How-To's Archives | The Floor Pro Community

Where’s the Box Shadow On Posts & Pages?

Pointing at the content border See this box shadow effect here? I created this with some CSS and it works fine on the Home page and category archive pages. But I was having trouble figuring out how to style the same white content area on my single pages and posts. So, I reached out for help from my fellow website developers on the OceanWP Theme facebook page who might be able to help me accomplish this. This article explains the problem in more detail and the solution I finally found through a different source.

Remove Baseboards Without Damage

Jim McClain
October 22, 2017
Floor Preparation / Flooring Articles & Opinion / How-To's
4 Comments

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. (more…)

Jim McClain

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”.

https://thefloorpro.com/

Bed Bugs Infesting Carpet

Jim McClain
October 18, 2015
Business of Flooring / Carpeting / Flooring Articles & Opinion / How-To's
0 Comments

creepy-crawly bed bugs 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. (more…)

Jim McClain

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”.

https://thefloorpro.com/

How To Heat Weld Flash Cove

Heat welding flash cove is among the hardest skills to master in floor heat welding. A solid foundation in flash coving will make you more valuable in your area. Knowing how to heat weld vinyl flash cove is necessary when heat welding on vinyl, under toe kicks and cabinets. Today we’re going to share a step-by-step guide on heat welding vinyl flash coving. (more…)

Leo Martinez Jr.

Leo Jr. represents Turbo Heat Welding Tools and aims to help the installer who prides himself on the quality of his work. Turbo Heat Welding Tools specializes in heat welding solutions for sheet flooring materials with the industry’s only Lifetime Warranty on all of their products. With the latest heat welding technology combined with expert heat welding instruction, Turbo Heat Welding Tools is here to help you heat weld like a pro.

Testing Moisture in Concrete

Chuck Milledge
October 1, 2015
Floor Preparation / Flooring Articles & Opinion / How-To's
0 Comments

The Layman’s Guide to Testing Moisture In Concrete

by Charles Milledge
Some days I think I spend about half of my work day answering questions about concrete moisture and test procedures.

Anhydrous Calcium Chloride Moisture Vapor Testing – The CaCl Test

ASTM – F1869-11 Standard Test Method for Measuring Moisture Vapor Emission Rate of Concrete Subfloor using Anhydrous Calcium Chloride is the guide that needs to be followed to correctly set a CaCl test. Here are the boiled down basics for doing this correctly. (more…)

Chuck Milledge

Chuck started in the floor covering industry in 1995, working in the warehouse and worked his way up to Commercial Sales Manager for Kaough Distributing Co. Chuck has always believed, if you want to understand floor covering, ask a flooring installer. He spent the first 4-5 years of his career loaning himself out to installers and doing a lot of listening. Chuck continues to listen, but he also enjoys sharing that knowledge with other pros and the consumer & DIY members of The Floor Pro Community.

http://www.kaough.com

Changes To CRI 104 & 105

Admin
September 8, 2015
Business of Flooring / Carpeting / How-To's / Industry News / Training & Education
0 Comments

The Carpet and Rug Institute Unveils Important Changes to Leading Carpet Installation Standards

— Industry-Led Updates to CRI’s 104/105 Carpet Installation Standards Focus on
Proper Planning and Preparation —

Carpet & Rug Institute 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. (more…)

Glossary of Tile Terminology

Admin
July 28, 2015
Floor Preparation / Flooring Articles & Opinion / Hard Surface Flooring / How-To's / Training & Education
0 Comments

The Most Comprehensive Glossary of Ceramic & Stone Tile Terminology Online

Although this may be the most comprehensive list of tile terminology you can find, it is by no means complete. Glossaries and tile articles from around the Internet have been researched to compile this list and it is an ongoing project. If you know a term related to ceramic or stone tile that is not listed here, please use the comment form to add it. In return, we will link to your professional flooring related website. You might also spot a mistake in our glossary, or feel additional information should be provided. Please use the comment form below to inform us so we can continue to make this the finest place for flooring information on the web. (more…)

Patterned Carpet On Stairs

David Hunt
June 29, 2015
Carpeting / Flooring Articles & Opinion / How-To's
3 Comments

An interesting question from a member came up on The Floor Pro Community forums (it happens all the time) and deserves a detailed answer. First, the question paraphrased:

I got into a discussion with a designer about running matches in patterned carpet on steps. She said the pattern should be in the same spot on each step. The designer suggested that every installer should know this. My belief is, if the carpet is left in a continuous piece, the pattern matches, but if cut to align a pattern on each step, the run of the carpet will not match. Which way is the right way?

While the customer is not always correct, they do deserve to have things done to fit their desire or definition of correct despite whether we believe it to be obtuse or ugly. That being said, in terms of design there are several factors to consider. (more…)

David Hunt

David Hunt is a strong proponent of education in the floor covering industry. He is a renowned woven goods master in great demand. David and his wife own The Vermont Rug Company, teach and have offered guidance to all who seek to learn the trade. It is apparent to all who know him that his true love, beyond his wife and family, is for the flooring industry and his fellow flooring professionals. We here at TheFloorPro.com are proud to count David Hunt as one of our treasured members.

Where Are The Installation Instructions?

Jim McClain
June 24, 2015
Business of Flooring / Flooring Articles & Opinion / How-To's
3 Comments

Forum Discussion 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.

This is discouraging. I feel like I have totally failed in the mission of The Floor Pro Community. I understand that many people and organizations haven’t heard of us. To not even understand that vital information, like installation instructions, should be easily available just baffles me. (more…)

Jim McClain

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”.

https://thefloorpro.com/

SLC & Radiant Heat Flooring

Todd Groettum
October 15, 2014
Floor Preparation / Hard Surface Flooring / How-To's
2 Comments

Self-Leveling Cement & Radiant Heat Flooring

When installing electric radiant heated flooring, you will find that every manufacturer has slightly differing recommendations in their installation guidelines. Following the manufacturer’s recommendations for installing the wires or mats is important. Following their guidelines for installing tile directly over these mats generally leads to frustration and in many cases an installation that has an inferior finish due to trying to set over a surface that is not flat, and sometimes one that has sensors that are thicker than the thinset bed you are trying to set tile into.

As a professional installer, I have found that installing the electric heat and following this with a Pour of Self Leveling Cement to a thickness of ? – ½” provides an excellent flat surface for tile installation and additional mass to retain heat. Once poured it also protects the Heating System from damage while setting tile.

The following method is what I… what my company, Tilewerks, uses: (more…)

Todd Groettum

Todd Groettum has been in the tile trade for over 25 years. He’s located in Warba, MN under the business name Tilewerks. Todd does mostly commercial and high end residential work, and with too little time left over, Todd still manages to participate on flooring forums, helping other professionals and the DIYer too. Tile Guy Todd joined TFP in July 2006 and has been a valuable asset to our members and visitors.