I’ve got a kitchen and livingroom demo to do and the customer wants the hardwood floors protected. In the past I have used rolls of that heavy brown paper but with it always ripping, I was wondering what’s the next cheapest material to use that would stand up a little better?
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Replies
1/8" Masonite, 1/4" blue foam, 1/4" luaun plywood.
Whatever your piece of mind can afford.
Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations
You gonna play that thing?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32Ln-SpJsy0
You might consider calling a carpet place and asking if you can take some used carpet off their hands. Save them a trip to the dump.
With the recent infestation of foreign critters (ie.) bed bugs. I wouldn't go near that solution.
I hadn't heard about that. Must be a local problem, huh?
I sure wouldn't worry about walking on a few bugs. It's not like anyone's planning lying down and sleeping on the job, right? Or is that another local problem? ;-)
Edited 7/17/2008 8:53 pm by Hudson Valley Carpenter
"Must be a local problem, huh? "There have been scads of articles and TV journal reports on the bedbug problem growing. About the only way to get rid of them is to burn the furniture they inhabit. I would not want the liability for bringing them into somebodie's home.Carpet would not be a good choice from my POV without paper under it because it holds so much grit that works through.
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
New carpet. Plush. Bob's next test date: 12/10/07
Quite frankly I know it's a national problem, listening to the news, and reading the paper, all, or in part to globeilization and uncontrolled immagration. Bedbugs had beenilimanated in this country 40 yrs. ago. No new infestation of head lice in your local schools. Feel blessed if not, upswing in TB?
Bed bugs are becoming the scourge of our local hotels. In Vancouver they started out in the Downtown Eastside - an unsavory area frequented by addicts and hookers. The chief medical health officer began to get calls from housewives in tonier neighborhoods asking how their bedrooms could possibly have become infested. He suggested they might want to ask their husbands the same question...
Here two police cars have gotten infested, no one wants to drive them now. Being in law enforcement now the uniform of the day will be a Hazmat suit.
in the same tone...
maybe the housewives "visited" there when the husbands were at work for their second job......
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<!----><!----><!---->
WOW!!! What a Ride!Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
I vote with Sphere - 1/8" masonite (mdf) - make sure the floor is squeaky clean underneath before laying it down.
Tape seams between sheets with duct tape.
Jim
Second the advice on cleaning the floors before putting down any rigid board. I put 1/8" masonite down in my living room that had some dust and plaster crumbles on it and now my floor has much more "character". Luckily, we're eventually replacing it, but if was a customer's floor, I probably would have bought it...
Cheap underlayment for snap-lock floors. The stuff I have is a fabric-backed thin foam. Had some left over from doing the spare bedroom floor, pretty tough and easy to drag around.
You said 'the next cheapest material' - that would be Ram Board http://www.ramboard.com/. Not much for impact protection but way better than paper. (unles that's the 'paper' you mean.
Jeff
Edited 7/17/2008 4:19 pm ET by Jeff_Clarke
YOu don't want the cheapest floor protection. You want the best floor protection.
The cheapest is air. It won't protect very well though.
Bob's next test date: 12/10/07
Well Jim I guess they can just take the architectural plans, pull them apart, and tape them to the floor upside down ;o)Jeff
Little testy?
;o) = j/k 'course not. Never testy.
Jeff
LOLFor cheapest - a lot of the time I roll up the waxed paper backing from ice and water shield and put it back in the box to save for floor runners
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
Does that stick? Bob's next test date: 12/10/07
No, it is waxed paper on one side. Slick as snot on a glass doorknob!But for a runner on carpet or a layer placed under the masonite where nothing will be shifting around it is fine.
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
I put down 6 mil plastic, tape it to the baseboards, and then put masonite on top and tape the seams. Some hardwood guys don't like the idea, but I've never had any problems.
I use a carpet runner that I get from Home Depot(75 cents a foot) for pathways where the whole floor isn't covered. It's not cheap, but I've had the same stuff for a year and it's fine. Just vacuum and put it down somewhere else. The investment is worth it.
Last year I did that needed hardwoord floor protection (I installed the floors, too...)I found a great product for this - sold as a garage floor liner - rubber backed with a tight thin carpet on top - like what they cover auto speaker boxes with.Came in a roll that was 14' x 21' I think for about $60 - I cut it into 4' various length pcs.I've used them for many many other jobs since then - they fold up or roll up easily and have not cracked or degraded at all.Best of all - they do not slide around at all - very good grip to them.Only drawback is wood chips will catch up in the carpet facing - but they shake out pretty well.Light weight and thin and cheap and perfect protection - best I'd used yet.JT
Good idea! That's only a bit more expensive than air. What are we gonna do for toilet paper though? Or fire starter? That reminds me of the job where we were framing the first floor deck. We just started that morning. It was cold. I used to keep a 5 gallon fire bucket close by the sawhorse desk. I walked away and the wind flipped the plans over the edge. Of course the fire ripped into them and in an instant they were ashes. "Ahh, hello builder...can you send out another set of plans please"? Bob's next test date: 12/10/07
Rosin paper taped to the floor, masonite over top. Vacuum the perimeter at least 2x a day.
The awful thing is that beauty is mysterious as well as terrible. God and the devil are fighting there, and the battlefield is the heart of man.
- Fyodor Dostoyevski
That rosin paper is the first line of defense.
Then to protect it, use cardboard or luan or homasote or masonite hardboard..
The a drop clothe to catch the worst of it all to be carried out.
I used to use homasote but it would absorb moisture and grow mildew when in storage between jobs and it went up in price pretty bad, so I bought a bunch of masonite cheaper and have used if for four jobs so far now with little or no damage to it. I tape the pieces together at butts so grit does not filter down through and get ground into the under paper.
Welcome to the
Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime.
where ...
Excellence is its own reward!
Masonite, my lumber yard sells it for $9.00 4x8 sheet.
Masonite,Masonite,Masonite,Masonite.
I work in a lot of finished spaces and keep plenty of masonite and duck tape on hand. You can reuse it over and over (uncut pieces of course).
It may not be the cheapest, but really the best way to go is to roll down the red rosin, or use the brown stuff, then the masonite or luan over that. Duct tape all seams. The paper serves as a cushion.
Take the time & do it right & never worry. Store the sheets of luan for other jobs. Some of the stuff I still use is over 6 years old.
Or...(this ain't cheap) Get the sticky plastic roll meant for hardwood floor protection. Stuff works great and goes down in a flash.
No on the sticky plastic protection!That stuff is not gauanteed for hardwood flooring and is recommended for light traffic and less than thirty days.The more traffic it sees and the longer it is down, the more likely it will peel the finish up when you remove it - if you can remove it at all. I had one where it was down four months or more with a lot of traffic and it was pretty much welded to the floor. It was due to be refinished anyways or I would not have used the stuff, but I didn't expect to have such a time getting it up either.I have used that stuff since then, but I put down rosin first to within 3/4" of the baseboard, then the sticky stuff over that. Once the room is covered it all stays in place. But the masonite is the better deal IMO.
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
Hmmmm...never had a problem with it. This isn't the stuff for carpet, it was specifically made for hardwood floors and it's blue. Had it down for 3 months on a job last winter and it came up fine.
That said, I don't use it so much for wood floors as I do for carpeting, and you simply can't beat it for that.I believe the best protection for finished floors is rosin paper with masonite on top taped at all seams. If there's demo & heavier stuff going on, it can't be beat.
Jer's probably talking about this - http://www.protectiveproducts.com/econo_runner_uc.html (great company, BTW) - they also make the blue coating for tubs. I've never seen a problem with their products so long as the directions are followed.
Jeff
As has already been mentioned, watch anything that will adhere to the existing hardwood. You don't want to have a zebra on your hands.
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Jon Blakemore
RappahannockINC.com Fredericksburg, VA
You live in Deep Cove?.... I used to live on Dallain Place,just above the marina/dock, and worked at Nicholson...
"If 'tis to be,'twil be done by me."
That would be Deep Cove, Vancouver Island.
Thanks for all your responses, guys. My probable choice will be something along the line of Masonite. I do know that any paper type product can rip with a good slip. And the carpet thing is definately out. Way too bulky, for one.
I knew that...the Deep Cove just north of Sidney, you anywhere near there?
...."If 'tis to be,'twil be done by me."
Yep. That Deep Cove.
Homosote
Am not.Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations
You gonna play that thing?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32Ln-SpJsy0
It wasn't directed at you. You sure are defensive. Trying to hide something? ;]
I'm surprised non of you guys didn't mention Pro Lay. Found it at my local lumber yard. 4x4 sheets at 1/4 inch, cheap, soft pressboard for use as some sort of underlay. The price? 99 cents a sheet.
That's the best solution so far! Thanks. Bob's next test date: 12/10/07
Quote of the day: "...can't be done, it will take too long, not enough pipeline capacity, yada yada but yet they don't apply the same skepticism to their own "solutions" such as wind and biofuels"
Could you elaborate more?When you say "underlay", I'm assuming this is a replacement for luan underlayment for sheet vinyl flooring?I wish I could find that locally.
Jon Blakemore RappahannockINC.com Fredericksburg, VA
The paper that came with it says PRO-LAY with an MR overlayed on a teardrop beside it. "The Score and Snap Underlayment" Warrentied for 11 years. Designed for use under fully adhered and perimeter glued resilient floor covering, wood, carpet and laminate flooring.
Damn, these guys should be paying me for all this advertising!. There is no web link on the paper.
Thanks.
Jon Blakemore RappahannockINC.com Fredericksburg, VA
I'm wondering why people aren't suggesting using the cheapest building material out there at the moment: OSB. Even with price jumps it's still cheaper than anything else mentioned (besides the Pro Lay, which I've not heard of before).
Not only is it more durable than anything else, but you can use it up on your next job so you don't have to worry about disposal or storage.
Rebuilding my home in Cypress, CA
Also a CRX fanatic!
Save the Whales! and Guns!
http://WWW.dropcloth.com
These guys are awesome. I ordered a roll about three one afternoon, it was on my porch in less than 24 hours. They are only about 80 miles away but still prett darn responsive.
The stuff is reusable however a little pricy. I got the greyish stuff that appears to be ground up fabric with a non slip/liquid resistant backing.
My customers have been inpressed, big enough job I offer to leave it for them in case they need it.
Dont know its the cheapest option, but we always cover sensitive areas with 1/2" drywall after careful cleaning. You can drop pretty much anything on it without damage and it also will soak up liquid spills to some extent. These are jobs which typically last 9 - 12 months so I suppose it is worth the cost.
Ya shop at Slegg's?....
"If 'tis to be,'twil be done by me."
That's right.