Super Handyman: You’ll be ‘floored’ by how much you can save by removing old flooring yourself

When it’s time for new flooring, you might be “floored” by the cost. But consider that a lot of the cost is in removing the old flooring, and that is something you might be able to do yourself.

Think of how much money you could save by doing it. Here are the steps you’ll need to take to get your rooms ready for the new stuff.

If you have carpet, you can save a lot of money by pulling up the old carpet and getting rid of it to make room for the new. Wear a dust mask before beginning to protect your lungs from the dust. Use a sharp carpet knife and cut the carpet into strips about 3 feet wide. Then use pliers to grab the carpet at the edges and pull it away from the tack strips. Next, roll it from one side of the room to the other, and carry these small rolls to the garbage. You can do the same thing with the padding. Pull any nails or staples out of the floor and vacuum up everything left behind.

Vinyl or rolled flooring can be chipped or ripped off with a floor scraper. It’s not easy, but with a little patience, it will come up. Also make sure to remove any adhesive left behind.

Before putting down your new floor, you need to have a flat, smooth, dry surface. Sand, grind or scrape off anything left behind. A thin sheet of plywood can be used for a subfloor if the surface is too uneven. For uneven concrete floors, use a self-leveling concrete topper. Use a bonding agent between the old and new concrete, or use a topper with one built in.

These are a few things you can do to get ready for your new floor. If you take a little time and do the labor yourself, you can afford your new floor sooner than you might have thought.

Instant clampIf you don#146;t have enough clamps, you can use pliers. Vise grips make that easy because they can hold and lock in place. But if all you have is standard pliers, you still can lock them with some tape or a rubber band. Just hold the item with the teeth of the pliers and then wrap the handles with a small bungee, tape or rubber band. It#146;ll do the job just as well as the more expensive models if you don#146;t have them available.Do you have hang-ups?One place you can store some of your hand tools is overhead. Install large, heavy-duty hooks from the rafters of your garage or shed and hang your circular saw, leaf blower, chain saw and lots of other tools. They will be easy to reach but up and out of your way, freeing up shelves and cabinets for smaller tools that you probably use more often.Super hintsŸ Adding a fuel stabilizer to your mower gas can will keep your gas fresh longer. It#146;s easy to use and costs very little, and will keep your mower in good shape for the last part of the season.Ÿ Cedar fence pickets are great because they resist mold and can stand up to most weather for many years. They also have a great scent. Leftovers can be cut up into small pieces and used to scent clothes closets, trunks and even dresser drawers. Save that sawdust for the same thing and put it into bags made from discarded pantyhose.Ÿ Being #147;green#148; means using rags and sponges because they can be easily cleaned. Just throw them in the washing machine with your clothes to clean and sterilize them. You also can put some items into the dishwasher for the same results.Q. I know I#146;m supposed to use my bathroom vent to exhaust humidity after showering. But how long should you leave it on?A. That depends on how much air the exhaust fan removes, and that rating is located on the motor of the fan, which you might not be able to see. You want the humidity to be at about 40 percent, most of the time, in your home. You can install a gauge in the room if you want, or just leave it on for 15 or 20 minutes in most cases. You can install a timer switch to turn it off after a certain amount of time if you like. This will eliminate the need to remind yourself.Q. I have several tiles that have cracked in my bathroom. I want to replace them but am wondering if I might have a foundation problem to deal with first. What do you recommend?A. Have your foundation checked. Most foundation companies will do it for free. Get several evaluations. Also make sure to find out if the problem was caused by a water leak. After all, this is a bathroom, and it#146;s very common to have leaks in these areas. Look for a company that can detect leaks without having to drill into your slab. Good luck!Q. I have a glass cooktop range that is about 10 years old. It#146;s been used a great deal, but the past few years it has been looking a little dull, and there are some places that are really hard to clean. I don#146;t want to harm the surface but would rather clean it than have to replace it. Do you have any ideas or helpful hints?A. There are some great products available at your hardware store made just for cleaning these cooktop surfaces. Some come with a plastic scraper that is great for removing stubborn, cooked-on debris, and most will make the glass look brand new again. We#146;ve used them with great success, so give it a shot and see if it gives your range a new lease on life.Reader tipsŸ I keep my table saw clean and ready to use for projects when I find one I want to attempt. I love woodworking and have made several things for the house. The table and fence need to be smooth in order to get good, smooth cuts, so I put a little paste wax on them once in a while. This protects the surface and keeps the wood sailing along the surface. It really helps a lot, and it#146;s quick and easy to do.Ÿ Our trim was looking dull and dirty. I cleaned it really well, but it still needed to be touched up. I found a paint store that was able to find the exact trim paint that was used by the original builder. It matched perfectly. I was able to go around the house and paint all of the places that needed touch-ups. You can#146;t tell which walls I touched up and which ones I didn#146;t. The house looks a lot better now, and I have some left over to touch up the rest when they need it. Check your paint stores for this service. It sure saved me a lot of time and painting!Ÿ Our dog, Roger, is a large, hairy beast of a dog. He#146;s a great companion, but I have to work hard to keep him clean. I bathe him as often as he#146;ll let me, and I#146;ve learned to use hair conditioner after the shampoo. It#146;s not because I like the smell; it#146;s because it also seems to keep the fleas and ticks off him. I heard this from my vet a few years ago and have done it ever since. It does seem to work very well.Ÿ The last storm we had knocked out our power for about two days. We came up with some pretty creative ways to keep the lights on inside our house. We brought the solar lights from our backyard into the house to use. They lasted quite a while. The next morning, we opened up the drapes and put the lamps back outside to charge up again. When the power was still off the second evening, we brought them back inside and set them up around the house. I will be buying more to keep on hand should we have to go through this again. They did an amazing job for us.Ÿ I am unpacking sweaters and blankets that I put away last spring. Before packing them up, I washed them, putting mothballs into the rinse cycle to add the moth deterrent to the cloth to help keep them safe over the summer. It seems to have worked. I will have to wash or have these items cleaned to get the smell out, but they show no signs of bugs or moths. Thank goodness, since we won#146;t be buying new clothes this year.ShoptalkŸ Paint and primer in one is the new thing to look for in your paint departments. We#146;ve tried the house paint and the interior paints, and they actually work pretty well. Krylon has just come out with a spray version called Dual. Dual has the adhesion and hiding properties of a primer but gives you a smooth, beautiful paint finish. It comes in a variety of colors and can be used indoors and out. It is the perfect solution for wicker, glass, ceramic, wood and metal, and it even resists rust and corrosion. Use it on many projects around the house. To find more, visit www.krylon.com for details. Dual is available in hardware and discount stores as well as paint dealers and home centers.Ÿ Loctite Glass Glue is the only #147;super glue#148; formulated for bonding glass to other surfaces. Once cured, the bond is waterproof and heat resistant. That means that a broken wineglass can be washed in the dishwasher after you have made the repairs to it. It even will fill small gaps, and can be used in a standard and microwave oven. It dries clean and sets without clamping. Look for it at your hardware store or home center, and learn more at www.loctiteproducts.com.Ÿ Write to Al and Kelly Carrell in care of the Daily Herald, P.O. Box 280, Arlington Heights, IL 60006 or visit the Carrells#146; website at thesuperhandyman.com.$PHOTOCREDIT_ON$© 2011, Cowles Syndicate Inc.$PHOTOCREDIT_OFF$