apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I would do the carpeting or use Flor tiles to cover up as much space as you can - that way you can take them with you when you move. don't give into the temptation to invest significant money in your landlord's apartment, just because you hate the way something looks. Cover it with something transferable to a new space.

If you throw down a sheet of luann or subfloor (which kind of looks like cardboard as far as color goes), you can paint a layer of Kilz on it, then get some flooring paint (we used Glidden's Porcha dn FLoor paint in a dark espresso brown). We did this in our place as a temporary fix in the public areas after ripping up scary carpeting. People always think it's concrete, and it looks really cool. Plus, it's easy to change - just add paint.

Have you checked under the old vinyl to see if there's wood underneath? -- which would be my first guess given age of the current linoleum and the sloping floors. Easiest solution might be removal of linoleum and having wood sanded and refinished. Also an easy sell to the landlord -- they might even chip in or secure a sanding expert for you.

I sanded the floors in my rental -- worth it, but woudl not do it again -- would hire someone next time!!!

Cork.

Wouldn't you need the landlord's okay for anything that puts down a new subfloor or requires taking up the baseboards to do it right?

If the landlord's not open to replacing the floor in the first place, I'd vote for carpets that are not permanently attached. You can have remnants (or various forms of neutral matting) bound so that they're approximately the size of the rooms but are essentially mega-area-rugs that you can take with you and even resize later. That may be less pricey than FLOR, which is certainly stylish.

Griff, by your description I'm afraid what you have on your hands (or feet) is asbest tiles. Telltale sign-the size (they are usually 8"x8").
If yes, under no circ. remove them!

When you layer your new flooring , whatever choice you make, on top of it, be very careful not to chip or crack the tiles.

There are products that you can pour to level out the floors (works best for what you're describing, and *cheap*) - you sand lightly, then pour, let dry, then apply whatever you want: paint, new vinyl tiles, lino, wood, whatever. However, the products are no good for floors that slope toward doors or whatever openings you have. Check Home Depot or one of those places.....

not a good canidate for laminate or wood. for either the floor must be level. and as Tat says if it's asbestos do not try to rip it up, it's quite expensive to do it right and properly!

I'd say carpet is the easiest way.

Actually, it sounds like Tat is right: those might be asbestos, in which case, prime the floor with good primer before pouring the leveling agent.

I also encourage the use of "Flor" tiles from InterfaceFlor. I have used them to cover my concrete floors, and am quite happy with the results. The best part is that you don't have to glue them down, they stay in place, and as mentioned before, you can take them with you.

The cost is a bit higher than you are looking for, but the versatility can't be beat.

We're in the same boat and after seeing an install of Lumber Liquidators "Charisma" line at $1.29 per square foot, we've decided on that route. It doesn't look as "fake" as IKEA's and feels a little more substantial under foot.

We were thinking about the plywood route, but it starts to get expensive when you add paints/finishing and attaches in an invasive manner (screws/nails or adhesive). I've also seen it look pretty cheesy if not done correctly

All of the laminates are floating, and the planks aren't too wide, which means they'll conform to sloping / irregularities over time

Our friend just laid it down and did quarter-round attatched to the existing baseboard. With an area rug (bound remnant) on top, it's a solution that was inexpensive, easy to clean compared to the old floors, and looks pretty darn good (even if had cost twice as much).

And when he leaves the apartment, it comes out (almost) as easily as an area rug (just wood putty the nail holes in the baseboard) and can most likely be reused.

-Bobby

Anything but parquet. Please!

Quarter round with the laminate is a great idea--thanks for that. I was thinking I would need to rip out the baseboards or put more baseboard on top of them.

After calling around a bit, I did get some reassurance that as long as my floors are sloped in one direction, with no bumps or hills, that floating floors can work. And I am seriously considering Lumber Liquidators $1.99 bamboo. Here's the link: http://www.lumberliquidators.com/shopping/add.asp?product_id=747

I will also check out Charisma.

"Flor" is so nice looking but out of my price range unfortunately.

Thanks,
Griff

I don't think the tiles are asbestos. They are each a square foot and they are speckled. I don't know what asbestos tiles look like, though.

That stuff you pour to level the floor sounds interesting, but I'd worry my landlord might refuse. Although he tends to be pretty hands off--and he definitely would not chip in money or labor. Very cheap! I'd also worry, if he fixed the floors he might jack up my rent!

along a similar vein, what to do to cover nasty (albeit new) linoleum flooring in a kitchen? i also live in a rental... and refuse to give my landlord the satisfaction of being able to keep whatever i decide to put down.

i also have one nasty, uncovered circular fluorescent lighting fixture and one incandesent cieling fan that light the space (no windows... i LOVE nyc apartments). needless to say: ew. is there a sensible way to either install a new fixture/cover the fluorescent fixture/make it look more incandesent?

any help would be greatly appreciated! thanks!

Oh yes, I also have a really bad linoleum floor in my kitchen... I would love love love to change it on the cheap.

what about using plywood as a finished floor? we just put them in the bedroom..cheap..and it looks very clean and modern.

Tarkett has a new product called " floor fiber".
I have used it in my place and people mistakened it to be hardwood floors. But they are plain linoleum sheets of extremely good quality

Hey bundle, that tarkett fiber floor looks beautiful. There's no price listed on the site--I imagine it's on the expensive side? (Expensive to me means more than 2 bucks per sq ft. I am living on the super cheap!) Thanks for the tip.

For other folks interested, here is the URL:
http://www.tarkett-floors.com/us/

I really need advice!! Been 30 years in my flat. The floors are terrible old wood, pitted, sloping, awful! About 25 yrs ago I had a professional install sheet linoleum in kitchen, over a layer of masonite. Then about 10 yrs ago, I installed DIY lino. tiles. Recently they started to chip and they look terrible. I was cooped up with a broken ankle and started to remove the tiles, a much bigger job than I anticipated. And now I have a real mess!
I wanted to go for laminate but I understand the unevenness of the floor makes than unfeasible.
Any ideas? Cost is a consideration for the 125 sq feet of my eat-in-kitchen but as important as the results.
HELP!! Thanks.

Not that there is any great clamor for it, but I won't let that stop me--- a follow-up on the above post.
My research told me that laminates were out of the question with the unevenness of the floor. That left vinyl sheeting.
Searching around on the web, I found a gorgeous pattern (Armstrong, Raku Heather) but unfortunately it's discontinued. The website I found it on is selling it but I wouldn't have a way to get it up to my flat or installed.
Bummer. So I went to a local store and picked out a very nice gray fake square tiles.
They came to measure and give me an estimate and to see the condition of my floor which by Monday had a path of linoleum I had exposed.
He said that yes, they could have installed the vinyl over the chipped, crappy old tiles.
But even though it's a tremendous pain and a lot of work, I am glad I am removing the old tiles and all the dirt and crud.
It's all going to be worth it when the new floor is in.
And btw, I was told that this new vinyl is more flexible than the old linoleum and doesn't need glue.
I expressed concern as a few times a year I like to move my wheeled fridge for cleaning. He said they can glue the perimeter. Good idea, is what I think.
Two thirds of the tiles are gone. My back hurts.

Laminate has its issues too! You must know what you are facing before you commit Look before you leap so to speak! If you have specific questions that you don't want to post here drop me a line I install laminate so i can address any questions you may have! paragon_renovations1616@msn.com

When you start to think about laminate they make it look and sound way easier than it is there are just more parts than opening the box, laying it on the floor and putting your furniture back in the room!

Don't hesitate to ask because it may save you some headache in the long run!

Sincerely,

James Van Raden
Paragon Renovations and Development
Moorhead, MN

My apartment has cement floors. Inside, the glass patio doors have a row widely spaced bricks (about an inch apart) with severely cracked cement between them. The thin padding under my carpet stops where the cement ends, about 6 inches from the doors. I have temporarily covered the bricks with strips of (1/2" to 1" thick) foam that comes from discarded packeged items. That helped some but I would really like to know how to make it warmer overall near those glass doors and cemented bricks.

I'm a fan of Fiberfloor by Tarkett. I've had it for a year, and its wearing great. We live in SF. The first time I bought it for the dining area we got it at ProSource somewhere in the East Bay (Concord?). Then after I realized how much I liked it, I wanted more, b/c our rental apt floors are gross. So I ordered it thru Floorcraft at 470 BAY SHORE BLVD because its closer than Concord. I ordered enough for the bathroom, but it was the end of the roll, so there was enough left over to do our galley style kitchen.

We ordered Seagrass. It comes in two colors. Its like a straw/grass kind of pattern and doesn't look fake like the woodplanks.

Its great because it covers the gross floors, but also EXCELLENT because we have a rescue dog that still needed quite a bit of potty training. Its REALLY easy to clean and doesn't absorb odors.

You can cut it with scissors. The bathroom was easy to do. I got a roll of brown paper and made a pattern, then cut the fiberfloor from the pattern. I made a seam behind where it needed to wrap around the toilet towards the back wall. The guy at the store gave me a 10inch strip of the seam tape (that small bit of generosity = repeat business) That seam totally doesn't show, its flat.

We put some quarter round around the edges in 2 of the rooms. But in the kitchen theres no quarter round and the stuff totally stays put and doesn't move.

Its not totally cheap, but its not terrribly expensive either. I guess its all relative to ones budget.

I'm going to do the bedroom and living room next.