Do It Yourself, or Not with Flooring | Finding Installers If Not DIY

To DIY or not to DIY – that is the question

Posted by admin on October 8th, 2008 — Posted in Doing it yourself, Measuring / Estimating

You’ve decided on your flooring and you’re ready to make the purchase. One last question remains to be answered: who is going to install it?

Laminate floors, tile floors, carpet and vinyl floors – walk down the aisles of the local home improvement store and you will see tools and kits designed to allow the home owner to install them with ease. But is do-it-yourself installation the best option for your home?

All flooring options can be installed by the home owner. The question becomes one of time and materials. And knowledge – you need to be sure that you know what you need and how the product you have chosen should be prepared and installed. Once you have that information you can make a more informed decision on installation.

All flooring surfaces need to be clean, in good shape, and even. Many installations can be done using tools you likely have around the house, but some materials require special tools or machines that will need to be purchased or rented for the job.

Hardwood floors are generally best left to the experienced installer, unless the flooring is interlocking. Hardwood floors can show mistakes easily and that will detract from the value you hope to add to your home by its installation.

Vinyl floors are the easiest to install yourself. Sheets of vinyl flooring may be difficult to manage, however, so if you opt for DIY be sure to have a large area to layout and cut the flooring. Peel and stick vinyl tiles are a fairly simple install.

Laminate flooring is a DIY dream. Most flooring is sold in interlocking pieces and installation kits are readily available. Hiring a professional installer for irregularly shaped rooms or for glue installation may be a safer choice.

Stone and ceramic tiling can be a difficult DIY project. Special tools are required and the cutting a gluing of the tiling is often better left to experienced installers.

Carpet, like vinyl sheets, are rather unwieldy. A large area to lay out the carpet and to cut in is a definite help. Pay careful attention to seems and try to place them in areas with high sunlight which will fade the seams or in areas where they will be covered by furniture.

Most home improvement centers offer clinics that cater to the DIY enthusiast. Home installation provides a greater overall savings, but unless you are positive that you can correctly install your flooring, the job may be better left to the pros.