistance to staining and scratching, and other measures. AC 1 laminates are suitable for moderate traffic areas, while AC 3 will stand up better to heavy use. The higher the better, but AC 5 is generally only needed and used in public buildings.

Ceramics run the gamut from cheap tile to highly expensive. One difference is how durable the tiles are. All ceramics have very hard surfaces, but some tiles are more brittle than others. That means that, under normal use, they are more likely to crack. If a tile has to be replaced often, which is costly and time consuming, it might be worthwhile to spend a little more up front.

Stone tends to be on the more expensive end of the choices, but of course it may well outlast the house. Many are removed from old houses being torn down and re-used elsewhere. If you’re looking for something stylish and ultra-durable, a good sandstone or slate might be just the thing. With modern treatments they’re generally stain resistant and can be easy to care for.

One of the least expensive, but today very stylish choices is concrete. Once relegated to basements, with modern surface effects they can be stained with a variety of colors and designs. They can emulate marble, stone or even wood. They clean easy and, of course, will last for decades without cracking. That makes them great for any area.

Consider your budget, wear needs and potential traffic, and throw in your esthetic desires. Very quickly, you’ll be able to narrow the choices.

Related posts:

1. DIY – Flooring – Sub-Floor Repairs
2. DIY – Flooring – All About Tiles
3. DIY – Flooring – Flooring Hits the Ceiling

Concrete floors can be finished with an extremely smooth, polished surface. Since they stand up to just about anything, they’re great for areas that track in snow, mud, sand and other outdoor materials. But they can also be highly attractive.

Modern techniques can turn that plain gray floor into something that looks like marble, slate or highly polished ceramic. Acids designed to react with the lime in concrete can etch the surface. They blend in to produce a veined look or a geometric design that can simulate marble or tile. Dyes mixed with or paints applied later can turn that surface into any color or any painted design that the homeowner wants.

The metallic salts used prepares the top layer, then acid in a chemical stain reacts with the lime deposits in the concrete. That creates a color or surface effect that can cover a wide range of choices. But, take care, the effects are permanent. Re-doing it would require removing a considerable portion of the surface, which is usually prohibitively expensive.

Even adding the cost of that finishing job, the total price can be much lower than other options. Hardwood floors are durable and beautiful, but they can run $6-$10 per square foot or more. Concrete, even finished, can easily be less than half that. And, when the job is done there are no tell-tale seams.

Surface effects or custom painted floors are durable and super easy to clean. Dirt mops up easily. With the exception of certain acids, it’s very difficult to stain them. Automotive oil will, of course. But that’s rarely a problem where concrete is used in the home outside the garage. Even that can be prevented with the proper surface treatment.

Concrete floors can even be a healthier alternative to carpets, throw rugs and the like. Dust cleans up easily and doesn’t stay trapped in the surface. That reduces dust mites. Other allergens such as pollen, pet dander and even smoke residue can be easily eliminated. Concrete can even be wiped with a mild disinfectant such as bleach or an anti-fungal liquid to reduce the chances even further.

Keep in mind, though, that even treated concrete surfaces can crack. Since they’re colored or contain surface effects, the crack may not show as prominently. But they can still provide a home for moisture and hence mildew. As always, it’s still important to keep the concrete surface dry. A short-term exposure from snow, mopping and so forth is unimportant. But water that stays down for days or weeks can lead to problems.

Also, staining isn’t completely predictable. Because of variations in lime content, temperature and other factors, the results can differ slightly from what was envisioned.

But these minor issues aside, concrete flooring can be one of the best options available for certain applications.

Related posts:

1. Things To Consider When Painting Concrete Floors
2. DIY – Flooring – Flooring Hits the Ceiling
3. DIY – Flooring – Specialized Floor Materials

Tiles are versatile.

As a shape, ’tile’ doesn’t refer only to ceramic. They can be made of vinyl, slate, brick or even wood. That variety makes them the most versatile type of flooring. They can be used with equal effectiveness in the basement, the kid’s playroom or the foyer. That makes selection a lot of fun, since there are so many types and designs to choose from.

Perhaps you need an ultra-durable flooring material to cover the entranceway to the home. Ceramic works great. Snow, mud and other outdoor matter present no problem. You may be looking to dress up the bathroom, to give a rich, relaxing look that is also functional. Easy. Vinyl, finished hardwood, ceramic or even slate will do the job.

Tiles are easy to install.

With only a little instruction, anyone can lay tile straight and level. With just a little care, it’s hard to go wrong laying tile. One might think that getting them all to move along the same line could be tricky. But simple techniques make this easy.

By the same token, it might appear at first blush that getting grout into the space between them could be hard to do well. What about smearing? What about bubbles and cracks? It turns out that, thanks to the excellent materials, laying grout cleanly that lasts forever is a lot easier than it looks.

Tiles are durable.

Once they’re down, even inexpensive vinyl tile will last for years and years. Some ceramic tiles hundreds of years old are still doing the job in old homes and buildings. Durability arises both from the hardness of the material and the modularity of the design. Tiles can be replaced. Even if one cracks due to weather, faulty manufacturing or just randomly, it’s not that difficult to remove it and lay down a replacement.

Tiles are easy to care for.

A quick wet mop and dirt and food disappear. Most stains will wipe up with a sponge. Dust and dog hair can be easily whisked away with a broom or a vacuum cleaner. Grout takes a little more effort, but if it’s treated properly a little grout cleaner can keep it sparkling, too.

Most of all, tile is beautiful.

Because tiles are available in materials like slate, polished porcelain types and others, there is a tile that will appeal to all tastes. Whether one prefers the rich dark look of slate, the cheery look and feel of red brick, or the subtle sheen of a soft pink ceramic, there’s a tile material that will please the eye.

Look into all the options available with tile and you’ll quickly find something that suits your needs.

Related posts:

1. Three Top Reasons NOT to Tile over Vinyl Flooring
2. Five Important Things to Consider Before Tiling
3. DIY – Flooring – Flooring Hits the Ceiling