Hello and welcome to Decor It Yourself. This week we have a huge DIY summertime undertaking for you. Over on YouTube, Martha Stewart wrote in, Help! My floors are busted, but I rent and have limited funds. What is your DIY solution?
Our kitchen floor used to be a a terrible temporary linoleum. Plus, we rent. So Will and I couldn't invest in a full fan stripping seam, but we could redo our kitchen tiled floors for under 100 bucks.
First, we picked out a wood grain tile that's closest to the hardwood floor that runs throughout the rest of the apartment. Before you begin removing the floor, I must warn you, I cannot predict what looks beneath.
So do a patch test by removing the first one to two layers in a corner. Teed off the area to protect animals or kids and purchase protective eyewear, gloves, dust masks, and knee pads for safety.
To get started, remove all of the furniture from the room. Also, remove decor as the room will get very dusty. First, pick up the top layer of linoleum into smaller strips. This makes it easier to roll up and remove in chunks.
Do this section by section until the entire first layer of the floor is gone. In some old buildings, you will find this type of tackboard nailed in. Ours was warped and moldy and ready to go. We used a crowbar and a hammer to pry up pieces of the tackboard.
Again, section off into smaller areas and be very careful when pulling up trunks of the floor. This step takes the longest and is a most labor intensive. So hydrate, stretch, and be careful.
This creates a lot of dust and is best to do during a season when you can have the windows open all day. Keep a broom and vacuum handy as you are going to want to clean intermittently to keep that dust at bay. Be sure to use your mask during this dusty process. When we return, we will show you how to put the new floor down.
Welcome back! Once your floor is cleaned and all the dust is removed, take your new tile out and set it out the way that you want your pattern aligned. Ours is woodgrain, so we have the darker wood all going the same way to elongate the width of the kitchen.
Because our kitchen is asymmetrical, we chose a spot in the middle of the room and worked our way out towards the tricker spot. Take your first tile and remove the adhesive backing. Place the tile sticky side down on your clean surface. Firmly apply pressure using stacks of books or the remaining tiles. For random road tiles that don't want to stick, you spray adhesive to secure them to the floor.
Once you get to the nooks and crannies, carefully measure the needed custom size tile and cut accordingly. The last step is putting down seams to finish off your new floor.
Purchase floor seams at your local hardware store and have them cut to the length you need or do it yourself with your saw. Place the seam along the edge and nail it to finish your floor, and Voila! You have a brand spanking new refresh floor for your rental apartment.
Before I embark on any DIY home project, I always check out Apartment Therapy, because it's one of my favorite spots for aesthetic inspiration. Here is a round up, up there, DIY Floor Project for renters and homeowners alike.
This floor tiled entirely in pennies is super unique and awesome, and is a great way to pinch your pennies. When you redo your floors, you never know what you are going to find under that top layer.
If you find concrete, don't fear. Here is a great how-to-do for staining concrete floors. If you find hardwood that needs a little TLC, this shows you how you can paint it any vibrant color of the rainbow for a great effect.
Check out more at apartmenttherapy.com. If you have any inspirational floor ideas, leave them in a comment below. Thanks so much for watching and remember, Your Nest Needs You.
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