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.
