Advice

Q: I am in the process of opening a retail ice cream and chocolates store and wanted to know what the best synthetic wood flooring is. Mannington? Amtico? Spacia? Spatica? etc. Thank you, Bill A: To be honest there is no singular “best” floor out there. Many manufacturers create varying levels of flooring, each...
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Q: We are planning to put a wood-look laminate floor in our kitchen and foyer. This is a high traffic area. We were told it has a 25- year guarantee. At $9.60 per square foot (including installation) we want to be sure we are getting good value for quite a bit of money. Any...
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Q: It seems we have inadvertently turned one of our bedrooms into a cat box. As our cute little feline would have it, the carpet is now destroyed. Under the carpet was once beautiful hardwood. I had bought a nice Berber to replace the carpet, but have since thought twice about installing it towards...
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Q: I’m a new condo owner and would like to install hardwood (like the BR-111 Engineered Tigerwood or Triangulo Tigerwood). The builder didn’t offer hardwood on the main level, citing the need to minimize noise transmission from my unit to the unit below. However, there’s nothing in the building codes or condo bylaws to...
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Q: I have recently started to renovate a house. I took the carpet up and found the floor had been self leveled. Some of the self leveler had come off and there are some nice red tiles underneath. Can you tell me how to remove the self leveler please? Thanks Adreiene A: This is...
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Q: My dining room was carpeted. I removed the carpeting, pad & 5/8 ” sawdust board that was swollen and crumbling. I am left with 5/8″ plywood sheeting on the floor. I would like to install nail down oak flooring in one area and engineered cork flooring in another section. Is the remaining 5/8″...
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Q: I’m looking at buying a house in LA that has a garage converted into an office. I’d like to use the garage but protect the new tile floor. I’ve seen mats but think I may need a weight distribution type overlayment to the floor. Any suggestions? Paul I did a quick follow-up with...
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Q: My husband and I recently purchased an older home and are remodeling. We pulled up the old carpet in the family room and discovered that a little more than half the room has the original raised, wood subfloor while the rest is a cement slab from an expansion/addition the former owners had constructed....
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Q: I’ve just had my old Pergo oak floor removed due to warping from water damage. My house is on the market and I can’t afford to wait weeks to match the stuff in my living/dining room. I chose a nice Brazilian cherry (DuPont) and at the doorway between the rooms, I’d like to...
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Q: I currently live in a condo and my upstairs neighbor wants to install a wood or laminate floor. They currently have the builder supplied carpet and underlayment. While we can’t hear them talking, we can definitely hear them walking and other thumping noises from above. We are reluctant to give permission for them...
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