Carpet Express' Flooring Blog

Loose Lay vinyl is becoming more popular today because of the ease of installation. It doesn’t require as much floor preparation and eliminates expensive adhesives. The one thing that might make the do-it-yourselfer a little nervous is seams.

When making a seam, there is a few small tricks to help relieve this fear. The first is to make sure to match the pattern up correctly. You can do this by overlapping one sheet over the other at a grout line in the pattern. Make sure you have the pattern repeat correct. Some 9″ patterns may have a 27″ pattern repeat. If you will cut the top sheet just a hair shorter on both ends, then you can see to match up the grout line perfectly. (Make sure your quarter round will cover these cuts.)

Now you are ready to cut through both pieces at the same time. This is what we call a double cut. (DO NOT cut each edge separately and then try to butt them together. This will not work – it will cause bubbles at the seam.) Use a chisel point utility knife with a new blade to make this cut. Using a metal straight edge, you will want to make this cut in the middle of the grout line, following the edge of your straight edge. Hold your knife straight up-and-down and apply enough pressure to cut through both pieces. If you have to move your straight edge, do not remove the knife from the cut. Simply slide the straight edge down and let the knife be the start of the alignment to continue the cut.

After you have completed the cut, fold back the top layer, and then the bottom layer, gently. (Please make sure that you don’t move them when folding back.) Apply to the floor a clear, double faced tape, recommended by the manufacturer. Now fold back the bottom layer, always starting at the middle of the seam area and working your way back to the ends. Do the same with the other side, making sure to just let the vinyl fall into place. Do not push toward or away from the seam – the vinyl should line up naturally. Apply a small amount of pressure to the seam to stick the vinyl to the tape underneath.

All manufacturers have a recommended seam sealer that needs to be applied at the seam. Apply this seam sealer to the cut area, making sure to use just enough sealer to cover both edges of the cut. Don’t over-apply the sealer, letting it overflow onto the pattern. Let the sealer dry properly. This should make a beautiful seam, that will be free from bubbles and last a lifetime.

Question: I have just had Karndean Knight Tile DP-55 installed in my kitchen.  Please advise me how to clean and maintain it and what products you suggest.

Thank you,
Jacques
Rockville, MD

Answer: We advise that you use Karndean One Step Routine Cleaner to clean your floor. Non-Karndean cleaning products may contain some agents that can damage the floor.

Thanks for the question.
Jim Young, Jr.

Although we do not feature any flooring accessories or trim pieces on our website, this does not mean that we don’t carry them. In fact, Carpet Express stocks a wide variety of Hardwood Flooring trim pieces and accessories. We’d like to mention a few here (you can find pictures at the bottom of this post):

• Threshold – For use with sliding glass doors adjacent to a hardwood floor or as a transition between carpet or ceramic tile. Fasten down with adhesive and/or nails.
• Quarter Round – Covers the space between the wall and hardwood flooring. Must be pre-drilled and nailed to the vertical surface, not to the floor
• T-Molding – For use as a threshold where two floors of similar thickness join. Fasten down with adhesive and/or nails.
• Stair Nosing – Add a professional look to steps and stairways. Fasten down with adhesive and nails.
• Reducer Strip – Use it at thresholds to connect a hardwood floor to vinyl or low-pile carpet. Fasten down with adhesive and/or nails.

These are just some of the options you have availabe in hardwood flooring trim and accessories. If you have something in mind that we didn’t mention here, ask us about it.

What exactly is the difference between vinyl, resilient flooring, and linoleum?

There are HUGE differences.

Vinyl Flooring is a synthetic product made of chlorinated petrochemicals and linoleum is made from raw and natural ingredients!

All vinyl floors are resilient, but not all resilient floors are vinyl. However, the most common type of resilient flooring is vinyl. There are two types of vinyl flooring: sheet vinyl and vinyl composition tiles (VCT).

Resilient flooring refers to flooring materials which have a relatively firm surface, yet charactersitaclly have give and bounce back to their original surface profile from the weight of objects that compress its surface. It have long been the most popular hard surface flooring in the United States.

Resilient flooring materials are made in various shapes and sized including both tile and roll form. Common types of resilient flooring include:

Vinyl Composition Tile

Vinyl Tile and Sheet Flooring

Linoleum Tile and Sheet Flooring

Rubber Tile and Sheet Flooring

Cork Tile and Sheet Flooring

Because of its durability, comfort under foot, aesthetic appeal, long lasting beauty, and cost effectiveness, resilient flooring is used in a wide range of commercial and residential applications. The ease of cleaning and removing spills as well as the overall moisture resistance are important reasons why so many homeowners and commercial building owners select resilient flooring.

In residences, resilient flooring is commonly used in kitchens, bathrooms, entryways, family rooms and increasingly in other areas of a hose or apartment where rugs are used in conjunction with resilient flooring. In residences occupied by hypersensitive persons, resilient flooring is commonly used because these floors can be easily cleaned and do not tend to trap dust, which when combined with moisture, can produce microbial contamination. Commercial resilient flooring has long been the most popular flooring used in schools, health care facilities, and mercantile settings. In schools, resilient flooring offers a cost-effective floor, which is easily and economically maintained and can last for many years before needing replacement. In health care facilities, resilient flooring is commonly used because it is impervious to water, resists stains, and can easily be disinfected, thus providing signifiant sanitary advantages over other types of flooring surfaces. Because of its durability and the availability of a wide range of colors and designs, resilient flooring has long been a favorite of stores and shops in creating design statements. Because of its performance attributes and wide variety of colors and designs, resilient floors are frequently used in laboratories, cleanrooms, computer rooms, lavatories, super markets, drug stores, lobbies, storage areas, spas, dormitories, libraries and restaurants.

Linoleum‘s roots are Latin. In Latin, “linum” is the word for linseed and “oleum” means oil. (Linseed oil is the main ingredient). It is an extremely durable floor covering. It comes in different grades of quality. The best, most durable type is called “inlaid.” It is made by joining and inlaying solid pieces of linoleum. Less expensive grades are made by printing on thinner layers that do not wear as well as the solid product. It is often used in high traffic areas where other products like tile would crack and not be as forgiving.

Linoleum is also used in commercial applications such as healthcare facilities, schools and hospitals because of its durability and non-allergenic properties. Because of the flexibility of the product, unique patterns and designs can be created.

A unique difference between linoleum and vinyl is that the color is throughout the product rather than topical.

Difference between Vinyl and Linoleum:

Most vinyl patterns are printed into the surface, linoleum’s colors go all the way through.

Linoleum can be used on countertops and backsplashes where vinyl cannot.

Vinyl was introduced in the 1800s and vinyl fooring came around in 1947.

Linoleum requires and acrylic coating upon installation and then again annually where vinyl flooring does not.

Linoleum has more durable properties similar to those of ceramic and hardwood, but not the cost of those products. The cost is more similar to vinyl flooring.

The manufacturing of vinyl flooring uses highly sophisticated techniques, complex methods and precise systems, linoleum uses a more simple natural process.

This article accredited to FloorTalk:
http://floortalk.wfca.org/2008/04/02/linoleum-whats-the-difference-between-vinyl-and-linoleum-2/

We’ve been getting a number of requests for passes to the 4-day International Builders’ Show in Las Vegas. The show will be January 20-23, 2009. In order to help out our customers and potential customers, we decided to give you the link here:

http://www.BuildersShow.com/CarpetExpressInc

Just fill out the application for your free passes. We hope to see you there!

This is another great article taken from DoItYourself.com:

Some people think that a few squeaks in a floor give a home character, to others squeaks are a major pain in the neck. If you agree with the folks who think floors just shouldn’t make any noises, you may be in luck. As long as you have access to the underside of that squeaky floor, you can probably fix your squeak. Unfortunately however, if you have finished ceilings below your squeaky floor, your chances of being able to fix it without taking on a major project are hit and miss.

What causes squeaky floors?

Floors squeak because something is moving. The main culprits are:

• the edges of sheets of subfloor rubbing against each other (because
• loose nails are allowing the boards to move)
• rubbing between tongue and groove wood that has dried a little over time leaving a gap for movement
• floor joists shrinking away from floorboards overtime leaving a small gap that squeaks when you put weight on it. The fix is simple, stop the movement and you will stop the squeak. You stop the movement by nailing or screwing the boards, shimming under the joists or adding bracing between the joists. The challenge is to figure the cause and get access to fix it.

To read the entire article, follow this link:
http://www.doityourself.com/stry/silencesqueakyfloor

There are many reasons to choose Armstrong. Here’s a few:

Breadth of Selection: Armstrong/Bruce has over 17 exotic species and colors to choose from, with 5 more on the way in November!

Superior Durability: Only Armstrong Grand Illusions and Bruce Park Avenue provides 8 times more abrasion resistance than engineered wood.

HydraCore Plus: Armstrong’s HydraCore Construction uses only the highest quality high-density fiber core available, providing superior indentation resistance and un-paralleled moisture resistance – less than 2% swell rate.

Lock n Fold: Armstrong’s Lock n Fold locking system was first to market and provids unparalleled speed and ease of installation.

Brand Awareness: Armstrong is the #1 brand in flooring.