Monday, July 6, 2009

Knock on wood (kinda)

This weekend we decided to come home early from out east and get an additional project finished. Wow talk about determination. We ended up getting home around midnight on Saturday night and then Sunday morning (ok it’s was really early afternoon) we got started on putting down laminate wood flooring in the Florida room aka my new office.



Here is what the floor looked like before:



florida room 001

The flooring was concrete, which we then primed and painted with the left over paint we had. We liked the way it looked, but the main problem was our pups. They were leaving claw marks everywhere!



So we went to IKEA and found an inexpensive fix to our problem.



We went to just to look and see what they had, but we came home with the TUNDRA click lock laminate.



I was surprised at how simple it was do. I kept asking Jon what I could do, how I could help, but I ended up just cleaning up the little bit of mess it made and finished reading The Beach House and Trail of Crumbs.



So, without further ado here are our steps for laying down the flooring.



1. First you have to clean up the floor. So a quick sweeping job and a little vacuum action and we were in business. Since we were laying it on top of concrete we had to buy a roll of plastic sheeting as a moisture barrier.



wood floors 001



We just rolled it out and used a small razor blade to cut the excess. Pretty simple.



2. Next step is to lay down a floor liner. Which meant we had to roll it out and again use a razor blade to cut off the excess. For the floor liner you need to make sure there is no overlapping, because that would cause the flooring to not be leveled.



wood floors 002wood floors 004



3. We were now finally able to open up the packages and get to work! We chose to go with the antique oak, because it had a weathered look to it and we figured it would helpful to hide any scratches that the dogs might do to it.



wood floors 005



4. In laying down the flooring you have to do it in a subway tile format and stagger the pieces. So our table saw came in handy to trim down some pieces.



wood floors 007



5. Then the pieces simply click and lock into place. In order to get a good fit Jon was taking a small piece of excess wood he had and butting it up to the piece of flooring he wanted to lock into place. The extra wood was there so that when he knocked in the piece into place he didn’t hit the flooring.



Gap:

wood floors 009



Hammering:

wood floors 010



Finished piece:

wood floors 011



6. Since wood expands due to humidity you need to:



A. Leave the panels in the packaging for at least 48hrs in the room they are going to be laid in.



B. Leave a border around the entire room so that when the wood swells it has space to go into.



We found out that a CD case is the perfect size for the spacing that they recommend so we went around putting those in to make sure we had enough spacing.



wood floors 013

7. Now when you are done laying down the flooring you are going to want to lay some sort of trim place to hide the spacing that you have now made. We made a quick trip to Home Depot and came back with 48 feet of trim. You need to make sure that when you are nailing it in you nail it to the wall and not the flooring.



wood floors 014



8. Now you get to pat yourself on the back, because you did it all by yourself and you are DONE!



wood floors 015 wood floors 016



We are so happy with the way it came out.



It was super easy and not that pricey.



The room was 8’ x 16’ which meant we had 128’ sq ft.



Each package of flooring comes with 25.73 feet of flooring for $29.58, which means that we needed 5 packages and that came to: $ 147.90



Floor liner was: $ 24.99



Plastic Sheeting was $ 19.99

48’ of trim was .59 cents per foot, which is: $ 28.32

So the whole project came up to : $221.20 plus tax it comes to around $240 and took from around noon till 6:30/7pm to finish.

Ok so I wanted a totally relaxing weekend and didn’t truly get that. We did get to relax on Saturday and on Sunday a lot of the “We” I kept typing above we’re actually just Jon so I got a bit of relaxation in as well on Sunday along with crossing something off my to do list, which always feels fabulous.

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32 Comments:

Blogger Design Esquire said...

It looks great!! I can't believe how easy you made it look, and the price is right. Great job!

July 6, 2009 at 11:35 AM  
Blogger alison giese Interiors said...

Looks fantastic! It's always worth it to cut short a vacay when you have such a sense of accomplishment when Monday rolls around! Kudos to your project-friendly hubby and self!

July 6, 2009 at 11:39 AM  
Blogger Re:Fresh Design Studio said...

I always wondered if the IKEA floor quality was good or not, but it looks great on your floor! Can't wait to see the finished room!

July 6, 2009 at 11:48 AM  
Blogger Christina said...

wow, i'm really impressed. it looks great and i can't believe how affordable it was! thanks for making it look easy, it's definitely motivating.

July 6, 2009 at 12:03 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

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July 6, 2009 at 12:30 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

That completely transformed the room! You are really moving along with this room. I'm loving seeing it come together.

July 6, 2009 at 12:49 PM  
Blogger LindsB said...

It looks so great, I LOVE how the room is coming out so far- I am dying to know what else you are going to do in there.

I know I've said this before, but you seriously have the best hubby ever- I cant believe he does ALL these projects for you!

July 6, 2009 at 12:51 PM  
Blogger Gillian said...

It looks wonderful! I can't believe it only cost $240!

July 6, 2009 at 12:52 PM  
Blogger Yansy said...

What an amazing transformation. It looks great and for the price you just can't beat Ikea. I completely understand where you are coming from with having finished an extra project this weekend. I tackle on two projects at home. When you have a chance come by and check out the forest I created in our master bedroom.

July 6, 2009 at 1:27 PM  
Blogger Meg said...

The project turned out awesome! You did a great job and it was so affordable. I can't wait to see your office once it all comes together. I'm sure it will be beautiful.

July 6, 2009 at 1:28 PM  
Blogger Gwen said...

It looks great and Jon makes it look so easy. LOL

I am sure that Metallica would be proud that they were used in the project too.

July 6, 2009 at 1:30 PM  
Blogger The Domestic Princess said...

Love the stripes and the new floors!

July 6, 2009 at 1:46 PM  
Blogger Brooke @ Blueprint Bliss said...

Camila- Looks great... I love DIY projects.

July 6, 2009 at 1:47 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

That is beyond awesome! It looks so great, and I love it that it was a bargain! Please take a big picture once you get your office together!

July 6, 2009 at 1:48 PM  
Blogger bluehydrangea said...

You were much more productive than I was this weekend..great job!!! Can't wait to see what else you do!!

July 6, 2009 at 1:57 PM  
Blogger Poppy B. said...

You did make it look easy. TOO EASY. Now I want to do this in our laundry room, and I am NOT handy!

July 6, 2009 at 2:12 PM  
Blogger A New England Girl said...

The room looks fantastic! The price is great and it seems like it's easy as pie. I'm going to keep this solution in mind for future projects. :)

July 6, 2009 at 5:11 PM  
Blogger Lynett said...

I love the way the office is coming out! Great job with the flooring!

July 6, 2009 at 7:13 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

oh how pretty!! It looks great!!

July 6, 2009 at 7:30 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

Looks great! I am making my first trip to IKEA on Friday. I can't wait!

July 6, 2009 at 7:34 PM  
Blogger Haven and Home said...

That is amazing, I can't even believe y'all were able to do that yourself! So handy!!!!!!!!!!!!! GREAT JOB!!!!!!!!

July 6, 2009 at 8:05 PM  
Blogger Kate Riley said...

You are a DIY Queen ! I am so impressed. Those floors, ooooh. And those striped walls, aaaah. Lovin' it big time.

July 6, 2009 at 10:11 PM  
Blogger PS~Erin said...

It looks so great! Very impressive little job there, and I love that price tag!

July 6, 2009 at 11:09 PM  
Blogger Laurel @ Ducks in a Row said...

What a difference. great job.

July 7, 2009 at 9:38 AM  
Blogger Meg said...

WOW!!! That is inspiring! Love it! What a great job you did!!

July 7, 2009 at 9:59 AM  
Blogger paula said...

looks great! I am still in awe of the stripes.

July 7, 2009 at 10:21 AM  
Blogger Unknown said...

Wow great job! Maybe we will use that flooring for our mudroom

July 7, 2009 at 10:32 AM  
Blogger Blair Friedeman said...

Oh, it looks absolutely fabulous! Good work and such great how to!

July 7, 2009 at 10:51 AM  
Blogger I ♥ You said...

it looks amazing! and you make it sound so easy!

July 8, 2009 at 4:53 PM  
Blogger Susie (So Blessed) said...

Ya'll did such a great job!!
It looks wonderful!
Great choice of flooring for
pups and also for ease of installation for DIY'ers.
I work in our family's floor
covering and tile business and we get a lot of DIY customers for laminate floors. Your pictures and installation instructions were excellent!

Susie
(Blueprint Bliss' mom)

July 9, 2009 at 10:50 AM  
Blogger Freckles Chick said...

It looks FAB!! I'm so freaking impressed!

July 9, 2009 at 12:53 PM  
Blogger Monica Benavidez said...

It looks so great! I wish we had an IKEA where I live. :o(

July 9, 2009 at 7:28 PM  

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