I'm floored

 

In writing this week’s Hot Home Products column about flooring, it became abundantly clear that there are a ton of options out there. The pic above shows one of my favourite new looks – Marmoluem. The key to choosing what’s right for your application is research. The World Flooring Association has good general information, while the National Wood Flooring Association walks consumers through wood floor finishes, products and maintenance. Rona has comprehensive info on its site  and Lowe’s has an easy-to-understand video on how to lay a ceramic floor. Go to the website of the preternaturally handy Steve Maxwell for great instructional videos, including a quick and clever way to reinvigorate a stained wood floor using Minwax.)

I’ve come to the conclusion that the biggest headache in a floor rethink can be in making the surface it’s going on top of level or true. In my home, we’re laying hardwood in two bedrooms that are connected by a landing. The problem is that there are more dips and valleys in that area than in a teen-ager’s mood at prom time. My husband John and I thought we might save money by doing the leveling work ourselves. But after consulting at length with the enormously patient installer from Rona, we realized that it’s really a job for professionals. Which is probably a good thing, as I am famously unable to even draw a straight line. Sometimes, you just gotta leave it to the pros, no?

Comments

[B Lomenda]

After reading your article in the Saturday Star and seeing the reference to this blog, I assumed there would be some information on how to level a floor. Instead you state let your contactor do it. Hardly the advice a home handyperson would expect. I am very disappointed.