Last week has been a busy week for us, I didn’t write a blog. We had company over to help us put together our garden. Over the last few years, we have been blessed with friends and family who had helped us during our build – from putting rebar in, to building walls, installing flooring. This year was landscaping/gardening. Let me tell you that I don’t think I’ll be picking up the shovel any time soon! I’ll be recovering from all that work for the next week I’d say!

Alright, so what’s next after interior wall coverings? Finish floor. Things are really taking shape at this point. This is when your OCD should come in really handy as finish work is more precise and time consuming. 

There are many types of flooring you can use – tiles, vinyl planks, concrete, laminate, hardwood, and engineered hardwood. So many different colours and textures to choose from and really at this point, it’s all about what you want and what works for you and your lifestyle. You may choose all tiles as you have an active dog who has never ending zoomies. Tiles would hold really well and won’t get damaged or scratched. Bathrooms, kitchens, mudrooms and laundry rooms are also a great place for tile application for its durability and waterproof qualities. I won’t give you any advice on tiles. We almost thought of doing our own and putting tiles directly onto the concrete, which then I was told by our tile guy that that’s a no no.

Concrete is also a good choice for finish floor for its durability. There are different types of concrete finishes you can do, such as a simple polish on the surface, or you can go as far as having polished exposed aggregate which gives the surface of the floor some dimension. 

Epoxy has also risen in popularity that you can pour over your concrete slab for some added design. You can add any solid colour you want as well as any colour mica powder for some shimmer. This can be a great choice for high traffic and water exposed areas for its durability as well.

Vinyl planks are plastic of nature and come in different textures, colours, thickness and widths. When put together, they can look almost like real hardwood. They’re durable and waterproof making it ideal for high traffic areas as well. A very sharp exacto/box knife and a square is all you need to cut the planks (and a jigsaw for notching around door openings) making this material very easy to install.

Laminate is basically particle board with a “veneer” of a hardwood on top for colour/design. This is the most economical materials to use for a finish floor. Using laminate requires underlay to allow it to float and move when it expands and contracts. As laminate is made of wood products, this material is not suitable for high moisture areas. Laminate is also easy to install and a laminate cutter can be used instead of a mitre saw to cut the ends.

Hardwood is solid planks of wood that has a tongue and groove edges. They require power tools to cut to length and a pneumatic nailer to fasten onto the subfloor. Because they are made of solid wood, hardwood planks can last a long time even in high traffic areas. They can be sanded down many times over and refinished as they start to look a bit rough. Like laminate, hardwood is not ideal in bathrooms, kitchens, or mudrooms.

Engineered hardwood planks are high quality plywood with a veneer of hardwood over the top. They come in tongue and groove planks, and come in widths up to 7”, wider than solid hardwood planks that come up to 3 1/2”. They have better resistance to moisture, but I still advise against installation in bathrooms. They are nailed down with a brad nailer, and usually glue is also used when the planks are more than 4” in width. Because it has a veneer of hardwood, it can be sanded up to two times only. Any more than that will sand off the veneer leaving you with a plywood finish.

How do you choose which flooring to use? At the end of the day it comes down to placement, aesthetic and budget. I would always recommend tiles in bathrooms especially. Vinyl is a good option for mudrooms and kitchens. Because I am a carpenter, I would always go with solid wood products. Stray away from laminate as it will not last. Engineered hardwood? If the width of the plank is very important for you, then engineered hardwood is a good option.

Tips for installation (only applicable to vinyl and wood products):

1. Make sure you have 1/4” gap between walls and the floor no matter the type of flooring you’re using. This will give the finish floor some space for movement during expansion and contraction. Using blocks would be helpful to keep everything from moving during the install.

2. Do your calculation and layout before putting any floor down. It’s a good idea to start with a full width plank, but not so great when you end up with a piece on the other end that is 1” wide. It won’t look good, and it won’t be so fun ripping a 1” piece just to cover the other end.

3. Use construction adhesive like PL to glue down the first 3 courses of your solid hardwood when using a pneumatic nailer. There is not enough room for the nailer to get to the first 2 courses and the glue will help fasten it and keep them from creaking when you step on them.

4. Vinyl and laminate planks are meant to “float” so don’t use any fasters or adhesive.

5. Do not line the joints up. Stagger the joints a minimum of 6”, more is better. This adds rigidity to the joint, plus it looks like a real pro has done it.

6. For the love of doing labour jobs, please please wear knee pads! Your knees will be grateful that you did when you hit the golden ages.