Table of Contents

• Prep Work
• Planning Phase
• How to Make it Stick
• Why This Tile?
• The Finished Floor!

Prep Work for Peel and Stick Carpet Tile Installation

Before applying peel-and-stick carpet tile, you need to make sure that your subfloor is clean. This means removing any and all loose materials. To do this, I am starting by scraping and sanding the loose paint. When all of this is done, I am using a pressure washer to get it all clean. I am going to make sure that the floor is fully dry before attempting to stick anything to it.

Making Plans

Now that my floor is clean, it is time to get into the planning phase. Before sticking anything down, it is important that you have an idea of where all of the tiles will be. I am measuring from the wall to run a straight chalk line as a starting point. You want to make sure that you place your tiles so none of the tiles end up being a skinny strip less than 2 inches. I am moving the tiles around to get the spacing just right.

How to Make it Stick

The tiles I am using are peel-and-stick. I am vacuuming ahead of each tile’s install to catch any dust or debris that might be there. I am doing this because I cleaned with water a few days prior. The sticky back on most peel-and-stick products is pressure-activated, so it’s not enough to just place it. You need to push on it and apply weight. I walk on each tile to ensure they are fully applied and the adhesive fuses to the floor below.

Rules for Applying Peel and Stick Tiles

Peel-and-stick carpet tiles have a direction to lay them. This is usually indicated on the back paper that covers the adhesive. The arrows show you the direction of the carpet tile. In my carpet tile installation, it says to quarter-turn each tile so that they alternate. This is done so the tile blends together seamlessly! Alternating the direction of the tile also alternates the direction of the adhesive strips of sticky backing. When the adhesive goes every other way, the carpet tiles are stronger. This means it can withstand vacuuming and dragging furniture across the tiles without lifting.

How to Cut Carpet Tile

Cutting peel-and-stick carpet tiles is very easy. This allows it to fit any custom space. You simply use a utility knife and a square to make straight cuts. When I cut the tiles, I am cutting on top of a piece of plywood, so I do not slice into the floor below. The brand of peel-and-stick carpet I purchased has a special technology to prevent fraying where you have cut your tiles. Very few of my carpet tiles frayed away as I cut. I also expect none to loosen over time. Cutting these tiles did not compromise the integrity of the carpet whatsoever, and I am very happy about that!

Why This Tile?

I chose this tile for so many reasons. It is stain resistant, UV resistant, color fast, and made from recycled bottles. In addition, it has a fiber locking system that eliminates the need for heavy backing, which can trap water. This product does not allow water to get underneath, and it dries after raining very quickly! Click here for the exact tiles that are on my porch!

The Finished Floor

I want to show off this detailed cut that I made around an existing door jamb that I am so proud of. This carpet tile installation really is a beginner-friendly product to install! If you have a space like a concrete patio, outdoor steps, or maybe a front porch like me, I hope this post helped you figure out how to install the carpeting.

We love our new floor, and it has made our front porch feel more inviting and cozy. If you want to know how to take out carpeting, you can find a blog post on that here! If you have any further installation questions, let me know below, and I will try to help you out!

The post Peel and Stick Carpet Tile Installation appeared first on .

This post may contain affiliate links or sponsored content. For full disclosures and practices, please visit my policy page.

Table of Contents

• Prepping the Space to Remove the Carpet
• Starting to Remove the Carpet
• Getting the Carpet Out of the Room
• The Hard Part
• Tools I Used
• Removing Carpeting from the Stairs

Getting Ready to Remove the Carpeting

It is easiest to take off the baseboards before you rip out the carpet, but I do not like doing that. If you do remove the baseboards, you have to number them, keep them organized, store them, and then reinstall them after you are done ripping out the carpeting. I am removing all of the vent plates and anything else that is obstructing the carpet.

Beginning To Remove the Carpet

To get this carpet removal started, I am pulling up the corner where it is a little bit loose. If it is not as loose as you would like it, which mine is not, you can use your prybar and hammer. The goal with this is to get the prybar under the tack strips at the edge of the carpet and pull those up as you go. Unfortunately, I was not so lucky to have this work. This particular carpet is tacked down onto the tack strip with staples along the edges. The underlayment is stapled into the subfloor all over the place. This means that once the carpet is all rolled up, I have to get the underlayment taken off. The underlayment pops up easily, and the staples stay where they are.

Getting the Carpet Out of the Room

Next is how to remove carpet from the room, I am going to take it in sections. Initially, I thought I could use a box cutter to cut across the top of the carpet, but this is nearly impossible, especially with the thick carpet. Instead, what I have found that works great is rolling the carpet back and then cutting the netting underneath the carpet. That cuts so much easier with the utility knife. For the underlayment, I did not really have to cut it because it rips so easily.

How to Remove Carpeting: The Hard Part

Removing the carpet and underlayment was definitely the easy part, now it’s time for the hard part! I am using my prybar on the tack strips along the edges to remove them. The tack strips were what was holding the carpet down. I thought this was going to pull up easily…I was mistaken. Not only were these installed with the regular small nails that you see on tack strips, but every 6 inches, there was a large 1-inch-long nail. This made the removal of the tack strips much more difficult than anticipated. The hundreds of staples that were holding the different pieces of underlayment to the subfloor also are making this process much more tedious.

How to Remove Carpeting: Tools I Used

The great thing about carpet removal is that anyone can do it with just a few simple hand tools! Here is a list of the tools that I used to do this project:

• Prybar
• Hammer
• Needlenose Pliers
• Utility Knife

Yep, that is all I used for 95% of this carpet removal! This project is not for the faint of heart, but if you are up for the challenge, it does not require a lot of supplies!

Getting Rid of the Carpeting on the Stairs

The stairs are so difficult, much more than I thought they would be. This is because they carpeted all the way around the top. I first had to take the plastic runner that goes up the center of the stairs off, which was very easy. Next, I am pulling up at the bottom edge of the carpeting where it is a little bit loose. There are tack strips on every angle of the stairs, so on every corner where it turns, there is a tack strip. I tried my best to pull the carpeting off of the bullnose, but that is not working, so I am just going in with my utility knife and cutting it off.To get rid of the underlayment, tack strips, and staples, I did the same thing I did before! If you want to see how the stairs turned out, check out this blog post!

Now that all of the carpeting is removed, you have a blank canvas to work with and can install any flooring that you want! I am installing waterproof laminate flooring in this space, if you want to see how to do this, click here!

The post How to Remove Carpeting appeared first on .

This post may contain affiliate links or sponsored content. For full disclosures and practices, please visit my policy page.

Table of Contents

• Getting Rid of the Railing
• Refinishing Existing Lumber
• Sanding Down the Deck
• Getting Rid of Rotted Wood
• Replacing Rotted Wood
• Creating a Step for the Front of the Deck
• Making Repairs and Sanding
• Staining and Sealing
• Finishing the Deck

Getting Rid of the Railing

I am starting this project by removing the railing from the deck. I do not like how it obstructs the view of the lake, so I think this deck would be better with just a long step across the front instead. Some of the railings had carriage bolts through them, so I had to remove the decking to access the back of the bolt. This did not work as I hoped, so I am cutting off the top of the railing and chiseling off the remaining. Luckily I only had to do this process on 4 of the posts, the rest of the railing is so rotted that it just falls apart.

How to Refinish Decking: Refinishing the Existing Lumber

When it comes to refinishing the lumber already installed on this deck, I am going to sand it first to see what I am working with. When I tried to sink screws into the existing boards to prevent them from hitting my sander, they kept breaking. This made me realize that a majority of the screws in this decking were extremely rusted. If I am able to back them out all of the way, I am replacing the existing screws with exterior treated decking screws.

Sanding Down the Deck

I went to my hardware rental store and the guy there convinced me to get a heavy duty floor sander. It has a pad that sits on it and then you put your sanding sheet down. I am running this across the old decking to get the existing finish off. This heavy-duty sander works well for what I need it for, it handles the differences in heights between the boards better than any other sander would.

Getting Rid of the Rotted Wood

I have realized that a good portion of the decking is too rotted to salvage. I am pulling these pieces up and replacing them with 2×6 green treated lumber. The worst rot is in the places where this deck sees the most foot traffic, I do not think this is a coincidence. Because so many of the screws have broken off in this area, I am sheering them off with my angle grinder once the boards are up. For the boards I am salvaging, I have to deal with a little bit of rot at the ends. I am cutting off the rotted portion and adding a decorative edge piece.

A majority of my framing pieces are in good shape, but a few pieces have some rot. Most of this rot is where the posts for the railings were. I am replacing the rotted framing pieces with new 2×10 green treated lumber. Once all of the framing is solid, I am going to put joist tape along the tops of everything to protect from rot.

How to Refinish Decking: Replacing the Rotted Wood

Now, it is time to replace all of the rotted lumber. I am replacing it with 2×6 green treated lumber. I am cutting these individually so I can use the lumber as efficiently as possible. Whenever I cut one, I am using the remainder for the next row. Along the edge I am placing trim pieces, these compensate for the rotted edge that I had to cut off. These square off the deck so well!

Creating a Step for the Front of the Deck

I am repurposing wood that I have to create framing for what will be a big step across the front of the porch. To build this step, I am building boxes that have joists 16 inches on center. This is going to create a step that is a little over 23 feet long. I am removing sod and dirt across the front of my porch where the step is going to go. This must be level, so I am placing rocks down. When I place my step framing, I am using a leveler to check. This step took a lot of adjusting! When it is level, I am predrilling the frame of the step through the frame of the deck. I am using 4-inch long leg screwes to connect these frames together. To go over the existing cement path that is off of the deck, I jigsawed out a portion of the wood so it will go right over the path. Next, I am covering my framing.

How to Refinish Decking: Making Repairs and Sanding

Once everything is in place, I am fixing any blemishes in the wood. I am going in with two-part Bondo, this will repair any rotted areas that I did not feel like needed replacing. It is also going to fix any blemishes across boards or knots in the wood. Once all of my Bondo is dry, I am going to sand it all smooth. After I am done sanding, I am blowing off the surface of the decking with a leaf blower to prepare to apply my finish.

Staining and Sealing

Before I can stain my deck, I need to test it with a moisture meter. It is important that this reads below 15%, you do not want to seal moisture into your wood. My moisture meter did read below 15%, so it is time to stain and seal! I am using Behr’s waterproofing stain and sealer in one. This is a solid stain that has a 10-year warranty on decks. The trick to this is applying two light coats, this is made possible by my airless sprayer. The first thing I am doing before staining is removing the edge piece and coating the endgrain of the wood with finish. This is going to seal it in and prevent it from rotting. Next, I am spraying the tops of the deck. Using my sprayer dramatically increased how quickly I could apply my stain, but it is still best practice to back brush so you can work the product into the wood.

Finishing the Deck

As a finishing touch, I am going to paint this aluminum angle flashing. This is going to go along the foundation of the house where the deck meets it. Once this is dry, I am just gluing it down. I also have to patch the holes where the old railing post came down into the concrete. To do this I am using a mortar concrete mixture that is fast setting and works in applications up to 6 inches deep.

Now the deck is finally done! I love how beautiful it looks. You get such a beautiful view sitting and relaxing on this deck!

I hope you loved following along as I learned how to refinish decking! If you want to check out more of my outdoor projects, my blog post Build a Retaining Wall in One Day is a great place to start!

The post How to Refinish Decking appeared first on .

This post may contain affiliate links or sponsored content. For full disclosures and practices, please visit my policy page.

Table of Contents

• Removing the Plastic Runner and Ripping out the Carpet
• Fixing Blemishes in the Wood
• Priming and Painting the Risers on the Stairs
• Railing Refresh
• Cutting the Stairs
• Adding New Treads to the Stairs
• Final Touches

Removing the Plastic Runner and Ripping out the Carpet

The first step in the project is for me to remove the nasty plastic runner that was covering the carpet on the stairs. Once I have removed that, I am ripping the carpet off of the stairs. Ripping up the carpet was SO difficult! There are always a million staples with carpeting on stairs which makes the removal a good workout. I also am pulling off all of the tack strips from the carpet, on the risers and the treads. The staples from the underlayment also have to be knocked out! This whole process has been so tedious.

Fixing Blemishes in the Wood

Once all of the carpeting and everything that comes with it had been removed, there were so many blemishes in the wood beneath. To fix this, I am using high-quality wood filler. I am filling all of the holes from the staples and tack strips and any general blemishes in the wood. Once the wood filler is dry, I am sanding it smooth with my random orbital sander. My goal is to get it as flush to the wood as possible. To remove all of the dust from sanding, I am going over the stairs with a tack cloth.

Priming and Painting the Risers on the Stairs

Once the blemishes in the wood were fixed and the stairs were clean, I am going in with a high-quality primer on the risers. This is for new drywall or hard-to-coat surfaces, I trust it with areas that get a lot of use. Once the primer is dry, I am going in and painting the risers black.

How to Upgrade Your Stairs: Railing Refresh

At this point in the stair upgrade, it is time to remove the railing that is next to the stairs. I want to reuse this railing, so I am going in with black spray paint. This railing has gotten a little bit dinged up over time and during renovations, so the spray paint helped it look as good as new! I did spray paint inside, but if you want to know how I usually spray paint in the winter, I have a blog post on it here!

How to Upgrade Your Stairs: Cutting the Stairs

This part made me VERY nervous! I am going in with my jigsaw to attempt to cut the ends off of each of my stair treads. I am doing this because I am putting in new treads that will match the flooring that is in the hallway above and through the kitchen and living room. Using a jigsaw to try and cut the stair treads in a straight line was a bad choice. I would not recommend this method; it was very difficult. Once I went through with my jigsaw, I went through with my oscillating multitool to cut off what the jigsaw could not reach. If you are doing this I would recommend using a router or circular saw. After completing the cuts on all of the treads, I am painting the side of the stairs black to match the risers.

Adding New Treads to the Stairs

When the paint on the side of the stairs has dried, I am checking out my new treads. They have a laminate casing across them! I realized that the front lip is going to extend too far out and could be a tripping hazard. Because of this realization, I have to cut off the front of each tread. I have learned my lesson from cutting the sides of each stair, so I am using my circular saw to cut off the front. The circular saw went much smoother than the jigsaw!

Now that the cutting is done, it is finally time to install my new laminate stair treads. I am starting with a landing strip at the top. I am applying construction adhesive in an S-shaped pattern. Once I have the glue in place, I flip the landing strip over and tape it in place until the glue dries. It is important to not walk on this for at least 12 hours. I am doing the same process on the stair treads that I cut. You do not need to nail down these stair treads and you also do not need underlayment. I am not taping the treads into place, I am just putting pressure on them.

Final Touches

Now that my treads are in place it is time to put my stair railing back in place. My stair railing was made to have carpet go around it, but I think it looks just fine laid on top of the new stair tread. To attach the railing I am predrilling holes through the laminate and then sinking screws down that go into the wood below my laminate tread. Next, I am running a bead of siliconized latex caulk along all of the seams on the top of the treads. This is also going to help hold the treads in place!

The final product of these stairs looks SO GOOD! I revived what was once carpeted, outdated, and disgusting. Now, the stairs are modern and flow so well with the rest of the lakehouse!

The post How to Upgrade Your Stairs appeared first on .

This post may contain affiliate links or sponsored content. For full disclosures and practices, please visit my policy page.

Table of Contents

• Removing the Current Flooring
• Prepping the Floor
• Priming
• Prepping the Concrete
• How to Lay Self-Leveling Concrete
• The After!

Getting Rid of the Current Flooring

My initial plan was to lay overtop of the current tile, but a lot of it is damaged. The plumber came to do some work for me and he damaged more of it. So, I am starting by removing the floor tile and starting to build back. After all of the tile is removed I use my Oscillating Multi-Tool and Grinder to scrape the dried mortar off of the subfloor.  The mortar bed needs to come off the subfloor because I need the floor flat. No matter what new floor option I do a flat subfloor is super important.

Prep Process Before Laying Self-Leveling Concrete

When the mortar was ground off, I saw that the subfloor was in super bad shape with gauges and holes from the plumbing I had moved. To fill the holes, I am taking blocks of wood and hammering them in. Then I put Bondo over the top. I am also filling the seam between the sheets of subfloor with the Bondo. I also need to build up a curb around other areas like the toilet flange, around a pipe that comes in, and around the edge of the wall. To do this I am using window & door Great Stuff because it does not expand a lot, so it is going to give me the right amount of curb. I am also adding some screws to get rid of the squeaking of the floor. 

Priming the Floor

Now the floor needs a good vacuum and wipe down before I go in with primer. I am using LevelQuick primer. This primer is going to help my self-leveling concrete stick to the plywood subfloor. I think of my exit strategy while I prime so I do not have to step on the primer after it has been laid down. After an hour I am going to put on a second coat just to make sure, especially because my floor has these gauges in it. I really want to make sure that the primer adheres. Once the primer has dried, I am adding some silicone caulking along the Great Stuff foam. I do this as insurance to make sure none of the self-leveling concrete gets under those areas.

Preparing the Self-Leveling Concrete

When using self-leveling concrete you have to follow the instructions on the bag very closely. I am using Rapid Set self-leveling concrete. If you do not follow the specific measurements the concrete will not flow or self-level properly. I mixed mine in a large clean bucket with my drill and a mixing paddle attachment.

How to Lay Self-Leveling Concrete

When I begin to lay self-leveling concrete I start by just pouring out small portions. I am not too worried about testing the level because the subfloor I am working with is already pretty level. I just need to agitate the product so it can move into all the spots that it needs to go. Once it gets to the places it needs to be it can flow and move, but if it is not agitated into a spot, it may not make it there. Because of this, it is super important to move the self-leveling concrete to all areas of the floor. I only have 20 minutes to work with this self-leveling concrete before it begins to harden, so working quickly is important. Once it is all laid, I am leaving it overnight to dry.

After Laying Self Leveling Concrete

I came back in the morning to see how the floor looks after I laid self-leveling concrete and it looks so good! Now I am using a utility knife to cut away the foam that I put around many parts of the bathroom. I lay down my flooring once the foam is cleaned up. This flooring is LVT, it is made to look like tile but it is made of vinyl and is waterproof. If you want to know more about how to lay flooring, I have a video on how to do it here!

If you want to see how the end result of this bathroom check out the DIY Small Bathroom Remodel!

The post How to Lay Self-Leveling Concrete DIY appeared first on .

This post may contain affiliate links or sponsored content. For full disclosures and practices, please visit my policy page.

Table of Contents

• Getting Started
• Planning it Out
• Laying Down the Planks
• Installation Tips

Getting Started

The first thing I had to do was rip up the old flooring. I then was ready to prep my subfloor. To do this you have to fill in any gouges with a flooring patching product. I just did this to get everything flat and stable and removed any excess staples on the floor. Sand the floor with a random orbital sander and finish it off with good vacuuming to clean everything up. From there, I was ready to install my underlayment.

I chose to use a real sound underlayment that had both sound and moisture protection with a plastic layer on the bottom. This underlayment has a sticky adhesive strip on one side that connects the pieces together without using tape! Once the underlayment was finished, I was ready to lay planks.

Planning it Out

You want to make sure that when placing your new waterproof laminate flooring, that it fits under your trim work and is not higher than any door threshold. The door unfortunately was too low to the ground to open correctly so I used my oscillating multitool to trim off the bottom of the door. Laying the first plank involves a lot of math so I decided to draw out the layout. I needed to plan accordingly so none of my ends would end up with less than two inches of flooring. Take the width of the planks, in my case that was seven and a half inches, and divide that by the dimensions of the room.

After figuring that out, I started cutting out one of the planks to go around the door. I decided to do this plank first since it was going to be the most difficult to measure out and install. Whenever you’re installing flooring you need a 3/8″ to 1/2″ gap around all of the edges. The blue spacers against all the walls allow the laminate flooring to expand and contract with the humidity and temperature changes of the environment. The three main installation tools I needed were a tapping block, a mallet, and then a black bar for flooring installation.

Once I lay the first plank of waterproof laminate flooring, I can plan out the pattern. My planks were 7.5 inches wide and 54 inches long. I wanted to stagger the seams, so I decided to stagger at every 11 inches. I did this to have it work out that none of my seams were within 10 inches of each other. Then I made sure my staggering pattern would work to make the floor look natural and less predictable.

Laying Down the Planks

I decided from here to cut my planks for the line right next to the cabinets. I had to connect the short seam first because it was impossible for me to lean up the plank underneath the cabinets. Once I have the seam tight, I slid it into place underneath the cabinets and used the black bar to tap the long seam into place. Using spacers on all edges makes it easier to tap your planks into place when you have something to tap against.

After the first row was laid, I had my measurements laid out, and my design laid out, the rest of the planks was fairly easy. A couple of tips I found were to always uses a tapping block for every single plank. This ensures that the planks remain secure and seams tight. When measuring the end of a row, sometimes it’s easier to flip your plank backward and mark it. You can then cut it on your jigsaw or miter saw without having to use a tape measure.

Laminate Flooring Installation Tips

I personally think it is better to not run the flooring underneath the cabinetry for a couple of reasons. One, the height of your flooring will mess up the standard height of your counters. A second reason is that the flooring shifts slightly and it can cause buckling due to heavy cabinets. Another tip while using the spacers is to sandwich them and put the bigger tip-in followed by the skinnier tip. This method still allowed the correct sized gap and it was easier to remove the spacers when I was done laying the floor.

In order to ensure the flooring is waterproof I had to seal the edges under where my baseboards will go. Remove all of the spacers and install foam backer rod. Just push it all the way down in the cracks so it doesn’t interfere with any baseboards. Since the backer rod is foam, it will allow the waterproof laminate flooring to expand and contract as it needs to. From there, I added 100% silicone along the bottom and top edges of the backer rod. I did this process around the entire room. To finish, I then replaced all the baseboards and installed the toe kicks underneath the cabinets.

I absolutely love how this flooring looks. I love the wide plank look that is distressed. It also was such an added bonus that this is waterproof laminate flooring. If you love the look of these floors as much as I do, you can buy these floors at znetflooring.com!

If you liked this interior upgrade DIY and want to see more, my post on how to lay self leveling concrete is a great place to start!

The post Waterproof Laminate Flooring Installation appeared first on .

Leveling Laments

Anyway, when our renovation plan went forth with taking out the huge closet/wall between the kitchen and dining room, I knew we were going to have a problem with the floor. The flooring inside the closet was original wood. Flooring in the kitchen was floating luxury vinyl plank installed over a 1/4 new subfloor. The flooring the other areas of the house was floating laminate with built-in underlayment installed over the original wood flooring as well. Now if there was any possibility I could have revived the original hardwood flooring in this house, I would have. It didn’t match throughout, there were multiple big ugly patched areas, and it wasn’t close to level.

Because of the various subfloors and heights and levelness issues, I felt really overwhelmed tackling this as a DIY. As you might already know, I have installed luxury vinyl tile flooring before in our last house. However, this time I decided it was best to choose glue down instead of floating. While floating seems to be all the rage, it needs a perfectly level subfloor in order to keep the seams from slightly coming apart. We did do floating luxury vinyl planks in our newly renovated bathroom, but that was a small space and we leveled it with a new subfloor first.

Luxury Vinyl Tile

So, for these reasons and more, this post is not a DIY tutorial. We hired out the flooring install to a wonderful man named Marty. Marty did an excellent job! I removed all the old flooring for him beforehand and I am currently installing the new trim work. Marty laid all new subfloor to match up to what was in the kitchen and poured self-leveling compound on the parts where the wall was removed and the patches were done. Then he troweled down Mohawk V-One glue and expertly installed our luxury vinyl tile flooring in a pattern more professional and varied than I could’ve ever done. It looks beautiful!

We got this floor from znetflooring.com – big thanks to them for sponsoring this post! It’s the color Sandstorm in the Mohawk Bowman collection. The benefits of luxury vinyl plank as being incredibly durable, easy to maintain and clean, as well as 100% waterproof made it a clear choice to mimic wood floors throughout our entire main level. We had a little over 1000 square feet installed! The continuous light floors make our space feel so much bigger and brighter! Plus the warm gray color helps to hide dust/dirt when my kids are traipsing through the house.

Ordering Floors Online

I was a bit nervous about ordering flooring from an online store, but Shawn, the owner of znetflooring.com, had a huge wealth of knowledge to help me pick the right floor for me! The site also sends free samples so you can make sure you like the color you’re going to buy. The flooring shipped fast and came in perfect condition off the truck! Overall, the customer service at znetflooring.com eased my worry – not to mention they have some of the best prices you can find online! I would definitely recommend them if you’re shopping for a new floor.

Anyway, that’s what I have to share today! I can’t wait to show you how great the flooring looks against our black kitchen cabinets. Until next time!

The post Luxury Vinyl Tile – New Flooring in the House! appeared first on .

The old floor…

[the_ad_placement id=”middle-of-post”]

Why I Chose LVP Flooring

I did a lot of research when it came to flooring. My number one criteria was that the floor was 100% waterproof. There are so many spills with my three little kids! I found the luxury vinyl plank was one of the only types of flooring that was completely waterproof, not just “water resistant.” The other criteria that LVP met for me were as follows:

• Click together, floating floor installation so I could do it myself
• Textured, realistic feel to prevent slips and falls
• Inexpensive (I got ours on sale for only $1.59/sq foot)
• No harsh chemical smell (it didn’t smell at all actually!)
• Durable/scratch resistant
• 100% waterproof (as I already said)

These reasons made LVP the clear choice over other flooring options. The hardest part was picking out a color. I eventually decided on a gray because my wonderful followers on Facebook overwhelmingly voted that as the color of choice. I picked out Tarkett Ingenuity brand “Weathered Gray” at Menards. I love how the flooring matches my countertops!

[the_ad_placement id=”middle-of-post”]

DIY Luxury Vinyl Plank Installation

I definitely learned a lot during this process. I watched several Youtube videos on how to install a floating floor like a pro and compiled the best practices I came up with. Hopefully I can save you the time watching through several Youtube videos the way I did by offering the most comprehensive guide I can think of. Watch my video tutorial for the whole story.

It is crazy to think of where my kitchen was at when we bought the house and where it is today.

[the_ad_placement id=”middle-of-post”]

I’ve made very minor changes over time, but to me, they make a big impact! Switching out the floors and cabinet hardware this season has made me like the space more than ever.

Thanks for reading, don’t forget to share and pin!

The post DIY Luxury Vinyl Plank Installation appeared first on .