Remove Baseboards Without Damage
How many times have you damaged the walls trying to remove baseboards?
Maybe you’ve seen the damaging results of someone else’s efforts to remove baseboards from the wall. Or those craters on the face of the base when the nails have been pulled out? Who would have thought you’d ruin the board if you pulled a nail out the same way you put it in?
Now, far be it for me to think this article will be some great teaching instrument for the already accomplished flooring professional. It’s not aimed at pros because they already know this stuff. This is for the new helper, or maybe the homeowner, do-it-yourselfer and home improvement wannabe. It’s for anyone who has slapped their forehead when they realized it’s gonna take more than just a little bit of new base to cover the damages you caused when trying to remove baseboards with brute force. Read More
Jim McClain grew up in rural Plumas County, CA. After a short, but exciting stint in the US Army, where he dodged work in Germany and incoming rounds in Vietnam, he settled back into country living and took a part-time job as an installer’s helper to work his way through college. He fell in love with the business and turned it into a career. Retiring from sales & installations in 2006, he still carries on his love affair with the industry through the use of a computer, a digital camera and a little space in “teh Ether”.
Have you ever gone to a house to do an estimate for new flooring and detected an odor of insecticide? And maybe the carpet doesn’t look all that worn or old? The combination of the 2 might mean there were bed bugs in the carpet. Some home owners (or hotel/motel/rental managers) may be embarrassed to mention it, but don’t hesitate to bring the subject up. 
The Carpet and Rug Institute (CRI) today announced important updates to its CRI-104 and CRI-105 Installation Standards for Commercial and Residential Carpet. Developed by a team of industry leaders, these changes address industry innovations that require new approaches to carpet installation, particularly planning and subfloor preparation. 
Recently, a topic on The Floor Pro Community forums was started, seeking installation information and tips about a specific product sold by a popular flooring franchise. I searched several of the franchise websites and pages looking for actual installation instructions for the product. I found nothing more than marketspeak – no instructions. I called their corporate offices and, after being shuffled around a little, spoke to a woman who didn’t seem to understand the concept of a website that offers support to flooring professionals, consumers and DIYers. She seemed confused about our desire to provide links to installation instructions.
