Q. I have this horrible laminate flooring in my house but it's hard to take off the sub-floor because the laminate is glued to the floor. I have been taking it out with a screw driver and hammer and it kinda damages the sub-floor. Is there a way to take out the laminate with little damage to the sub-floor?

A. That is a very tedious job. You will be sitting there forever with a pry bar though. You can also buy a floor scraper for about $20 at any hardware store. Generally found in the flooring dept. Take my experience though, all depending on what you re-cover with (ie. tile, carpet, etc) if you are going with tile, you need to have a glue free surface. Plywood is inexpensive and easier to remove that your laminate, Not to mention the time and aggravation you will save.

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Q. I want to buy 12" x 12" vinyl flooring and place it on top of a laminate flooring that is currently there. The installation for the vinyl flooring is "peel and stick". Will the vinyl flooring adhere to the laminate flooring ok? Is any additional adhesive needed? Thanks in advance :)

A. It may stick but it won t last. The movement in laminate will cause the laminate seams to telescope thru and show and eventually crack the vinyl. Laminate is so easy to take up and save . GL

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Q. I am moving into my first house next week and I am doing the laminate flooring myself....can anyone tell me if they have done it an how easy or hard it actually was? Also, do you know if I can just put the pad and laminate flooring on top of the kitchen flooring that is already there? Thanks for your help in advance!

A. Make sure the particular flooring you are getting needs no other supplies..some requires a simple underlayment(fabric type sheeting)..and some require you buy these foam rubber gasket type items that the baseboard needs pulled and they have to tuck under it to help lock in without moving..Just make sure before purchasing..that you are aware of what all is needed..Remember..most of these floorings need to have the base board removed to install properly

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Q. I want to get Black wood flooring but the problem is it's really expensive it ranges to 4.00 to 6.00 a square foot but people were telling me if I bought unfinished wood flooring and stain it black but see im not a craftsman and personally I don't want the paint fumes and all of that but my ? is Can I go to someone and can they stain it for me? if so can you suggest a company? or give me ideas who to go to for this and also if you find Black wood flooring less than 2.00 a square foot please notify me Thank You So Much.

A. You can sometimes get discounted wood flooring for as low as $2 a square foot (see the link I have provided), but it will cost you at least another $3 a square foot to have someone install it and finish it black for you. Hardwood flooring is a luxury, and add alot of value to your home. Remember, the money you spend doesn't go away; you keep it as in investment in your home.

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Q. I'm planning on purchasing and installing laminate flooring myself in my girls room. But I'm unsure as to what materials I will need to install the flooring. Other than the flooring itself, what materials will I need to purchase to install a laminate flooring over a concrete foundation on the first floor. Is it fairly easy, or would paying someone to do it be a much better choice? Hint: I'm trying to keep the budget for the flooring to $200 for a 160 sq. ft. room. Thanks!

A. PLus the under layment, which you ll need 2 100 s/f rolls you should get the installation kit , About 20$ This comes with a tapping block spacers and a pull bar. You also need basic power tools such as chop saw and a table saw. Everything can be done on the table saw , its just easier to have a chop saw. A skil saw and or a jig saw can also be used. You ll need a hand saw to under cut the trim and of course a hammer.And a basic utility knife for cutting the under layment. If your half way handy you can do this yourself. It isn t hard. Saving 300$ (+-) in the process. Any questions you can e mail me through my avatar . I ve attended several installation seminars as well as installed a few 100,000 s/f. GL

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Q. My living room is has laminate flooring but i would like to change it to white flooring permenantly. what is the best way to do this? i saw this item in ikea called floor lining would that work?

A. The lining actually goes under the laminate - so it wouldn't work. You would need to either paint the laminate with a primer then white floor paint - which is actually not a bad look - but you can't really use the floor until the paint cures - which is a few weeks, plus you will need to repaint every few years.

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Q. I live in Sydney, northern suburbs. I'm trying to find the optimum solution for a bedroom floor to replace the sick carpets with an alternative healthy floor. My ideal is bright sand color flooring. Timber seems not that tough as bamboo, but bamboo products are imported from China and the quality may not be as good. If anyone has a bamboo floor for a few years now, I'd like to hear from you, and if you are happy with the quality, please let me know where to buy it from.

A. Well we haven't had it for two years, but we have had it for a couple of months. we have the dark maroon color and it shows dust and cleaning streaks retty badly so i have to clean it every other day to. i wish i would have went with the lighter color now like you are talking about. as for scratches, since ours is so dark, the deep ones do show but i go over them with a matching stain. i have never noticed lighter scratches. but since you are talking about getting the lighter colored flooring, the scratches wouldn't show up very easily. we were very happy with the quality. it wasn't like hardwood flooring where you have to inspect each piece before you put it down, each one that came out of the box was in perfect condition. and the brand we bought was nice and thick.

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Q. I have an invalid living in my house. He sometimes cannot control his bowels and makes a mess in the floor. I currently have carpet over hardwood floor. I need the carpet to be taken out and want to find some sort of flooring that can be mopped with Clorox or Lysol in water to destroy odor. I would like to avoid any type of flooring that would have to be glued to the hardwood. It appears that all vinyl flooring has to glued down. Does anyone have any idea what I can put over the hardwood that will stand up to some serious cleaning?

A. Try laminate flooring, it is easy to install by locking the pieces together like a puzzle and it floats(needs no glue). It also cleans like a dream, we just got it and love it. You can get the kind that looks like wood or tile. We have the ceramic tile type and it really looks like tile. GL!

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