c/flooring-installers

Tape trick for keeping transitions from sliding during glue up

I was fighting with a T molding in a kitchen remodel last week, the thing kept creeping out of line while the adhesive set. I tried weights and shims but nothing held it. Finally I grabbed some painters tape, pulled it tight across the transition onto the subfloor on both sides, and it locked it dead straight until the glue dried. Worked way better than any heavy object I've stacked, and I didn't have to babysit it. Anyone else use tape for this or do you have a better way to hold those long pieces?

That retired couple in Des Moines who watched me work for 2 hours

I was laying LVP in their sunroom last spring, and the husband just pulled up a chair and watched every single cut I made. He didn't say much until I finished the last row, then he goes, "You make that look easy, but I know it ain't." That little comment stuck with me more than any thank you I've gotten. Anyone else get those quiet clients who end up saying something that hits harder than a big review?

Hit 500,000 square feet installed and it hit me different

Last Friday I wrapped up a commercial job in Dayton and my logs showed I crossed 500,000 sq ft installed over 14 years. I never tracked it as a goal, just wrote down every job in a notebook since 2011. Seeing that number made me think about all the knee pain and torn blades that went into it. Anyone else keep a running total or was I just being weird about my paperwork?

Miter saw angle drift after 3 months, anyone else see this?

Been running a decent sliding miter saw for about 2 years now, mostly doing baseboards and shoe mold. Last week I was cutting crown for a bathroom remodel in Tacoma and noticed my 45s were coming out sloppy, like a hair off every time. Checked the detent plate and it was actually loose, the screws backed out just enough to let the angle wiggle. Tightened them down and it's back to square, but I never thought to check that on a regular basis. How often do you guys inspect your saw's angle stops? I'm thinking about adding it to my monthly tool check, but maybe I'm just unlucky with vibration on job sites.

Tried glue down vinyl plank over old sheet vinyl vs rip it all out first. Huge mistake.

Did a bathroom last month in Nashville. Old sheet vinyl was stuck on there good. Guy at the supply house said just put the glue down LVP right over it, save the labor. I was skeptical but went with it. 3 weeks later the customer called me saying planks are popping up along the seams. Went back and the old vinyl was delaminating underneath, pulling the new floor with it. The second bath I did I ripped everything down to the subfloor, patched it right, used a good primer. That one's solid. Has anyone else had bad luck with this shortcut or did I just mess up something else?

Watched a crew demo a 1960s kitchen floor in Atlanta and they didn't test for asbestos first

They just ripped up that old sheet vinyl without masks or anything, I had to walk away because I didn't want to breathe that air. Has anyone else run into crews that skip testing on old glue down floors?

Been doing this 22 years and folks still mess up expansion gaps on LVP

Walked into a job yesterday in Austin and the guy had the planks butted right up against the wall with zero gap. Said he read the box and it didn't say anything about leaving space. I pointed to the fine print on the side of the box that says 1/4 inch minimum. He argued with me for 10 minutes until I showed him the buckling on a job he did last month. I swear every time I see flooring installed tight to the baseboard I know it's gonna fail within a year. Has anyone else had to walk homeowners through why their floors are popping up after 6 months?

Walked into a new build in Phoenix and the subfloor had puddles

I was checking out a job site in north Phoenix last Tuesday. Builder had the AC off for three days in July. The OSB subfloor was literally spongy in some spots. I took a moisture meter and got readings over 20 percent. Told the GC I wouldn't lay anything until it dried out and got tested again. He tried to push me to start anyway. Have any of you walked off a job over wet subfloor?

Hit 250 square feet of plank flooring in a single day for the first time last Tuesday

I’ve been installing floors for about 5 years now, and I always figured my limit was around 180 square feet a day. But last week I had a straightforward job in a spare bedroom with no obstacles and a nice level subfloor. I decided to push myself and actually hit 250 square feet by late afternoon, which surprised me. The cuts were simple and the tongue-and-groove locked together fast, but I still felt it in my back the next morning. Has anyone else found their natural pace changed after a certain job or setup?

I finally realized my underlayment was causing all those squeaks after 5 years of installs

It hit me last month when I pulled up a floor I did in 2019 and saw the foam had completely disintegrated under the high-traffic spots, so has anyone else switched to a rubber-based underlayment after fighting noise complaints?

Renovated a 1970s kitchen floor with LVP and the difference was night and day

Pulled up some gross old linoleum in a house near downtown and found yellow glue stains everywhere. Put down Luxury Vinyl Planks in a gray oak and the whole room looked 10 years younger. Has anyone else tackled a nasty glue removal job and found a trick that actually works?

Comparing glue down vs nail down for engineered hardwood in a wet basement nearly cost me a job

I had a job last month in a basement near Portland that had some moisture issues. The homeowner wanted engineered hardwood and I was stuck between glue down and nail down methods. I tested a small area with both approaches using the same brand of wood and adhesive. The glue down held up way better after I poured water on both sections and let it sit for 24 hours. That nail down stuff started cupping at the edges while the glue down barely showed any change. Has anyone else used glue down in tricky damp spots like crawlspaces or basements and regretted it later?

Wasted $300 on a fancy moisture meter that barely works

Ngl I bought a high end pinless meter last year thinking it'd save me time. Took it on a job in Portland and the readings were all over the place compared to my old pin type. Anyone else have luck with a specific brand for checking slab moisture before glue down?

Hot take: Are we overleveling subfloors or just wasting time on floors that don't need it?

I read a study from the National Wood Flooring Association that said up to 30% of callbacks come from subfloor issues, but last week I did a job in Denver where the concrete was within 1/8 inch over 10 feet and I still spent 3 hours grinding it flat - has anyone else found a reliable way to tell when good enough is actually good enough?

Is glue-down always better than nail-down for solid hardwood? I tried glue-down on a 500 sqft job last week and the floor is already popping in 3 spots.

I've always done nail-down for solid 3/4 inch oak, but a customer insisted on glue-down because they heard it's quieter. Now I'm getting callbacks about popping boards near the kitchen island, and I'm wondering if I prepped the subfloor wrong or if glue-down just has more risk. Has anyone else had glue-down solid hardwood fail on them?

I finally counted up how many miles of flooring I've installed in 20 years

Came out to 47 miles of material laid down and that's without counting the 8,000 square feet of tile I did for that church in Akron back in 2010, anyone else ever do the math on their career totals?

I walked a job site in Phoenix last month and saw something that got me thinking

I was checking out a new build in Phoenix and noticed one crew laying glue-down LVP while another was doing floating click-lock in the same house. The glue-down guys said their method lasts longer in the heat, but the click-lock guys argued it's easier to replace damaged planks. Which way do you guys think holds up better in a dry climate like Arizona?

Was installing LVP in a basement outside Chicago and stepped backwards into a bucket of mop water

I finally switched to glue-down LVP after being a floating floor guy for 15 years

Had a chat last Tuesday with an old timer named Don at the supply house in Tacoma. He said I was losing money on callbacks from floating floors shifting and that I should try glue-down. I argued with him for like 20 minutes before he just handed me a trowel and a bucket of adhesive. Tried it on a 1,200 square foot job last week and not a single complaint from the homeowner about clicking or gaps. Has anyone else made the switch and had better luck with glue-down over floating?

I prefer glue-down over floating floors now, and here's why

Used to push floating LVP for everything in my shop in Columbus. Switched to full glue-down after redoing a house in 2022 where the floating floor was clicking and popping after 6 months. Anyone else ditch the click-lock for glue on residential jobs?

Finished my first floating floor solo in Austin last month

I was working a small bedroom job near South Congress and totally messed up the first two rows of laminate. Had to pull it all apart and start over with a pull bar instead of my tapping block. How do you guys handle tight spots near door frames without damaging the boards?

TIL that cheap vinyl plank cutter I bought on Amazon actually works better than my big rig

I was super skeptical when I grabbed a $40 vinyl cutter off Amazon last month for a small bathroom job near Austin. Been using my heavy duty shears for years, but that little thing zipped through 12 planks without a single chip or crack. Has anyone else tried one of those budget cutters and been surprised by the results?

TIL that a $30 moisture meter works better than the fancy $150 one for subfloor checks

I used to grab the expensive Wagner meter every time I walked into a job, but last week on a basement install in Cleveland I ran out of battery and had to use my buddy's cheap pin-type. Thing found moisture in three spots the Wagner missed completely because the concrete had a sealer on top that threw off the pinless reading. Now I carry both and use the cheap one for the baseline sweep before I break out the expensive one. Any other installers had issues with pinless meters on sealed floors?

Just blew 3 hours on self-leveling compound I didn't need

So I was doing a 400 square foot basement job near St. Louis last week. Concrete slab had some low spots, maybe a quarter inch dip in the middle. I went ahead and mixed up two whole buckets of self-leveling compound. Threw it down, waited overnight. Next morning I realized I could have just used a patching compound for that depth. The leveler went everywhere, got under the door jambs, and I spent another hour cleaning up the overflow. Now I'm out $85 for the extra material and half a day of work. Anyone else learn this lesson the hard way or am I the only one who grabs the wrong product?

Tried no-cure urethane on a kitchen floor and it peeled up in 3 days

I used Bona Traffic HD on a job in Austin last week and skipped the full cure time because the homeowner needed the fridge back in place. The finish lifted right off where the rubber feet sat. Has anyone else had a request like this mess up a job?