What did you do today?

[highup]

How may steps are you doing?
Yes, I'd run the laminate as far out as needed so the nose is fully supported.

 

[highup]

You can use blue tape to hold it in position, but it may be best to add some weights to be sure it stays flat and tight to the laminate, in case the urethane swells up a tad. An S-pattern is probably best, but 2 beads parallel would probably be fine. 1/8 to 3/16 bead maybe? Test for coverage and squeeze out with a scrap.

 

[Tom Picciani]

You can use blue tape to hold it in position, but it may be best to add some weights to be sure it stays flat and tight to the laminate, in case the urethane swells up a tad. An S-pattern is probably best, but 2 beads parallel would probably be fine. 1/8 to 3/16 bead maybe? Test for coverage and squeeze out with a scrap.

I’m not putting laminate on the steps. The stair nose will transition from the top floor to the top stair riser. I’ll look for Urethane adhesives.

 

[highup]

Do you have a photo showing it's location a little better? ...not so close up?

 

[Tom Picciani]

Do you have a photo showing it's location a little better? ...not so close up?

The laminate will go to end of steps with stair nose going over it.

 

[highup]

Looks in the photo there's a tiny void or space in the center of the last plank.
Were you going to adhere the last plank?

 

[Tom Picciani]

Looks in the photo there's a tiny void or space in the center of the last plank.
Were you going to adhere the last plank?

The gap went away after I installed the last plank. I only had so much space to work with because of the cuts in the skirt board.

I also got the kitchen entry done. Thought I could use t molding but the height was different. I had extra from the bathroom entry. Metal channel was too thin. I glued it upside down with PL Premium. Then I glued the molding onto the channel. Saw it done on web. Got a pair of 11 lb weights on it. Should work. 2 pieces to go. And closets.

 

[zannej]

I gave the old dog bottled water bc the tap water was still out. Cleaned up after her & then cleaned more of the living room so I could carry Mom's new computer over to it's cubby without tripping. Filled about 4 trash bags- apparently she'd just been throwing mail, empty food containers, paper plates, & empty water bottles on the floor (again) so I ended up filling about 3 trash bags. Had to stop briefly to take my brother to the casino to get a new ID. The holder they issued him was crappy & it kept falling out & he couldn't find the ID-- must probably at a friend's house where he did his laundry & took a shower. Made it to the Tribal Commission building 8 min before closing. He went in while I found a place to park. I had it in park maybe 30 seconds when he came back out. They printed a new ID in less than 2 min. Stopped at Walmart on the way home to grab milk, rotisserie chicken, & a better ID holder. Got home and continued to clean & got Mom's computer set up. Turned it on & looks like she hit the front of her monitor out of anger the other day & broke the LCD. The spot started growing larger over time. So, she now needs a new monitor. I broke the news to her & she insists it must have been one of the cats somehow-- but I saw her angrily throwing stuff around on her desk the other day. Meanwhile, the pump guy showed up & honked the horn out back where I couldn't hear. My mother told my brother to go look, he claimed she was "on crack" or "hearing things" & refused to look, but 10 min later he said something to me about it so I started checking. Pump guy came and knocked on the front door. He'd shown up and already finished fixing things, but bc I wasn't there to tell him what I wanted done he didn't do it right. No shutoff, no foot valve, pipe was put above the pump again, put the check valve (which cost $125) on the inlet side instead of outlet side. I'm not entirely happy with it, but he was clearly exhausted & I think we were both too overheated & tired to argue. I'll probably have to make revisions at a later point, but for now it should do. I just hope the check valve won't be a problem. Worst case, I could use adapters to expand the outlet pipes to 1-1/4" long enough to include it, move it over there (maybe raise the pump up higher so the inlet pipes won't be above) & add a shutoff coming out of the holding tank. The pressure switch had burned so he had to replace it.

It's not ideal, but it's working so I'm relieved about that. I can refill the dog's waterer & have enough water to work on the leveling mix on my floor. Need a nap though bc I'm tired.

 

[Tom Picciani]

I think I’ll use PL premium 8x fast grab to hold stair nose. Others have been using it for transitions. I’ll rough both surfaces first.

 

[highup]

Just be sure to leave some weights on it.
Is there a small gap under that next to last plank? You don't want to fasten the nose to a plank with a bow in it............. and have it all bouncy-bouncy. You can glue that last plank, then attach the nose.

 

[Tom Picciani]

Just be sure to leave some weights on it.
Is there a small gap under that next to last plank? You don't want to fasten the nose to a lank with a bow in it............. and have it all bouncy-bouncy. You can glue that last plank, then attach the nose.

There’s space under the skirt boards. Plenty of room for movement.

The last board appears flat.

 

[highup]

You might try gluing and nailing a narrow strip to the floor like this so once glued in place the molding has no movement. Leave an 1/8" gap between the narrow strip and the plank next to it. The Coretec does not expand or contract, so 1/8" ought to be fine.

 

[zannej]

Here's an odd question: If someone ends up with a small stip of wood at the end & it has to go under door casing, instead of trying to slide it past the 2nd to last row, could they click the small strip on to the 2nd to last piece first & then slide it into place under the casing? (I hope this is making sense). I saw a video where someone was trying to fit a 2" strip under the casing & barely had any room & had to fight with it & I was thinking if they had just attached it to the board he was trying to slide it over that it would have been easier, but not sure if that would have worked.

So, water is working again, but the check valve is on the wrong side of the pump (suction side instead of outlet side) so I don't know if it will have problems. I wish I'd known he was there so I could have gotten things done the way I wanted. I really want to have a shutoff there. Also, the line now goes above the pump again & there still seems to be air in the lines. Not sure if it never got worked out, or what the problem is. But, if I continue to have the air problem, I'll shut it off, drain the cistern, cut off the outlet pipe on the vertical, cut the inlet PVC, raise the pump up a few inches, & make it so the pipe runs lower instead of higher. I'll also see if I can fit in a shutoff at the holding tank for good measure.

I was up until 2am cleaning again. My brother actually took the full trash bags out of the living room so it cleared up some space for me to do more cleaning. Discovered the cat had been using a spot behind Mom's desk as a litterbox (and the dogs had contributed to it). Carpet needs to be shampooed & vacuumed, but at least there isn't clutter/trash on the floor. Mom's current desk kinda sucks & I'm hoping I can talk her in to getting a new one that isn't so annoying. It's a particle board p.o.s. that is supposed to swing closed to store everything neatly when not in use, but it's always in use & it's spread out & her monitor space is very narrow. Like a little over 21-1/4" wide, which limits the monitor size. If she gets a desk w/ more space for her monitor, she can get a bigger monitor. I can transfer her keyboard tray to a new desk (bc it's a really nice tray that pulls out, swivels, tilts, & can go up or down). It also has a spot for her mouse.

I'm waiting for her to wake up so we can go look at monitors in person to see if she likes anything, but there aren't many stores with monitors around and the ones that have them only keep a few in stock. Wish we lived near Fry's Electronics & that Staples hadn't closed.

Forgot to mention that last night after all the cleaning, I was taking photos to send to a friend bc the last time he was here it was a disaster. 2 seconds after one of the photos, a fat cat jumped from the tv tray to a box. He knocked the tray over & knocked the box over, it flipped upside down, and dumped out. Didn't take long to pick it back up, but I have a photo of the cat just about to jump, and then 2 seconds later.

 

[Tom Picciani]

You might try gluing and nailing a narrow strip to the floor like this so once glued in place the molding has no movement. Leave an 1/8" gap between the narrow strip and the plank next to it. The Coretec does not expand or contract, so 1/8" ought to be fine.

I’m not sure if you caught it, but the laminate was cut flush with the stairs. I’ll evaluate the situation when I cut the top riser. I think I’ll cut it flush with the floor.

Oh, and btw, I’m done with the flooring!

Transitions and baseboard are next.

On that note, I found a mistake. I made the gap at the bathroom too big. Reducing molding won’t span the gap.

I’m going to get a piece of baby threshold and fill some of the gap. Most will lie under the reducer molding that will go over top.

Anyway, progress!

 

[highup]

The gap went away after I installed the last plank. I only had so much space to work with because of the cuts in the skirt board.

I also got the kitchen entry done. Thought I could use t molding but the height was different. I had extra from the bathroom entry. Metal channel was too thin. I glued it upside down with PL Premium. Then I glued the molding onto the channel. Saw it done on web. Got a pair of 11 lb weights on it. Should work. 2 pieces to go. And closets.

The base molding holds the plank down pretty well at that step, so probably not an issue. Sometimes your toe contacts the stair molding as you go up the stairs. When it does, the upward force makes the nose and plank kick upward slightly since the edge isn't actually fastened to the floor. More of an annoyance than a real problem.
If the molding tongue won't go deep enough to grab into a track, you can cut a shim or fill piece to put under the track. Something as simple as a scrap of vinyl flooring can be enough. You got it figured out, so looks like the end is near.

 

[zannej]

It looks great thus far. I'm looking forward to the finished products & hope you enjoy a refreshing beverage afterward.
I need to start working on my floor again.

 

[Tom Picciani]

It looks great thus far. I'm looking forward to the finished products & hope you enjoy a refreshing beverage afterward.
I need to start working on my floor again.

Thanks. By my notes, I started all this on April 17. It started with pulling baseboard, carpet, padding, tack strips and a million staples. Then paint. Then floor leveling. And then the flooring. I have a 16 foot wall that needs baseboard first. Once that is on, I can slide the TV stand out on plastic sliders. Will need help from my neighbor to pull TV out of back room and mount it. I have pads for everything. Couch is almost 300 lbs. I have a lever gadget to hold it up while I slip the pads under. I might be able to block up the couch on 2x4's to get it high enough to pull the dollies out and get the pads under. Vacuum first though and dust mop. God the sawdust!

 

[highup]

Be sure the floor is super clean if you use those plastic sliders. One tiny piece of stone tracked in off the driveway will become one-grit sandpaper when it embeds in the plastic and can put a scratch all the way across a room. Those are really made for carpet. They make sliders that are felt on the bottom. Not saying they don't work, just be careful.

 

[Tom Picciani]

Be sure the floor is super clean if you use those plastic sliders. One tiny piece of stone tracked in off the driveway will become one-grit sandpaper when it embeds in the plastic and can put a scratch all the way across a room. Those are really made for carpet. They make sliders that are felt on the bottom. Not saying they don't work, just be careful.

I actually have the felt pads. I used the smooth plastic sliders to get the stand into the bedroom. When I get the legs to the laminate I'm going to switch them out for the felt ones. Also, I have 2 inch felt pads for the couch.

 

[highup]

Glad to hear that. Saw it happen once, and the result was 'embedded in my mind' so to speak.