The foundation of your home's most beautiful spaces.
The foundation of your home's most beautiful spaces.
Most guys skip the leveling compound. They think the underlayment will hide the dip. It won’t. I spent three days grinding concrete on a job last month just so the floor wouldn’t click like a castanet. That job taught me that the demolition phase is where the real craftsmanship begins. If you wreck the subfloor […]
Most guys skip the leveling compound. They think the underlayment will hide the dip. It won’t. I spent three days grinding concrete on a job last month just so the floor wouldn’t click like a castanet. That job was a nightmare because the previous installer left a half inch gap under every door jamb. He […]
Most guys skip the leveling compound. They think the underlayment will hide the dip. It won’t. I spent three days grinding concrete on a job last month just so the floor wouldn’t click like a castanet. That is the reality of the trade. You are either doing it right or you are doing it twice. […]
The subfloor secret that ruins every fireplace installation Most guys skip the leveling compound. They think the underlayment will hide the dip. It won’t. I spent three days grinding concrete on a job last month just so the floor wouldn’t click like a castanet. That job involved a massive river rock fireplace that had more […]
The plastic contour gauge is the secret to professional flooring finishes The plastic contour gauge is the absolute best five dollar tool for cutting laminate corners because it allows an installer to mirror complex shapes like door jambs and pipe penetrations onto a plank with sub-millimeter precision. Most DIY installers fail at the perimeter because […]
The Flashlight Test: How to Spot Uneven Tile Before You Grout I spent three days grinding concrete on a job last month just so the floor wouldn’t click like a castanet. My hands were numb from the vibration of the planetary grinder, and the silica dust was trying its best to bypass my respirator, but […]
Why your subfloor is lying to you Floor squeaks are caused by friction between two surfaces, usually the subfloor and a floor joist or the floorboard and a nail. This occurs when fasteners lose their grip or when humidity causes the wood to shrink and expand, creating a gap that allows for movement under weight. […]
I once walked into a house where a $15,000 wide-plank walnut floor was cupping so bad it looked like a potato chip because the installer didn’t check the crawlspace humidity. The boards were literally lifting the baseboards off the wall. The homeowner was in tears and the contractor had vanished into the wind. I stood […]
The Hidden Physics of T-Molding and the War Against Uneven Subfloors Most guys skip the leveling compound. They think the underlayment will hide the dip. It won’t. I spent three days grinding concrete on a job last month just so the floor wouldn’t click like a castanet. I once walked into a house where a […]
I smell like WD-40 and red oak dust today because I just spent ten hours troubleshooting a floor that felt more like a trampoline than a structural surface. Most people look at a finished 3/4 inch solid white oak floor and see a beautiful aesthetic choice. I see a series of mechanical fasteners driven into […]
