Q. I've installed prefinished wood flooring before but the kitchen has ceramic tile glued to 1/4" plywood, which is then (I assume) glued and nailed to the original sub floor. I need to remove the tile and 1/4" plywood so I can put our new wood flooring on the original subfloor. What is the best way to do this? I was planning on using a hammer and chisel but is there a specialized tool i can use?

A. Yes there is.. A hammer and wide chisel... In your case , and I ve removed 100s of floors over the years and that what you need to do. Hammer and chisel off the tile, using caution. Chips FLY!! Then you can use a crow bar to get under the wood and go at it.If your lucky it was screwed down and you can unscrew a lot of them. But most will pull through the 1/4" luan and then deal with that later. Your lucky it was installed wrong this is an easier rip out, Suggestion. Safety glasses, long sleeve shirt sand ear protection to prevent chips in the ears ( I m not kidding) Cover doorways to help prevent dust and put a fan in a window to suck dust out. Any questions you can e mail me through my avatar and check my qualifications GL

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Q. I've seen this on a show once where they put the flooring (laminate) flush up against the cabinets, rather than doing all floors first THEN putting in cabinets. I think it was just for their demo purposes, but i'm wondering if that's okay to do? or will it look bad?

A. Over the years this question has come up with many of the home owners I have remodeled kitchens for. There are a few rules of thumb to take into account. First whenever you have the opportunity to install new cabinets where a new laminate floor is going to be installed there are problems with installing the floor under the cabinets. Most newer laminate floors are meant to be allowed to move. With varying degrees of humidity and fluctuating room temperature changes, expanding and contracting can take place and if you lock the floor under the cabinets, you will prevent the floor from doing what is natural. It would seem then that the solution would be to install the flooring up against the cabinets. However keep in mind that whenever you install the floor up against the cabinets, you will loose countertop height. That is, if your countertops were set at 36" off the floor and you install a 1/2" flooring up against the cabinets, now your countertops will be 35 1/2" from the new laminate flooring. This may not seem like much, but if you are tall, every little bit height counts. The solution that I have always used was to install plywood the same thickness as the flooring under the cabinets and then install the flooring up against the plywood edges. Now you will install a shoe mold or other molding over top of the new laminate floor, but make sure you attach the molding to the cabinets and not the floor. This again, will allow the flooring to move without restriction. With the molding installed up against the cabinets it will cover up any signs that there is plywood under the cabinets. Another thing to note is that when you install the flooring it is best to give it a little clearance from the walls and cabinets and again make sure that when you install the molding, nail it to the walls, baseboard or cabinets and not to the flooring. You can find out more about flooring installations and techniques, by clicking on the following link. http://www.showroom411.com/dir/how-to/floor-coverings-how-to.html Plus, check out some great flooring videos on the subject as well by clicking on the following link. http://www.showroom411.com/dir/videos/floor-covering-video-library-links.html I hope this will help you out. Rick

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Q. I have an invalid living in my house. He sometimes cannot control his bowels and makes a mess in the floor. I currently have carpet over hardwood floor. I need the carpet to be taken out and want to find some sort of flooring that can be mopped with Clorox or Lysol in water to destroy odor. I would like to avoid any type of flooring that would have to be glued to the hardwood. It appears that all vinyl flooring has to glued down. Does anyone have any idea what I can put over the hardwood that will stand up to some serious cleaning?

A. Try laminate flooring, it is easy to install by locking the pieces together like a puzzle and it floats(needs no glue). It also cleans like a dream, we just got it and love it. You can get the kind that looks like wood or tile. We have the ceramic tile type and it really looks like tile. GL!

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Q. I am about to have some vinyl flooring fitted in my kitchen and would grateful for any suggestions as to what I can use for cushioning and to try and keep the floor as warm as possible under foot. I have had vinyl flooring before and it is still hard and cold when standing on the flooring. I have even tried cork tiles and this did not seem to make a huge difference. Would a laminate and wood flooring underlay be suitable or would this be a waste of time? I should add that I am in the UK.

A. An idea, There is a product by DRIcore subfloor which is designed to be put over concrete floors in basements, playrooms etc, this may be something you would want to look into, it would serve all your needs. Lowes carries this by the way, here's a link to the DRIcore website http://www.dricore.com/en/eIndex.aspx

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Q. The flooring is vinyl, will it also affect the other areas? It already showed discoloration. The condo was empty for 3 months and when we found out that it was flooded when we decided to do our cleaning. And was shocked to see a puddle! Later we learned the the pipe was busted 8 days ago! The admin of the condo will only pay for half of the floor area of 50sq meters. Should I agree to that or they should change all flooring?

A. It's all gonna come up sooner or later.

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Q. Im remodeling my apartment and my roommate chose white to paint the walls in our entry way and living room? i get to choose the carpet or flooring (hardwood, etc) and color of the trim, does anyone know what color of trim, and what type of floor would go nicely with the white walls?

A. Lucky you! I'd rather be allowed to choose flooring and trim any day! That's a keeper whereas paint can be changed. As for what matched white walls, basically everything! White is not a color in decorating, but the absense of all color and that is why you can match it with anything. So, you can buy whatever pleases you! Do keep in mind that the lighter the floor color, the larger the room will appear and the darker the floor color, the smaller the room will appear. Also, lint, dust, etc., shows up more on dark floors. What you choose to use as material for the floor really depends on your budget. Hardwood floors are definitely the best for getting a return on your money. If you can't afford that, then consider these types of flooring: - laminate wood floor - vinyl soft floor covering - bamboo flooring (my favorite, by the way!) - ceramic tile (did you know that you can get ceramic tile that looks soooo much lilke wood, you have to touch it to know the difference? It's better than hardwood since it doesn't scratch and is very resistant!) Will you be painting the trim or using natural wood? If using natural wood, it is advisable to match the floor. Enjoy!

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Q. I'm looking at putting laminate flooring in the kitchen but our steel door leading out to our garage can barely "clear" the current vinyl flooring when it opens, so I know it wouldn't be able to open with a taller laminate floor. I don't want to spend a lot of money on a new door or make any major renovations. Any suggestions?

A. Another option if you can't cut the door off is to put the laminate only up to the outside of the door reach and leave the vinyl as a circular entry type look. It's done with carpeting all the time by outside entry doors, usually so you can have a scatter rug on the vinyl. In your case, you don't have room for a scatter rug.

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Q. We have vinyl flooring that is glued on the edges but not in the center. The excess material is causing the flooring to raise up in the middle of the floor. Do I use a heat gun and try to shrink it? I don't know. Any educated suggestions would be help-full.

A. If this is a perimeter bond material, and it didn t acclimate right and "shrink" to the floor then it is faulty material and must be reported to the place of purchase. If it is a full spread glue type , there is nothing you can do but replace it. The way to tell the difference, full spread flooring will have a felt type or paper backing. Perimeter bond is smooth. You ll have to find out what you have before anything can be attempted. Any questions you can e mail me through my avatar. GL

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