Author Topic: Replacing carpet to hardwood or tile  (Read 4808 times)

mrshudson

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Replacing carpet to hardwood or tile
« on: March 11, 2015, 01:19:32 PM »
Are there any good resources for replacing carpet with hardwood floor or ceramic tile floor? I'm looking at an area of about 900 sqft that has carpet installed currently. What level of skill is required? I would rate my skill level at an absolute beginner. What would be the budget if you were to DIY?

ShoulderThingThatGoesUp

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Re: Replacing carpet to hardwood or tile
« Reply #1 on: March 11, 2015, 01:39:17 PM »
How level is it? Old floors might not be well-suited for that reason.

mrshudson

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Re: Replacing carpet to hardwood or tile
« Reply #2 on: March 11, 2015, 03:32:40 PM »
Based on eyeball inspection/rolling things on the floor, I don't sense any leveling issues. I don't know how accurately you can measure it for carpeted floors anyway.

cshaw

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Re: Replacing carpet to hardwood or tile
« Reply #3 on: March 12, 2015, 02:11:26 AM »
I've done tile work before but not hardwood flooring.  Tile work is not particularly hard, just labor intensive and 900 sqft is a lot of space to cover.  That's a lot of time on your hands an knees.  Your big box hardware stores (Lowes/Home Depot) frequently have classes that can teach you these skills.  They also sell some books where you can read up on it.  You can probably pick the same books up for cheap used on Amazon, or better yet for free at your local library.

Some things to consider:  If the room is fairly square/rectangular you'll not have a lot of tile cuts to make.  Every nook and cranny, door way, cabinet, etc. means extra cuts.  I"m assuming you have base boards: that will have to come up to do the tile work.  The same with door trim.  The backer board, mortar, and tile height will likely be different than your existing carpet height; so think how that will effect transitions and door heights. 

That's just some of the stuff that comes to mind right off the bat.  Ultimately I don't think laying floor tile requires any great skill you can't learn quickly, it just takes patience and a lot of time on your hands and knees to lay the tile, grout, and seal. Price will really vary depending on your tile choice.  Mortar and grout are fairly inexpensive.  If you don't have the tools to do the work hopefully you know someone you can borrow them from.  Having to buy all the tools you'll need can also add up fairly quickly.  Trowels and sponges are fairly inexpensive.  You'll need a paddle mixer and probably a 1/2" drive drill to mix your mortar/grout.  You'll need a couple of buckets.  You'll need to borrow/rent a tile saw.  On the surface the tools don't seem like they would be a lot, but it adds up quickly.

By no means is that a comprehensive list, just that stuff that pops into my head at 2:00 in the morning.
Hope this helps.

Oh yeah, what's under the carpet currently?   

NoWorries

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Re: Replacing carpet to hardwood or tile
« Reply #4 on: March 12, 2015, 03:26:22 AM »
I used Allure vinyl plank flooring from Home Depot in my rental and it's weathered 3 years now of 2 different tenants (one with a dog) and still looks great. It's so easy to install! I could definitely do it myself and have little hands on knowledge about flooring. http://www.homedepot.com/b/Flooring-Vinyl-Flooring-Resilient-Flooring-Resilient-Vinyl-Planks/TrafficMASTER-Allure/N-5yc1vZbzjzZdg1

Bobberth

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Re: Replacing carpet to hardwood or tile
« Reply #5 on: March 12, 2015, 02:46:03 PM »
I second vinyl plank flooring.  It's worked great so far for us and is easy to install.  I had some glue down vinyl planks installed 6 years ago in a rental with sloping floors and it still looks good after 3 tenants and 3 dogs.  I now do the click together planks as it's easier to install and less prep work.  The stuff I use from Menards is regularly priced at $1.99/sqft but is on sale regularly for $1.69.  Allure is around $2.19/sqft at HD & Lowe's around here.  I had the vinyl plank installed in a rental where I was doing the whole house and needed to get it done asap.  Bids were between $0.90-$1.50/sqft to install.  I personally was thinking around $0.75/sqft is a more appropriate price for the work but I never found that in my market.

If you do this, you will have the opposite problem of installing tile: your baseboards will probably be too high off the vinyl since it is shorter than carpet.  Quarter round works easy & cheap but this might be something to keep in mind if you're going to take on the whole job DIY.

mrshudson

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Re: Replacing carpet to hardwood or tile
« Reply #6 on: March 12, 2015, 11:22:07 PM »
Thanks, all for the suggestions. This is exactly along the lines I was looking for.

zoltani

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Re: Replacing carpet to hardwood or tile
« Reply #7 on: March 13, 2015, 01:19:44 PM »
I went with floating vinyl plank flooring when I last redid flooring in my rental. It surprised me how nice it looked! Seems durable enough, but time will tell. At least it was cheap and easy to put down!

Jack

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Re: Replacing carpet to hardwood or tile
« Reply #8 on: March 13, 2015, 02:51:13 PM »
If you do this, you will have the opposite problem of installing tile: your baseboards will probably be too high off the vinyl since it is shorter than carpet.  Quarter round works easy & cheap but this might be something to keep in mind if you're going to take on the whole job DIY.

It's better to use shoe molding rather than quarter round; it doesn't stick out from the wall as far and thus looks better. Of course, removing the existing baseboard and reinstalling it without a gap is best.

Mrkineticz

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Re: Replacing carpet to hardwood or tile
« Reply #9 on: March 16, 2015, 03:08:11 AM »
Are there any good resources for replacing carpet with hardwood floor or ceramic tile floor? I'm looking at an area of about 900 sqft that has carpet installed currently. What level of skill is required? I would rate my skill level at an absolute beginner. What would be the budget if you were to DIY?


questions

are there good resoursces?
yes youtube has good resources on how to do things I looked at youtube alot when i first did floors. If you are only replacing carpet with laminate or hardwood floors it will be real easy. Replacing tiles is more physical labor intensive because you have to break up tile take out the mortar then level it .

skill level required
if 1 = knowing how to use a screw driver and know how to rplaace a light bulb.
5 = craftsman quality no mess ups / general contractor style

difficulty level would be about a 3. be prepared to have some minor fuck ups and imperfections in doing this

tools required
-sliding miter saw or a 12 inch  miter saw. to make straight cuts
-jig saw to make the intricate cuts
- nail gun (rent one from home depot to do the finishing part with quarter rounds)

Budget

depends how expensive you want it to be
the cheaper laminate  is usually thinner and when you walk on it you can feel it bend .. the thicker it is the more expensive so your price range can significantly vary from 600-2000 dollars

clarkfan1979

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Re: Replacing carpet to hardwood or tile
« Reply #10 on: March 17, 2015, 05:42:41 PM »
snap and click laminate is easy to install for beginners. Tile, not so much.