hello Floorguy: what you say makes sense - any suggestions now 'how' to proceed with store -Floor was installed on 1/25th & quarter-round two days ago.. and since i posted, there now is one additional large bubble in center of floor ... should we offer to pay the store to rectify this problem? this is the same floor that was redone due to horrible dents from first flex floor (had been installed over existing vinyl) - store admitted problem -replaced with this new one (not 'flex') it is Armstrong Highland series - seems the installers (each different crew) seem in too much of a rush - independents -not store-employees...this store is owned by a huge international chain..they 'guarantee' their work...we still have not paid the balance because they have not billed us for same -am sure a bill will now be forthcoming with this new 'completed' job. old floor including problem flex this time was removed - cement slab was 'smoothed' with a lite cememt layer then ''full' paste applied. i'm sure you'll say as i suspect - not enough gass-off time ... frankly we're fed-up with doing 'any' home improvement - workmanship is just not 'there' = don't know if it's my part of the country or this is just endemic - no pride of work ...oh i'm sure it exists - finding 'talent' is another 'chore'. Im beginning to think ---don't 're--do '' - just move to a newere house - LOL thanks for reading and any reply -- most sincerely, edythe

The only time you would use embossing leveler is when you are going over existing flooring that has an embossed surface. The overall price is about where it ought to be in some markets, but would be considered overcharging in some others. He is charging $1.29 per square foot for the preparation without looking at what's under the carpet. There will be prep work to do, but how much? I think he's given that price based on what his experience is with these types of jobs. We used to prep and install vinyl all the time...and we would spend an entire day just removing the carpet materials and prepping the slab. You really have to make the substrates smooth and debris-free to have an attractive and successful result in the long-term. A grain of sand under the floor at a critical location can make for an eyesore in an otherwise good installation. Preparation is most important...I cannot stress that more. Also, any filler needs to be a cementious formulation. Most 'white' floor fillers are not cementious and are not suitable for use as a floor filler. Your job should take a 'minimum' of two days to do from start to finish, especially if there is much prep to do. I would be uncomfortable were I told a job of that size would be complete in just one day. You don't want a rushed job...for it is usually on jobs that are rushed where there are problems down the road. Good luck.

You really need to get it down to the slab. There is a tool...I think it's called "The Black Widow," that fits into a Sawzall (reciprocating saw) that looks a bit like a 4" or 6" chisel. Used properly, it really helps to dig up the old vinyl. If you get it down to the cardboard-like material, sponge on a lot of hot water to loosen it. It should scrape up pretty easily after that.

We installed the Cryntel Italia Travertine vinyl tile - a buck a square foot at Lowes - in our old kitchen and upstairs bath, about 300sf total, and it looks amazing. (, which was taken in progress and so the room is a mess, ) Doesn't really look anything like travertine, but it's a pleasantly neutral variegated beige/tan. HD's Trafficmaster is a comparable product. The reaction has been extremely positive and it is downright bizarre how many people think it's porcelain until they touch it or are told it's vinyl. (Uh, no grout lines, folks. Pay attention.) It's a 1994 tract-style Cape, a little under 2000sf but very modest - a starter for the folks trying to cram a couple of kids and all their junk into a typical apartment - but a VERY long way from an "800 sq foot entry home in a run down neighborhood"! It is still very much a "Formica and vinyl" house though, putting granite and ceramic, for example, in it would be downright laughable. We DIYed - note we are not "weekend warrior" accomplished DIYers - and it was a hard few days of work, but it looks amazing. We would not have been able to DIY a sheet installation and when I think about what a crappy, cheap-looking sheet vinyl I would have been able to get for under $2 a square foot installed, I just laugh. Good quality sheet vinyl can get surprisingly pricey, I discovered it can be almost comparable to having an inexpensive ceramic tile installed! I do suppose though, if you have fairly small areas to do, it might save you a chunk of money to investigate the local flooring stores (not HD or Lowes) for sheet-vinyl remnants and hire your own installer. Just stay away from the flimsy, high-gloss vinyl tiles. Go for the thicker, nearly-rigid, semi-matte tiles instead, they just look less chintzy. One reason why vinyl tiles can come up is installing them over existing sheet vinyl or vinyl tiles - you can get a problem called "plasticizer migration" that interferes with the adhesive bond. But if you're doing it specifically for selling and don't really care about the long-term durability factor, just slap 'em on over whatever. We tore up the old sheet vinyl (it was torn, curling and coming away from the floor anyway) and even though the tile was peel-and-stick we used a modified adhesive method (described in this thread in the flooring forum) to ease the installation process and produce a better end result because we believed in doing things right and not screwing whoever bought the place the way our PO did (perhaps inadvertently, who knows).