A little moreT... on a DIAMOND!

In the hopes of not forever repeating myself I would like to just take a few moments to stress on preparing your floor.  I can only relate it to preparing your walls for paint, there are few people who actually enjoy doing it but it is a necessity to make your paint last or in this case your flooring.

Hard surface needs a perfect floor (for the most part but we wont go into that right now) it contours to every bump, crack, etc. This is because there isn't a padding or a forgiveness layer to make spots that may seem small a bigger problem.  (< I may have to post something about that!)

When installing this floor, we had to spread a patch over the wood so that all the spots that were low would be filled in and the high spots would be noticed and taken care of.

Also we installed the baseboards under the LVT. 

(Usually with hard surface you install the flooring under the baseboards.  It can be done other ways but this way is how we prefer to do it.)

 We did the same to the entry way.

 After allowing the patch to dry, we started the install. The angle that the flooring is put is for the carpet that will be installed and it gives it a pleasant flow and not an abrupt stop.  

 As we installed we taped.  This was a large area and we did not want to have to worry about anything slipping while we were working.

We also used a roller to make sure that all parts of the LVT were in contact with the adhesive. 

This is the floor primarily finished.  Still needing to get back to see what the flooring looks like with the carpet.  But notice that we did not grout and we did the LVT on a diamond.

LVT + Carpet

I can only guess that every time you look at this blog you see LVT (luxury vinyl tile) this and LVP (luxury vinyl plank) that, honestly it is because we LOVE the stuff so we sell it.  The durability and the clean-ability... but we wont go into that just yet.

This job was fun because I got to help install.  When I mean help, I can help explain the process because I know those boys make it look WAY easier than it would be if say I was going to install it on my own.  

Before starting the job I got to sort 'patterns' in the flooring.  Because these are not a natural stone, There is a pattern repeat (of about 8) patterns.

The installer (who just so happened to be my father) had prepared the floor with self level to make the floor... Level.  After that dried, we went back and started setting out the pattern that we want and from there started to apply the glue.

The glue is applied with a trowel.

 Because this floor was to be grouted, we continued to lat it out with spacers and glued the LVT to the concrete.

The LVT is pretty neat because you don't need a saw to cut it.  LVT only needs to be scored with a utility blade then broken.  

The Grout used is a non-stain able polyurethane grout... it is applied here (Drying a bit before we scrub it off).

I didn't get to be there for the final reveal, but I am looking into going back to get pictures of the carpet we installed and the final reveal of the bathroom.

Cyber Death

So there was a mishap with the computer, hard drive RIP and a number of other problems that can cause you to have a cyber death.  So now that we have been revised with a new computer (that I am still learning how to use) you should be seeing more posts.
On another side note I took a few pictures of jobs that we did while suffering from cyber death so the next few posts will be of those jobs.  Some I even got to help install. I am pretty sure that makes me a master installer now ( totally joking!).

Carpet problems...

Carpet has problems here and there like everything else.  Nobody likes it, but that doesn't stop it from happening.  This carpet has a side match meaning the color changes a little through the roll of the carpet.  The problem that this causes is when you seam the carpet together, there is a noticeable difference in the color. The way that you can fix this is by using a serpentine seam and cutting the carpet from the same side of the roll.

This is an obvious eyesore!

And fixed!!

When we first looked at the carpet we were going to have her pick out a new carpet.  She loved this so much that she really wanted to avoid doing that. Problem solved!

Rugs, Binding, Surging... RUGS

With the holidays and all the hustle and bustle that goes on during the holidays, people have been needing rugs.  Seems like a very understandable need being that everyone likes what they want.  But I took a few pictures so you can see what binding and surging look like.

This is an example of a round rug that I surged.

I also put a felt backing on it to prevent any damage to a hard surface flooring.

This is a binding example

The big picture. I wasn't finished yet, but you get the idea.

Just carpet that people had, or a remnant that they had purchased that I cut and bound for them.  

Frequent Flyers

This is selfish of me to say but I LOVE (and hate) when my sister moves ( she moves alot). Recently they have been buying homes, living in them awhile.  As they live in them they fix them up. Painting fixing stuff blah blah blah... ( to the good stuff) they replace their flooring.  The last house I got to pick out the flooring and I really enjoyed it.  Not only does it take out of the huge inventory that we have, but it gives me a little bit to pick something fun, affordable, functional, and I get feedback of what they think.  The last home they had they wanted a longer carpet, it was in and a comfortable look.  After living in that house for about a year they realised that with their life style it was something that they liked but not as much as they thought they would.  Now that they built a new home, I got to pick out the carpet again! I must admit that I like the challenge.  She gives me her criteria and I give her some options finally coming up with the final look.  

The front room... a few times

I will get some more pictures so that you can see these better. 

Beaulieu Style:Showcase  Color:Highlights

Side note... My sister is married and they have a dog.  This carpet is a new magic fresh carpet with a special treatment that they use so that your carpet doesn't smell like anything but carpet ( in this case dog).  Also this carpet is a solution dyed carpet meaning that if you (heavens forbid) spill bleach on your carpet it will retain its color, but the bleach can eat the backing.  Living active life's, maintaining carpet isn't a top priority for most people.  But don't forget that your carpet loves to be vacuumed and maintained.  No carpet is indestructible.

New House New Look

The cutest family came in to our shop looking for some carpet ( weird I know).  They had just purchased this house and were putting a fresh look into it, making it their own. As they were looking around checking carpets listening to us rant about our vast knowledge on carpet we found a piece that they liked. When we went to measure the home we laughed a little bit because we had installed the carpet in the master bedroom when the previous owners had lived there ( such a small world).  The carpet was ordered and installed so this cute family could move into their new home.  Although after it was installed, I loved the carpet so much I had to go look at the job my self and get some pictures to share.  The sad news is I am going to have to invest in a better camera then the one in my phone so I can get better pictures to show off all of the jobs that we sell and the amazing job that our installers do.

Stairway, wood edges and the installers always tailor the stairs to give them a crisp finished look.

(I will have to do a post telling you guys the difference in the ways to install the carpet on the stairs.)

The stairs... Again

Family room area

The stairs going to the basement

Basement family room

The family room from another angle

Basement bedroom

The bedroom at another angle

Upstairs bedroom

Another angle of the upstairs bedroom

Another upstairs room

At another angle

And the same room at another angle.

The carpet is Tuftex: Good move color: smoke Taupe

I really like the color of the carpet as well.