| Subject | Date Asked |
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| marble over fireplace | 11/5/2007 |
Q: I have a brick fireplace that I painted white at one time. Now I want to put marble on it. Do I ...
A: Surface prep is everything. You need a smooth sound clean surface to use any masonry adhesive to ...
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| kitchen floor | 10/12/2007 |
Q: Good morning Dave, I'm remodeling my kitchen ( it was built in 1953) and we extend it before so I ...
A: When you put down a wood floor on wood, you can glue on the concrete and glue/nail on the wood ...
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| hardwood floors cracking/ warping | 10/11/2007 |
Q: The mostly original hardwood floors in my 1927 house were redone before I bought the house a year ...
A: The clue is a patched area. This may be a different cut of grain. The old hardwood is cut from a ...
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| Hardwood Underlayment | 10/9/2007 |
Q: I have a 3/4 mohawk hardwood floor installed last year. The install manual said to lay felt paper ...
A: You are in a bad situation. If the install is a licensed contractor....give him notice you are ...
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| Direction of laminate...with hallway or with window light? | 10/8/2007 |
Q: I am putting down laminate in all rooms on top floor except the bath. I would like this to be as ...
A: Too much advice will destroy and easy job. The hard part is staring in the hallway and working into ...
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| about the laminated floor | 10/7/2007 |
Q: i have refurbished my home and replaced the florr carpet with laminate flooring recently. after ...
A: I am constantly informing people that laminates are a big mistake. You have another of the problems ...
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| Laminate Floor over Ceramic Tile | 10/7/2007 |
Q: My house was built in 1998 in Phoenix. I have Ceramic Tile on the entire lower level, where the ...
A: There are two issues. Elevation of the new floor, and the irregularity of the tiles under the ...
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| Hardwood flooring @ door entry | 10/4/2007 |
Q: I recently had hardood set, sanded, and finished in an area of about 1000 s/ft. After the floor was ...
A: Unfortunately, the doors are the only 'give' in your situation. The thresholds can be added to to ...
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| Cupping newly installed wood floors | 9/28/2007 |
Q: We live in a 50+ year old house with red oak solid wood flooring. We recently added a master ...
A: If you dont have a moisture problem from below...did they use a water base stain or sealer? All ...
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| Expanding laminate floor | 9/27/2007 |
Q: I'm hoping that you can help me. I had laminate flooring in stalled in my basement one year ago. ...
A: I have been advising alot of people lately...laminates are not a good choice. If you dont spend the ...
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| Replace vinyl and carpet with hardwood | 9/19/2007 |
Q: there. I have vinyl flooring in the kitchen, hardwood in the dining room, and carpet in the family ...
A: I will assume that you have a concrete slab house. If this is correct, you will need to remove all ...
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| konecto/laminate/ANY ideas?! | 9/18/2007 |
Q: I am redoing a small hair salon floor. There's 18-yr.old Wonderboard (hard as nails now) & sheet ...
A: I remember seeing a foam backed Tarquet floor used in a gymnasium. No sheen, flexible, and I think ...
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| konecto/laminate/ANY ideas?! | 9/18/2007 |
Q: I am redoing a small hair salon floor. There's 18-yr.old Wonderboard (hard as nails now) & sheet ...
A: There are a couple of brands of laminate floors...floating plastics....that have a cushion on the ...
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| Moisture test for laminate flooring | 9/13/2007 |
Q: We have a plan to change our carpeted home to Shaw Laminate flooring and a porcelian tile. I paid ...
A: This wrong of me, but I am glad you cannot use the laminates. Laminates were a great product in the ...
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| installation of ceramic tile floor over vinyl | 9/12/2007 |
Q: Dave, hope you give me some advise. I am planning on installing ceramic tile in a bathroom. The ...
A: I will recommend that you first install a 1/4" layer of hardiboard, screwed and glued. Then you ...
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| flooring help | 9/11/2007 |
Q: I hope you can help. my mom had tiles installed in her new house approximately 1 year ago. they look ...
A: I would start by closing off sections of the house for the dogs. Limit the constant traffic area ...
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| Ceramic floor tile underlay | 9/7/2007 |
Q: Dave, I've 5/8" plywood floor with an additional 1/2" plywood substrate on screw to 16" joist. I ...
A: YOu need a cementous substrate to lay the tile on. Installing tile to any wood product is risky. ...
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| Marble versus Tiles | 8/23/2007 |
Q: I am constructing my house in Pakistan comprising Sitting area, Drawing, Kitchen, 4 Bed Rooms with ...
A: For a living space, the marble will outlast the other tiles. It is not a water proof surface, so it ...
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| laminate flooring | 8/15/2007 |
Q: I need to know how to level a floor, and what tools i will need to do so before i can lay the ...
A: If you have high spots....grinding or sanding is the slow way to take off small amounts. If you ...
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| Kitchen & BA: Removing Old on with New | 8/13/2007 |
Q: House 1910+/-, Very happy to see thin plywood underlay beneath vinyls & linoleums and finding ...
A: Wood can be put anywhere in your home, if all the proper precautions are taken. Oil each board ...
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| Hardwood floor installing | 8/5/2007 |
Q: First thanks for taking my questions: My husband and I are planning on installing a hardwood ...
A: For the new install..look for loose nails or staples. Look for potential squeaks. Be sure the ...
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| Crackling sound | 7/30/2007 |
Q: We are in a new home (2 yrs) and have radiant heat under hardwood floors. It is stapled to the sub ...
A: The nail pattern was dictated by the piping. Your approach from below is going to be greatly ...
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| Laminate Hardwood | 7/22/2007 |
Q: We are looking to replace the flooring in our kitchen/family room area with laminate hardwood. What ...
A: Unless you intend to go high end, like Pergo's top of the line or WilsonArt....you will get a ...
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| dura stone flooring | 7/18/2007 |
Q: I had a fire in my home two years ago I had hardwood floors and when they redid my house i chose ...
A: A licensed contractor is always responsible. It is his responsibility to help you get relief for ...
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| Leveling Floor for Tile | 7/15/2007 |
Q: I have 700 square feet of flooring that I am going to be tiling. (Yes, it's self-stick vinyl, ...
A: I hate to give any advice on this...almost anything you do in this matter is going to be crappy. ...
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| hardwoodfloor installation | 6/28/2007 |
Q: Dave Coil, First of all, what is the difference in cost of installation of 2 1/4" wide hardwood and ...
A: Differing prices for different circumstances. Normal is about $6 per ft. To get it done ...
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| radiant heat | 6/27/2007 |
Q: I would like to install radiant heat mats in an area of 428 sq ft. The mats are fairly expensive in ...
A: Radiant heat serves two purposes. It warms the floor and warms the contents on the floor. It is ...
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| wood flooring | 6/23/2007 |
Q: Give me your personal opinion of what wood floors look best, engineered,laminates, solid wood ...
A: Solid wood is overwhelmingly prefered. The hardest product and nearly indestructable. Engineered ...
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| flooring options | 6/18/2007 |
Q: I know its hard to generalize as material costs are going to be important, but can you give me a ...
A: I would think that removing the existing flooring and prep for whatever new floor would be a ...
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| laminate flooring | 6/14/2007 |
Q: We just had laminate flooring installed in our living room, bedroom and hall. My concern is the ...
A: Yes your rocking action will cause damage. Trying to come up with the simplest solution, a terry ...
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| laying ceramic tile in an upstairs bathroom | 6/5/2007 |
Q: Dave, My experience as a DIY has been 1100 SF of ceramic tile layed on concrete slab in my last ...
A: My opinion is that the previous finished floors need to be remove. The previous floors do allow a ...
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| Where to begin for flooring | 6/2/2007 |
Q: I am just getting started to do put in a new floor (parquet-laminate). Problem is I know nothing ...
A: There are very few good adhesives. Bosch is my favorite. Keep in mind, you do not want to attempt ...
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| Where to begin for flooring | 6/1/2007 |
Q: I am just getting started to do put in a new floor (parquet-laminate). Problem is I know nothing ...
A: This can be a tricky floor to lay. You will need to do a complete layout of the room and hallways ...
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| subfloor for hardwood | 5/22/2007 |
Q: I'm going to be installing either 3/4" or 5/16" solid hardwood in a bedroom. The subfloor is a 2 ...
A: You are going to do alot of work to get this solid. You will need to glue a layer of 5/8" T&G ...
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| ceramic tile installation concerns | 5/22/2007 |
Q: A friend is installing inexpensive ceramic tile in his carport. The surface is concrete which has ...
A: The concern I have is more related to the painted concrete. The paint is not allowing a cementous ...
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| whats on my floor? | 5/20/2007 |
Q: i was wondering whether you could help me the problem is i am in the middle of decorating my living ...
A: It may be an attempt to glue the carpet down on a previous install. I would try scraping up a small ...
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| ceramic tile | 5/20/2007 |
Q: I have some cracked tile and a couple of broken tile that have come out of the floor. Is it ...
A: Clean the area completely, back to a sound plain concrete floor. You can make a small batch of ...
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| tile | 5/19/2007 |
Q: do i need to lay anything over concrete and it not level what do i use
A: When installing tile over concrete, the main issue is level and sound. If you have highs, or low's, ...
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| tumbled marble backsplash | 5/17/2007 |
Q: My tubled marble backsplash behind my outdoor grill looks terrible after repeated degreasing. How ...
A: Many times I wish I could do House calls on the advice I am asked for. Guessing is alot of what we ...
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| ceramic floor | 5/17/2007 |
Q: we had ceramic floor put in our hallway and into our kitchen , the grout is cracking and coming out ...
A: You need to find the cause. Are the tiles loose, as movement will continue to remove grout. Was ...
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