Do your Karndean floors look like this?
floorfinder
15 years ago
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grannytraci
5 years agoHU-579683135
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What do your stained or natural wood cabinets look like?
Comments (38)I just saw this. I have to tell you, stained cabinets never spoke to me. I'd come across a painted kitchen and "ooOOOoooooo," I'd softly quiver. ("quiver?" OMG. I said "quiver.") Anyway, that was until the day I stripped some vintage, beaded inset cabinets down to bare oak. Holy moly were they pretty. I antiqued them with a gray stain, then 2 different tones of brown to reach an incredible finish. Then, I stripped some of those horrible dark red/black cherry cabinets, again, down to bare wood. So absolutely beautiful. I've actually done the same finish now on 4 antique doors, too. LOVE IT. Now I have such a mix of wood in my kitchen it probably looks stupid, but I call it "eclectic." (No, it's not nice just because I did it. It's just that I can't decide now what to do!) But I don't want to repaint them. My point in all this? I love the pictures this question is provided. Thanks for asking. Also, don't be shy about Citristripping the finish off your cabs and restaining. It's a PIA, but incredibly do-able in place with Citristrip. Messy, but no longer flesh-eating. Just a thought....See MoreWhat do your flower bulb gardens look like?
Comments (23)Hello all - here are some of my bulb plantings from last spring, I've been planting bulbs and gardening for many years now. The first picture is of a double form of Actaea along my barn bank in front of daylilies that hide the dying narcissus foliage later in the season. The second pic is of mostly Carlton Daffs with some Beerheba and Thalia. Two years ago I dug up all of the overgrown clumps and spread them out in groups or "drifts." The third pic is of Barcelona Tulips along the front of my house - these bulbs surprised me and are four years old in this spot and have gotten better every year. Perennial tulips! The forth pic is my little Hyacinth hill with Sophie - my vole patrol. I've always loved hyacinths and their fragrance early in the spring but find them challenging to make them look "right" in the landscape. This fall I am planting 60 more hyacinths in this area to fill it up, the more the merrier. Plant bulbs in groups and plant as many of the same variety as you can in an area to make them really show up - and off! The great thing about bulbs is that they multiply and can be dug and divided up to move to new areas of your garden....See MoreKardean Vinyl flooring Prep
Comments (3)Sooooo many complaints from homeowners who did NOT pay/insist on subfloor preparation!!!!! Karndean is thin and will TRANSFER any imperfection to your vinyl floor. You will see every pebble, every divot, every bit of sand left over. The subfloors (both of them) MUST BE as smooth and flat as an ICE RINK!!! I would expect a preparation budget of $3-$5/sf....and then cost of floor + install. The plywood needs preparation just as much as the concrete. And any vinyl floor can have issues with HOT temperatures like sitting in front of a window. Check your window UV ratings. They should be the "mid-range" option or HIGHER. That means a UV rating of 70% or higher "blocking". The entry level windows (Low-E) are around 50% UV blocking. You need to PAY for the UPGRADE to the windows to ensure the vinyl is happy. And PLEASE look on houzz regarding Karndean PROBLEMS!!! There are DOZENS of threads with HUGE amounts of complaints with Karndean glue down products. HUGE complaints! Buyer beware! (aka... Run away!). Good luck....please think this through - again....See MoreKarndean flooring, yay or nay?
Comments (5)Like all things vinyl, it is ALL about the HOUSE. Yep. The HOUSE dictates the type of flooring and how well it will "work". The indoor environment belongs to the house, the house belongs to the homeowner. Thereby the homeowner "owns" the living conditions that may or may not ruin a floor. Ok...so that being said, Karndean vinyl floors have many forms of installation. Floating, glue down and perimeter glue. With ALL things "flooring" they TYPE of installation is dictated by the home. The quality of the INSTALLER is the next point of contention. The home's subfloors will need to be prepared within an INCH of their lives. That means $$$ on subfloor preparation. That means you need an installer who is METICULOUS in his/her preparation. Someone who offers $0.50/sf for subfloor prep is going to ruin your project before it began. Once the subfloor has been prepared (some can be as costly as $3-$4/sf depending on your home/subfloor), the Karndean planks can be installed. If you are doing a GLUE DOWN, the correct glue MUST be used. The correct TROWEL must be used. The correct SPREAD RATE must be used (how much glue per 100 sf, etc) and then the planks must be laid using the correct "timing" (glue cannot be too wet nor too dry). And the home's interior living conditions must be maintained throughout the ENTIRETY of the floor's life (15-20 years). Large plate glass windows from the 80's are going to have issues letting in too much sun/UV/heat. And those are "vinyl killers". Improperly installed sliding glass doors or exterior doors that are bit "leaky" will also cause issues for vinyl flooring that has been glued down. Wow. Soooo many places where things "can go wrong". I've been part of the "Do your Karndean floors look like this?" discussion (both as a professional and as a private poster). I would guess the VAST majority of the thread (75%) has to do with IMPROPER installation (poor prep, improper use of materials, poorly trained installers, etc). Another 15% would have to do with problems with the HOUSE (interior living conditions not up to snuff for vinyl....like too hot in front of windows, poorly built crawlspace, old concrete slab foundation, etc). A very very very small percentage of the issues were from the flooring itself. If you estimate 1% - 5% of the problems you read were from the VINYL itself, you would probably be guessing a bit too high. It can happen. It is not outside the realm of possibility that you can get a bad batch. I'm not arguing that at all. I'm simply stating that as much as 99% of the complaints about flooring have to do with something other than the product itself. I hope you find the floor you want. Be aware that a "matte" finish floor is TOUGH to live with. They look great in photos but are HELL to deal with as a home owner. A satin finish is MUCH easier and will still "work" as a low-gloss floor....See MoreHU-896284829
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