There’s no better way to learn how to tackle home improvement projects than straight from an experienced professional, and this Project Guide was created by shadowing professional carpet installers on an actual job site. These guys have decades of experience, and in today’s article you’ll find the tips and tricks they used for a beautiful carpet installation. The guys are laying approximately 800 sq. ft. of berber carpet in a basement here in Maryland, and regular readers will recognize this is one of the final phases... 

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It’s time for another Pro-Follow, and regular readers will recognize this as part of our ongoing series for building an in-law addition. We’re back with the guys from Luciano Cristofaro Contractors. You’ve already met Victor, and today we’re spending time with Victor’s brother Carlos as he pours a set of concrete stairs. The opening for these stairs was cut out from the existing garage slab and dug with the backhoe during excavation. The block walls are new, and they were completed in a similar fashion as... 

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Steve Wartman and his crew have almost finished the basement remodel, and I’ll be writing a comprehensive post to unveil the transformation soon. Installing flooring is one of the last phases in the process, and the homeowners have opted for a floating laminate floor in the laundry room. Floating floors are a great DIY project because the work goes fast, and since a floating floor isn’t nailed down, they don’t require as many tools as a traditional wood floor install (see our How to Install Hardwood Flooring article for... 

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Installing radiant heat flooring is a great project for homeowners and do-it-yourselfers. Radiant flooring adds comfort and value to your home, and it’s not overly difficult to install. I spent the day with professional contractor Joe Bianco as he completed this project. Read on to learn how it’s done. MaterialsWarm Tile radiant flooring kit 1-1/4″ concrete anchors Thin-set mortarToolsStraight-edge Hammer drill Driver Hammer Snips Fish tape Multi-tool Chisel MultimeterStep 1: Plan the Layout One of the challenges... 

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We first ran this article in 2010. It provides detailed instructions for installing hardwood flooring over a wood substructure. It chronicles tutorials for each step of the process, derived from our installation of 3/4 inch solid, tongue-and-groove Brazilian Walnut hardwoods in our own home! At the bottom, we provide links to posts on the tools we use and frequently recommend for hardwood installation. Below is one picture of the final product. Here’s the rest. This project was a lot of fun. We hope you enjoy the tutorial!While... 

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This article is part of our series on How to Install Hardwood Floors. While preparing to lay 1100 square feet of hardwood flooring, we discovered significant variation in the OSB subfloor that will serve as the nailing surface for the hardwoods. This article provides detailed instructions for leveling a subfloor based on our project. Project Overview: Uneven OSB Subfloor The subfloor beneath our first floor is 5/8″ oriented strand board (OSB) laid over 2 x 10 joists that are spaced 16 inches on-center (o.c.). The joists run from... 

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I’ve been installing the baseboard molding, and it’s going up pretty quick. I completed about half of the molding last Saturday, and plan to finish the rest this weekend. The toughest part about installing any molding (baseboard, shoe molding, chair rail, crown molding) is getting all those corners to line up nicely. It’s common to find walls out of square making it even more challenging. Outside corners have to be miter joints unless you chose to use decorative corner blocks. Inside corners can be miter joints or cope... 

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Baseboard and shoe molding dress up a new hardwood flooring installation. After you’ve put in the time installing the new floor, trimming it out frames the floor, showcasing the hardwoods just like a quality frame showcases quality art. Baseboard comes in many different shapes and sizes and should be picked based on a balanced approach to style and money.  The simplest builder-grade primed white baseboard can be purchased at Home Depot or Lowes for around $0.30 / linear foot, while stain-grade elaborate baseboards can cost as much... 

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Tile Subfloor, Thickness, Deflection Installing Electric Radiant Heat Pouring Self Leveling Mortar Leveling (Flattening) the Subfloor Installing Cement Board (CBU) Installing Schluter DITRA Marking Guidelines for Tile How to Lay Tile How to Grout Tile JointsLast weekend we finished pouring the fourth and final quadrant of self leveling underlayment over the radiant heating wires in the basement gameroom. The total floorspace in the area is about 1000 sq. ft. This pour constituted the last 250 sq. ft., and the second largest pour... 

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