Editors of Cool Springs Press - Black & Decker The Book of Home How-To: The Complete Photo Guide to Home Repair & Improvement

COMPLETE PHOTO GUIDE TO HOME REPAIR & IMPROVEMENT

In a Hurry? See the Keywords on pages

Cabinets & Countertops

Exterior

Floors

Plumbing

Walls & Ceilings

Windows & Doors

Wiring

T he Book of Home How-To is not just another big book of home improvement and repair subjects. The world is full of these already and they are all more or less the same: Youll find a chapter on wiring, a chapter on plumbing, another chapter on flooring, one on trim carpentry, and on and on. And thats fineits the way these books have always been done. But weve realized that this approach no longer fits with the way we search for information today. So we have done away with the traditional drop-down menu way of searching and gotten back to basics: alphabetical listings.

Need to know how to replace a shingle? Youll find the information you need under S for Shingles. Need to install a toilet? You can go the Table of Contents and look for the toilet listing among the Plumbing entries. Or, you can simply flip through to the T section of the book and there youll find Toilets, located right between Tile and Trim. If youre not sure what to call your project (is it Installing carpet or Carpet installation?) you can find a direct page reference to either (and many more) in our handy list of Keywords starting on .

Were very excited about this new way of organizing and presenting home improvement information. We believe you will find it to be intuitive and extremely easy to use, especially in those situations where you simply want to get to the point as quickly as possible. But heres the real reason youll be glad to have this book in your home: once you find the material youre looking for, you will be amazed by the quality and depth of the information. We may have based our organization of the book on how most of us search for information online, but luckily we did not base our information on what youll find online. With crystal-clear how-to photos and complete step-by-step instructions. The Book of Home How-To is as reliably instructive as it is heavy. From plumbing to wiring to home repair, every DIY project in this book has been produced by experts under the watchful eye of BLACK+DECKER, the most trusted name in home DIY. Thats why, for over 25 years, BLACK+DECKER has been the most trusted name in DIY books, too.

P reparing a concrete floor for carpet, laminate, vinyl, or wood flooring has been simplified by the introduction of new subfloor products that have built-in vapor barriers and cleats that create a slight air gap between the subfloor and the concrete slab. This system allows air to circulate, protecting the finished flooring from any slab moisture. The new dry-floor subfloor systems are less than one inch thick and are very easy to install. There are several types of these dry-floor systems available, but the one most readily available and easiest to use is a product sold in 2 2 feet tongue-and-groove squares.

Although subfloor panels can be adjusted for slight irregularities in the concrete slab, they cant overcome problems with a floor that is badly cracked and heaved. Nor is the built-in air gap beneath the system a solution to a basement that has serious water problems. A badly heaved slab will need to be leveled with a cement-based leveling compound, and serious water problems will need to be rectified before you consider creating finished living space in a basement.

Allow the subfloor panel squares to acclimate in the basement for at least 24 hours with the plastic surfaces facing down before installing them. In humid summer months, the squaresas well as the finished wood flooring product, if thats what youll be installingshould be allowed to acclimate for a full two weeks before installation.

The old way of installing subfloor (plywood over 2 4 sleepers) does make a sturdy floor and has the advantage of not requiring any special productsyou can do it with materials found at any building center.

Instead of a subfloor and plywood underlayment, some flooring requires an isolation layer to separate it from the concrete basement floor. These are most often installed with ceramic floors.

If your concrete basement floor has cracks, holes, or other imperfections, address them before installing flooring.

Concrete basement floors have a high utility value, but whenever possible youll want to cover them to improve livability in your new basement rooms. Some floor coverings can be installed directly over the concrete, but in most cases you should lay subfloor panels and underlayment before installing the floor covering. A system like the one above is ideal for basements because it can be removed readily: the laminate strip flooring snaps together and apart; the underlayment is unbonded and can be rolled up; and the subfloor panels also are snap-together for easy removal and re-laying.

Apply Floor Leveler

Use floor leveler mix or a mortar mixture to fill in small dips in the concrete floor.

LEVELING BASEMENT FLOORS

Test the floor to see how level it is. Use a laser level to project a level line on all walls. Mark the line and then measure down to the floor. Compare measurements to determine if floor is level. If you are installing a subfloor you can correct the unevenness by shimming under low areas. But if the floor height varies by more than an inch or two (not uncommon), you should pour floor leveler compound in the low areas. In more extreme examples youll need to resurface the entire floor.

Break up and remove very high areas or eruptions, and patch the area with concrete that is leveled with the surrounding surfaces. Use a rental jack hammer to break up the concrete. A hand maul and cold chisel also may be used if the area is not too large: most concrete basement floors are only 3 to 4" thick.