Three Things you Should Know About Installing Hardwood Flooring in your Home
While it is not necessarily the most inexpensive of the flooring options available on the market today, hardwood floors are certainly one of the simplest and most lovely options available. Wood matches just about everything, and you don’ have to worry about vacuuming or those nasty smells that just won’t seem to leave carpet. It is an effective option for floor covering and if you take care of your hardwood floors, they will last you a very long time.
However, having hardwood flooring in your home is about more than wishing it was there and deciding to have it. Here are the three things that you should know about installing hardwood flooring in your home.
DIY Is Not Always Cheaper
Hardwood floors are certainly something that those handy people out there in the world are able to take care of. Buying wood and laying it down as flooring in your home sounds a great deal easier than it is. There are many different kinds of wood that can be used for flooring in your home and depending on your needs; there are great deals of different styles to choose from. You want your flooring to resist nicks and scrapes, but you want it to be able to get some character as well.
There are all of these things and more to think about, and if you install your wood flooring all on your own, chances are that you will not be able to get the solid advice that you might wish you had later. You want your floor to last as long as possible and although you might be very willing and able to put in your new hardwood floor all by yourself, the costs down the line might make this not-so worth it. Do you want to end up having to have your floors redone because of an error on your, the amateur’s, part?
Not All Wood is the Same
The more money that you spend the better quality of wood flooring you will be able to get as far as outward appearance goes; although a floor may not look as uniform and sleek as another type of wood floor it will probably last just as long. The quality and type of wood that you select for your floor has a lot to do with how you want your flooring to look when it’s down. Do you want a smooth look or do you like the way that natural knotholes look in the wood? Do you prefer the way that wide planks look on the floor or do you prefer the look of thinner, smaller pieces of wood for your flooring?
Depending on what you are willing to spend, there are a great deal of different ways that you can go with the wood for your flooring. You can buy First, Second, or Third wood, which is a description of the type or quality of wood on the market ranked in order of quality. Clear is the finest wood that you will be able to get a hold of. It has little to no grain marks or knot holes in it, so if you want the best quality that is the way to go.
You Are In It for the Long Haul
While hardwood floors are a great option for the floor covering in your home, be sure that that is what you want to do, and that it is an acceptable long term solution for you and your home. While the hardwood floor will not have to be vacuumed, it has to be specially cleaned and probably swept constantly (unless you are a fan of dirty feet). Also, keep in mind that depending on the quality of wood that you purchase you may have to deal with some small repairs due to warping or splitting, or simply due to damage that is unsightly for your home. Either way, hardwood floors are much easier to maintain than they are to replace and although you will probably be thrilled to keep your floors for years to come, it will be rather difficult to do otherwise.
This article is sponsored by My Dream Home Registry, the gift registry for everything home. Visit them on the web at www.mydreamhomeregistry.com
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Cleaning your air conditioner can cut down on energy costs and repair bills. Get tips on how to clean your air conditioner to keep it running smoothly in this free online home improvement video. Expert: Greg Lim Bio: Greg Lim is a professional handyman and residential property manager. In the seven years hes been a contractor, he has fully renovated two houses.
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Chimney flue pipe clearance?I have a wood stove that is in my basement. I am making a hearth pad for it to bring it up to code. My chimney flue pipe that goes through a wall about 3 inches into concrete which goes into my chimney outside. My question is the sheetrock around the pipe is 2" away. If this is double wall pipe will that be sufficient? So there is nothing around the pipe at all up to 2 inches. I can see clearly it goes into concrete. If you are a contractor, home inspector, building inspector, DIY home repair person, etc. please state that when answering my question. Thank you in advance.
Well considering it was already like this when I moved in and my home inspecter said to just put it up on a hearth. Then you would assume it was ok. But just your opinion is 2" alittle to close for comfort?
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thanks for the tips, I have always sprayed from the outside in. and can still see some of the dirt stuck at the edge of the fin. Next time, I will remoce my fan and do what you do. Thank you.
You don't have to sand the bottom of the door, take the door off, get a circular saw and cut about 1/4 inch off the bottom all the way across in a straight line. Make sure you draw a line. This is the only way to do it.
http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/knowhow/handbook
”reduce your repair cost” Don’t you mean ruduce your energy cost?…please expertvillage delete this video!!
if you dont know what you are doing you dont need to make a video watch dr.zarkloff he knows his stuff
those are NOT colling fins. thats a CONDENSING UNIT and its job is to REJECT the HEAT from the system. the air handler, where your EVAPORATOR is located, which is INSIDE the house, is where the cool air comes out.
diy.net
Other comments aside, please be careful with your garden hose. The way he’s spraying the fins on the coil is right on the edge of dangerous.
The fins on the coil are thin, and can be bent into a solid mass by home water pressure. Then it’s a horrid job to get them separated again so air can flow through–which is the point of the coil in the first place.
Also, I just did what he suggested (take the fan top off to clean) with my old Carrier unit. Tops of fins are very close to the fan housing. I ended up cutting one of my fingers horribly when the fan housing slammed in place. Be careful around coils – they are fragile, and sharp!
Dr. Zarkloffs how to’s for HVAC maint. are must better.
Drain the pool below the level of the light fixture unless you have an access hole or manhole in the deck behind the lamp.
Check the timer. I dont think You can fix this yourself unless you want to take a risk.
Two important points: 1) These residents are getting ripped off unless their taxes have been reduced. This is a public works job in any part of the rest of the country. 2) If you can see down to the underlaying stone (about 4"), the sidewalk should be torn up and replaced with new concrete.
That said, there are several products that can be used to repair damaged concrete. Depending on the depth of damage, either the first or third product on the link here will do the job.
http://bonsalamerican.com/sakreteproducts_view.html?id=16rdW6rO8po%3D
This is by far the cheapest way to repair broken concrete. If you want more info on how to mix and finish the repair, please contact me directly for further instructions and I can provide detailed directions to make your job simpler. A 10' X10' area that is not too badly damaged could cost less than $100 to fix including any tools and should take less than 3 hours.
Good Luck!
You can learn a lot from us and watching the DIY shows and books, but nothing beats hands on learning. One project will teach you stuff that will tie into another. Take every thing w/ a grain of salt because there are never 2 projects exactly alike and you ll have to be flexible on all projects. GL
Home Depot has lots of books that are easy to follow. It's a lot of work, but it's not brain surgery. I build fences & decks for a living, and re-mod kitchens and bathrooms. If you are a do it yourself-er, then you can do it. Otherwise, most deck builders charge by the square foot, and where I live, the price ranges from $15 -$20 per s/f. Railings are $17 per foot, and stairs are really expensive. Figure out your s/f that you want to build, and then do the math.
I built my deck. The materials cost $1300 and it took me two weekends to build. Had I charged someone to build my deck, I would have charged over $10,000
This very informative and useful video.
I will have to add it to my list of resources.
Thank you!
If you're going to be drilling concrete, you need a hammer drill. Most hammer drills can turn the hammer feature off, and most of the non-SDS drills have torque clutches as well.
Professional Grade keyless chucks are very good, but, you have to get the 1-hand operation models (1 sleeve). They usually wratched closed and hold very tightly.
Most good drill bits will have flats ground into their sides so slippage shouldn't be a problem.
Brand name comes down to two things: grade (professional or hobbyist) and price (bargain bin or top of the line). Generally, you get what you pay for.
Some trusted professional brand names are DeWalt, Makita, Milwaukee, Ridgid, Hilti, and Bosch. Even some of those companies make hobbyist grade tools (yes, I'm looking at you DeWalt with your cheap-ass 12v toy-drill) so remember: you get what you pay for.
A good, general purpose hammer drill in a professional grade from a good brand name will cost you around $150-300 bucks. Honestly, I wouldn't go that way though. I'd get two drills. I'd get the hammer drill for masonry and big drilling (hole saws, big spades, auger bits, large step bits) and a smaller drill for everything else.
Perhaps one of the funniest videos I have ever seen!
Feel free to bend and bang around those blades people.
The logo isn’t clearly visible, but it is definitely a Payne unit. Carrier/Bryant/Day and Night/Payne. They’re all pretty much the same. I’ve installed and repaired enough of them to know the difference.