How Difficult Is It To Replace Flooring & Things To Consider

The right flooring replacement can boost your home value significantly. Real estate experts state, with confidence, that over 50 percent of home buyers are willing to pay more for the right kind of flooring. When you replace a floor, you increase your home value and improve the ambiance of your home.

Replacing a floor takes time and financial investment, but it’s also one of the least expensive things you can do to give your home a new look.

By the time you’ve finished reading this article, you will understand the major things to consider when you replace a floor as well as how flooring types determine the timeline for your project.

Flooring Replacement Considerations

When you prepare to replace your floor, do not just rip into it on your own. Check off these items before you begin your project or hire a contractor to replace your floor.

Research Your Current Flooring

If you have an older home, research your current flooring. Old homes often had vinyl or asphalt floors that contain asbestos. When the flooring tears or breaks, it releases asbestos into the air.

Asbestos can cause serious health problems such as lung diseases, asthma, and a variety of other diseases.

If your flooring is older than 1978, you most likely have asbestos in it. If the flooring has no damage, it’s not dangerous. But when you attempt to remove it, you will damage the flooring and release the asbestos.

To protect yourself, hire a contractor with experience working with such flooring. They will know how to remove the flooring while keeping your family and other home occupants safe. The contractor and their crew will also understand how to dispose of the old materials.

Research Resale Value

You may love the look of a particular flooring, but you need to also consider the resale value of your home. Hardwood floors and tile floors in particular boost the resale value of your home.

Not only do these flooring types make your home more valuable, but they also make it more sellable. More buyers desire hardwood and tile than any other type of floor. There’s a reason for this.

Hardwood and tile are easy to clean. They also do not take on odors like carpet. Furthermore, wood and tile floors have greater longevity than carpet and laminate.

Flooring Types Determine Timeline

The type of flooring you choose will determine how long you’ll be without a floor. Expect anywhere from a single day to several days for a floor installation. The size of your space as well as the type of flooring you choose determine how long the project will take.

For example, a click-together floor will take a single day to install if you have the right underlayment in place. Experienced homeowners with a DIY background will install such a floor quickly. Less experienced homeowners may take a little longer.

If your project involves tearing out a floor and then preparing the surface, give yourself or your contractor extra time. If you have help or are working in a small space, you can install your flooring on a weekend.

Here’s a basic guide if you’re planning on installing your flooring:

  • Installing click-together flooring in a large room: plan on one to two days
  • Installing hardwood floors: plan on two to three days
  • Tiling a bathroom floor: give yourself two to three days if you have prepped the subfloor
  • Installing a peel-and-stick flooring: give yourself half a day

The bigger and more complicated the job, the more time you should allocate. You should also recruit some help or have a contractor do the job if the flooring job looks complicated.

Flooring Replacement Tools Matter

If you’re doing flooring updating on your own, make sure you have the right tools for the job. Having the right tools tops the flooring installation tips list. After all, each type of flooring requires different types of tools.

Here is a list to check when you DIY flooring installation.

Laminate, Vinyl, Click Hardwood

Because you’ll be doing some cutting, make sure you first have safety covered. Include safety glasses and appropriate gloves. Also, have a broom and vacuum handy. Then make sure you have these items:

  • Underlayment
  • Transition moldings
  • Jamb saw
  • Table saw
  • Miter saw
  • Circular saw
  • Jig saw
  • Spacers of 1/4-inch or 1/2-inch
  • Moisture meter
  • Polyethylene sheet plastic
  • Pencil
  • T-square
  • Glue
  • Tape

These basic tools will help you install laminate, vinyl, or click hardwood floors easily.

Tile

Tile flooring requires a bit more expertise and more sophisticated tools. The average carpenter does not have the tile tools you may need. So you’re going to have to visit the hardware store often if you don’t have the items on this list.

  • Straight edge
  • 5-gallon buckets
  • 6-foot level
  • spacers
  • Speed square
  • Wet saw with a diamond blade
  • Undercut saw
  • Angle-grinder with a diamond blade
  • Tile snapper
  • Grout sponge
  • Microfiber sponge
  • Safety goggles
  • Margin trowel
  • Trowel
  • Ear protection
  • Rubber gloves
  • Tape measure
  • Pencil
  • Drill
  • Mixing paddle
  • Knee pads
  • Grout
  • Utility knife
  • Mortar

Each of these tools is a tool of the trade for the typical contractor who installs tile. If they seem a little intimidating to you, call in the expert.

Hardwood Floor

Hardwood floor requires significant expertise. Only tackle this project if you have some serious confidence and experience. Make sure you have these tools as well.

  • Pencil
  • Chalk line
  • 6-foot level
  • Tape measure
  • Miter saw
  • table saw
  • 60-tooth carbide tip saw blades
  • Jam saw
  • Broom
  • Cloth rags
  • Ear and eye protection
  • Dust mask
  • Gloves
  • Knee pads
  • Floor fastener
  • Hygrometer
  • Moisture meter
  • Calcium chloride test
  • Painters tape
  • PVA wood glue
  • Compressor with regulator
  • Drill and drill bit set
  • Hammer and nail set
  • Hardwood nailer
  • Rubber mallet
  • Pry bar

If you don’t have the bigger items on this list, you can rent many of them from hardware stores.

Replace Flooring With Confidence

If you’re needing a flooring replacement job done, consider the cost. The type of flooring you put in along with the methods you plan on using will affect the final cost and timeline. If you plan on doing the floor yourself, make sure you have all the tools you need and the time you need to do the job right.

Otherwise, call in a contractor to replace the floor in your home. They will have the tools and expertise you need.

Do you need new flooring? If so, contact us. Our flooring company in Grand Rapids promises to deliver excellent customer service to all who contact us.