Laminated wood flooring

This photo was taken in spring 2008. The client wanted their vinyl tile floor replaced with the laminated wood flooring. Fortunately, the floor was in relatively good condition and all that was required was the underlayer and the laminated wood floor boards.

Some quick tips from my experience:

1. Allow the laminated floor board to acclimatise in room temp for 36-48hrs.

2. Check the floor for holes, chipped cement or boards, cracks, ..etc and  level out.

3. Check the floor for damp and use a damp-proof membrane or underlay as appropriate.

4. When laying the floor be mindful of the angle of the floor boards (vertical/ horizontal) as this may make the room look bigger or smaller.

5. Be sure to leave about 1/4 inch space all around the room to allow the wood to expand.

Preparing the wall for painting

In this case the client wanted to have wallpaper removed and walls painted instead. On checking we noticed that the wallpaper was stuck directly onto the plasterboard. While this is not uncommon, it causes damage to the plasterboard  when removing the wallpaper.

Some tips from my experience:

1. Using a steamer to take the wallpaper off makes your life easier and minimises damage to the plasterboard.

2. You can use jointing tape if there are gaps between plaster boards  and use filler to seal jointing tape and fill any other holes on the wall.

3. Use sanding paper to smooth out the walls before painting.

Wall painting

This is a continuation of the earlier post (how to do wall preparation post). The client wanted the ceiling in white and walls painted in blue/lavender. 

Tips on wall painting:

1. Ensure the ceiling and walls are dust free

2. To avoid damage to the floor, cover it with a protective layer (i.e. plastic, newspapers or dust sheets).

3. Carefully paint the edges first using a paintbrush before using a roller for the main areas. This may need several coats of paint.

3. Here is a good sequence when painting:

• step 1: paint the ceiling
• step 2: paint the walls
• step 3: paint the doors, windows and skirting boards