master bathroom follow-up questions: flooring

Please tell us more about the flooring: Does it just go right over the vinyl? What if you have boys that love to splash in the bath…is it waterproof? Is it hard to install?

This is the Allure flooring in-store at Home Depot~you can also order it online. They have added a bunch of new colors and styles…lots of good ones to choose from and most are about $1.99 sq ft. If possible, go to the store to get samples~they look so much different online! We went with the pacific pine in the master bathroom, because it had a bit of a grey undertone which is exactly what I wanted.

Here is the picture my husband took of the tools he set out to use. You see, he is logical and sets everything out beforehand. I need him: I make everything hard and run back and forth, back and forth, usually traipsing some paint along somewhere.

1. Razor blades to score/cut the planks. You want good, sharp ones and plenty of refills to make life easier. We’ve heard some people use tin snips as well.

2. hacksaw…hmmmm not sure what he used this for. I think for the screws that were too long on the toilet? I’ll check.

3. Oh goodness, I skipped 3…on to #4! sorry.

4. this is the best saw for cutting the door moldings to make it easier for the flooring to fit underneath.

5. pry bar : to help remove baseboards

6. measure twice, cut once. He said the straight ruler makes life much, much easier.

Basically, you just lay your planks down right over the linoleum, remove the adhesive paper, and stick them together, then lay another next to it. If you are thinking about doing it, watch some videos on youtube, read reviews, etc. to see if it’s what you want to do.

We have used this flooring in our previous home in the kitchen and in our downstairs bath. Love it…no complaints. It’s highly water resistant, but not completely waterproof. So, I throw down a couple of old towels next to the tub when my boys climb in to be safe. I think it would be great anywhere: laundry rooms, basements, etc. We chose it mainly because we didn’t want to pay labor costs to a handyman to install.

A couple more tips:

* it must be acclimated when you install it. Bring it inside, open the boxes and let it adjust to the inside temps for a couple of days. Otherwise, it may expand and buckle.

*leave a little room *about 1/8 inch at the outer edges to allow room for expansion. Our friends installed it tight, tight and it buckled in the middle a few months later.

*we did remove our toilet. It’s not hard~you’ll just need a new wax ring. Watch a youtube video~it’s not bad, I promise!

*you don’t have to remove the baseboards, but you’ll probably want to add a quarter round edge to cover the edges. We removed ours because I wanted to sand them down and re-paint them. They are a cinch to re-install with a nail gun.

We ran a bead of brown caulk where the flooring met the edge of our walk-in shower:

Other people who have used allure flooring and can give more info:

Jennifer @ the Old Painted Cottage

Rhoda @ Southern Hospitality

Carli @ Fearfully and Wonderfully Made

We have loved it and always get lots of compliments on our “wood” floor :) Did I cover everything? Questions?

Happy Tuesday~

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