We had always planed on changing the flooring in our apartment, after 5 years of us and a dog living and making a mess. We got a big kick up the bum when the dishwasher hose broke and flooded the dining room.
See corner of kitchen where tiles and carpet meet
So we removed all of the carpet on the bottom level of our apartment. We then lived with concrete floors for a while as many of our friends and family noticed.....Okay maybe not just a while, try 3 months...through winter, living like this:
Industrial style flooring?
We were actually waiting for our ensuite bathroom to be re-tiled and didn't want to replace the flooring before all of the tradesmen were finished. Once the ensuite renovation was completed we got to it!. I will go through the process step by step:
Step 1: Measure out the m2 required to complete the works. I would suggest adding on an additional 10% as wastage from cutting, professionals usually add on 6% additional for wastage.
Step 2: Purchase a sample pack of the flooring brand/ colour that you would like to use. Have a go at laying the flooring down and see what the colour looks like in your home during the day and at night. We actually purchased a pack of a completely different coloured timber, when we got it home and put it in the room it did not suit and looked more purple.
Step 3: Purchase/ Borrow items required:
Step 3: Purchase/ Borrow items required:
- Materials: Timber, Underlay, Tape.
- Tools required: Drop saw, pencil, set square(if you don't already have one).
Step 4: Clean all floors thoroughly and remove any nails or imperfections that could cause the boards to be uneven.
Step 5: Roll out underlay and tape down into place.
Note: Underlay is required with most types of timber flooring (even cork backed), we used acoustic underlay as we are on the top level of an apartment building.
Step 6: First run- Use spacers to keep the boards 2-3mm from the wall, Start laying boards on the longest run of flooring, we decided to run the boards along the hall of our apartment.
Step 7: Second run- Use drop saw to cut board so that the next run stars on a 1/2 or a 1/3 run (keep the other half of the board for re-use at the end of a run). Measure cut, measure cut, measure cut.
Step 5: Roll out underlay and tape down into place.
Note: Underlay is required with most types of timber flooring (even cork backed), we used acoustic underlay as we are on the top level of an apartment building.
Step 6: First run- Use spacers to keep the boards 2-3mm from the wall, Start laying boards on the longest run of flooring, we decided to run the boards along the hall of our apartment.
Step 7: Second run- Use drop saw to cut board so that the next run stars on a 1/2 or a 1/3 run (keep the other half of the board for re-use at the end of a run). Measure cut, measure cut, measure cut.
Bella- Not too impressed with the flooring prefers her favorite window view step
Flooring laid, Skirting to go
Step 8: Skirting: We picked a Skirting that was 1/3 the size of the original MDF skirting. We pre-painted the skirting white & then used the Nail gun to fix to the existing skirting. A white putty was used to cover up the nail gun holes.
We love the finished product and are so pleased that we completed the job ourselves, even if it took a little longer to find a free Saturday to complete the work, the advantage is the cost savings for us. We were quoted through a subcontractor of mine $4,100. $1,800 for the labour and Material supply at $2,300. The completed flooring cost us $1,000, the material cost $800 and the skirting cost was $200.
The laminate colour is "Natural Oak".
