How To Lay Lino When Renovating and Renting Or Renting Out

Laying carpet and lino is easy. Easier than you might think.

I watched the carpet layers. Roll it out along the edge of the room. Get out a Stanley knife and cut.

Fasten the sides and under-door strips with the metal strips sold for that purpose.

The fastening strips have upright spikes to grip the underside of the carpet. Three holes for nails or screws allow the strip to be attached to the floor.

Should you lay new lino over old?  One person says, "That's amateur." I disagree.

You are sure of a soundproof and soft undersurface.

Rip it up, and you may find it is attached with glue so you spend hours trying to remove it and get lumps left behind.

To flatten the floor you would have to hire a heavy machine which could damage your doorways, steps, cupboards, bathroom fittings.

How to fit around bathroom fittings? Easiest is to use carpet tiles or line tiles. Take a piee of newspaper and draw around the baths and basins on the reverse. Cut to fit and adjust your pattern. use the pattern to transfer the lines to the underside of the carpet. Be sure any mirror image pieces are the right way around.

Add bathroom mats to conceal any gaps and be sure drips are caught by the mats or carpet and not forming mould.

Or should you rip lino up and start again - doubling the price?

If you have read my previous posts on laying driveways and carpet, you will know I am suspicious of any attempt to double the price after the work has started. I also don't like the damage and dust.

Which Colour - Light Or Dark?
What of the colour? Colours go in fashions.

The current fashion is for dark colours. Grey granite wet rooms. Dark tiles.

I hate them. I have great wall tiles and grey bathroom tiles in Singapore. The place always looks like it has mould. You never know if it is clean.

Grey is depressing, the least popular colour is many surveys. I like white.

Clean white. Hospital white. Healthy white.

Clean Cups?
I learned long ago that you can see if your tea cup or coffee cup is clean if it is white. Brown or grey inside a cup or mug is a disaster, a health risk.

Carpeted Bathroom?
In London I wanted to use spare carpet for the bathroom. What with men and boys not aiming at the toilet, or dripping, children splashing in the bath. The flat dwellers did not like that idea. They thought lino would keep cleaner and be quicker to clean.

Advantage of carpet? Lee likely to break a dropped glass tumbler used for leaning teeth. Less likely to slip and fall - good for the elderly and children. If you do fall, a soft landing. Warm underfoot at night or day.

HELP!
Big DIY stores have leaflets you can consult whilst working. The YouTube videos train you and tell you what you need to buy. You might not have thought of knee pads. Or testing for damp on the floor, or turning off the bathroom heating the day before.

Wash the floor the day before - and the toilet as you will be kneeling next to it.

Many people comment that, unless you are a hospital, no need to glue down all the vinyl. Also it is easier to remove later if you do not glue it all over. Just use the double-sided tape at the edge.

You might need either a buddy or a stick to help unroll a long sheet of vinyl.

In Singapore in the bedrooms and living areas we have vinyl imitation wood tiles - long oblongs like planks, which slot together. Near doorways they slide apart and leave gaps. You would get around the problem of gaps by having a one piece imitation wood roll of lino.

B & Q UK has this helpful video
UK Video on Laying Lino in Bathroom
(Most of what they show applies anywhere.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDUD36VPD_U
diy.com

American Video On Laying Lino I Kitchen
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BO3k9j1Q3c
Apart from the accent being American, the only other difference is that the names of the stores mentioned in the comments are American.

What to buy:
Vinyl large enough for room with a little edge
sealant +
+ edging strip
knee pads
knife
backed tape
silicone seal
spray ?
washing up liquid
working gloves
hammer (to hit any protruding nails)

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.

CARPET WOES

Carpet price
We get an initial estimate for carpet from John Lewis. Very high.

If you want a long-lasting good quality carpet, and have the budget, I would go for John Lewis.

However, if the tenants won't know, won't appreciate it, won't look after it, and you have to replace it because it is damaged or you need new carpet to compete with other new build properties in the area, go for a cheaper chain such as Tapi carpets, or a little local family-run business if you get a recommendation.

We get a lower estimate from elsewhere.

Fitting Price
After we pay for the carpet, not at the same time, we get a second bill for fitting. Now too late to change the order.

Furniture Shifting Price
We pay extra for the company to shift furniture.

They turn up and complain they were told there wasn't much furniture but there is a lot.
The company says I must pay the carpet fitters and the carpet company will repay the difference.

Contact With Sub-contractors
Because of data protection, nowadays you can't in the UK get the mobile of the carpet fitter or the inventory checker, because of data protection.

I think the company should give every person acting on their behalf a pay as you go system or pager.

Dust
I was not warned about dust. When the old carpet is pulled up, dust goes everywhere. All over the new paint. All over the bedding and curtains. Over small items such as table lamps.

I rush around moving things out.

 I open the sliding doors and windows.

The movers have their own vacuum cleaner, which is good. But they only do the floor, not the furniture covered by dust.

They leave with the bedroom furniture in the en suite bathroom, as I discover later.

I ask for the spare carpet to be left. One small piece covers the inside of a wardrobe.
The spare piece is too heavy for me to lift. It could be used to carpet another small room.

The new carpet prevents the front door opening and shutting. They say I now have to have the bottom cut off the door. I don't think I am allowed to do that, in case it damages the appearance of the communal area. I would rather wait for the carpet to settle, or try to adjust the door hinges if their is a slight gap at the top.

A wood-look synthetic flooring would have been cheaper and not obstructed the door. However, the lease will not allow floors of wood, granite etc to minimise noise to adjacent flats or those above and below.

But the imitation wood also has problems. See next post.

However, look on the bright side. The new carpet looks terrific. The spare piece solves the problem of the wardrobe elsewhere.
(Photos will be added later.)

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. Please share links to your favourite posts.

  

Cleaning A Suitcase And Backpack

Problem
A backpack is grimy.

Answer
Wipe it off with Jif (Cif in some countries) and a kitchen sponge and if necessary the plastic on the reverse.

Story
I wiped off the outside of a backpack. I decided to do the same to all the family suitcases. Even wiping the dust was an improvement. The luggage (Americans would say baggage) looked and felt cleaner.

Tips
Your suitcases and checked in luggage gets dirty all over when lying flat and tossed about on the carousel. some people think you are less likely to be robbed if your luggage looks old. You still need to wipe it off so the dust and dirt does not get on your hands and clothes.

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.