Category Archives: Floors

The Best Garage Floor Coating

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One of the best ways to protect to your garage floor from normal wear and tear and other damage is to apply a good quality garage floor coating. There are several options including garage floor paint and concrete floor sealants but the best results are obtained with an epoxy coating applied over the concrete. The epoxy is strong and durable and will often times last over ten years with no noticeable problems.

Epoxy is a great material to work with because it is easy to prepare and apply but it cures to a very hard surface that stands up well to garage floor traffic and spills. It is chemically inert so there is no problem with spilled gasoline, oil, brake fluid and other liquids that naturally accumulate on the floor when you are doing your car repairs. Paint, on the other hand, will often time bubble up and peel off when some of these products are spilled on it.

The garage floor epoxy coating comes in two containers which individually contain the resin and the hardener. Once the floor surface is prepared by a thorough cleaning with soap and water and then a weak muriatic acid solution, it is allowed to dry. Then the homeowner mixes the two parts of the epoxy solution together. A power drill with an attached auger works well for this mixing. The mixture is then spread out over the floor usually with a roller and allowed to harden.

The time to cure is based primarily on the temperature of the environment. If it is winter and cold you may want to use a space heater to bring the temperature up into the 60 degree range. Usually the floor can be walked on after about 24 hours and within a few days it has completely hardened.

Once cured, the floor coating will withstand substantial abuse with even arc welding sparks not affecting it as long as the welding is done at bench height. The epoxy will also not hot peel which is a problem with asphalt products.

Sealing Cork Floors Like A Pro

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Cork flooring is an eco-friendly, affordable and organic choice. It looks aesthetic and can go with any kind of home. With ever-increasing focus on sustainable, renewable and affordable home building materials, cork flooring is among the top three most favorites across the United States and other developed countries.

While cork flooring doesn’t pose many challenges, it does require the yearly or occasional attending to. Typically, you would be sealing cork floors once or more a year depending on the quality of the materials, sealants and the foot traffic that leads to the general wear and tear. Sealing cork floors is not a difficult task and any homeowner can do it without any professional help, but if you are completely unsure whether or not you can pull it off, then seeking an expert’s help would be desirable.

Cleaning The Floor

The first exercise of sealing cork floors is to completely clean it at the outset. You can use a broom and vacuum to clean all debris. Some homeowners like to use sandpaper to scrape off all the dust, dirt, dander or anything that may be on the floor or at the now semi-sealed joints and vents.

Once you vacuum the flooring or sand it properly, use hardwood floor cleaner and rinse the entire floor with the help of a mop. You should use water to wash off the entire cleaner debris and the dirt that it would carry along. Afterwards, you must use a moist, but not wet mop to rub or rinse the floor. Following this, you must open all the windows of the room (removing furniture right at the outset before cleaning is recommendable) and let the floor dry on its own for a day or more.

Choosing The Sealant

The quality of cork flooring and how well it would hold will depend on the quality of the sealant. People use urethane, polyurethane or wax sealants. There are water-based and oil based or solvent based sealants. Whether you choose urethane or polyurethane or possibly wax, you should always choose a water-based solution of the particular sealant.

Sealing Cork Floors

After your floor is completely dry from the cleaning, use a foam roller to spread the urethane or polyurethane sealant uniformly across the floor. You may wish to start at the walls or corners away from the door and come to the door so you do not have to walk over the just coated areas. After applying a uniform coat, you should let it dry for a day, at the least. Following this, you need to apply a minimum of two more coats of the sealant and keep the floor as it is for a week.

Also, always refer to manufacturer’s instructions on the label of the sealant.

Is Using Cheap Laminate Flooring a Good Option For Your Floors?

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We are practically bombarded every day with ads about cheap laminate flooring, how much you save when you get it and why it is great for your own home. However how much of it is actually true and is it worth getting it for yourself?

One of the main issues with this material is that it doesn’t look and feel ‘real’. You can easily tell it’s a cheap imitation of another material. Also it is very thin so it scratches easily. Many varieties need a serious installation using glue, so by you calling a professional to do the laying on the floor, it will suddenly not be so cheap afterall. Also there are some issues with the installation, particularly when it comes to moisture. The seams tend to swell and buckle and that really destroys the look of your room right away. So if you try to install it in high traffic areas such as your kitchen, bathroom or laundry room, forget it completely. It won’t work.

If you go with cheap flooring, the warranty might not be for long, so you need to check for warranty when buying it. Sometimes you might get 10 years, other times even less. Usually the word cheap doesn’t ‘warrant’ warranty, if you know what I mean.

To really get a good floor for your home, you should invest in something better. It might cost you a bit more, but in the long run the initial cost will be offset by the durability, long lasting and beauty that your new floor will give your home. There are so many modern, elegant and classy options available nowadays, that there is little wonder commercials are pushing cheap laminate flooring since people are going away from it.

Of course if you decide to buy it, take it from a reputable source who backs up his product and gives good warranty. If anything happens to the floor, you need to know that it can be replaced without any additional costs from your part.