A depressing question about flooring

[KJAG]

Awwww, she's adorable!

Thanks. Last week a homeless guy remarked to me, while drinking a Coors original ” it takes a certain type of dude to carry around a dog like that!” Fair enough bro. You got me.

Good job helping yours out, and maybe a photo of those floors.

 

[ntayler]

I replaced a carpeted portion of my downstairs with wood look tile when we moved. Great for the dogs and fish.

 

[InkedReefLady]

Before we installed our 300 gallon (on slab) we replaced the old, nasty carpet with a beautiful new waterproof/'scratch proof' flooring. It's exclusive to Home Depot and put out by Life Proof. It's PVC under laminate, but looks like wood with the grain.

Tank has only been up and running since the end of March. Only issue I have had is it did get a scratch when the movers moved the stand to get the tank on. My husband installed the floor. It's the click type.

I'd check that out. Not horribly expensive and good for folks like us. We also have dogs. Boy dogs......who like to get territorial even though they've been snipped. I've already cleaned up an 'accident' that I didn't know was there/dried on. So far, no smell/issue.

Good luck!

 

[SallyWho]

Here's a photo of the culprit, and an attempt at photos of the *slightly* raised edges in the kitchen by the fridge. As expected, I couldn't get my camera low enough to catch it, but to be fair, it's more noticeable by feel than it is by sight. The living room is even more subtle, probably because the piddle puddles are smaller and I get them cleaned up faster. As I said, any damage there is right now is very minimal and I'm probably overreacting, but this is my first home and will be my first reef tank, and I don't want to sabotage anything!

 

[SallyWho]

Dork. I didn't attach the pictures.

 

[Blizzahjh]

we ran into this at my old condo, new house new floors, we went vinyl plank, similar to laminate except WAY more durable. My dog likes to throw up after he drinks water too quickly and most floors would not last long like that, it barely phases the vinyl, i really suggest it.

when the laminate gets wet it starts to expand and will bow upwards at the seems, its not a good floor for water

 

[Philt56]

I did Adura vinyl plank also. Glued down. One manufacturer’s tech support said I should not put heavy weight on a tongue and groove floating floor. It will buckle or crack at the seams. He said it had to be glued.

 

[KJAG]

Dork. I didn't attach the pictures.

Well. The guy didn’t know what he was doing when he installed that floor. Cute dog by the way. Good on you for taking her in. I’m struggling to grasp how your seam split even with water damage. Water damage can warp the boards but typically won’t separate the seams, unless it’s not tongue and groove, which it probably is. He probably just didn’t tap the t&g together sufficiently like he should have. If it’s a floated floor, and it’s near the wall, you may be able to remove the baseboard, pull out some boards and tap in the boards properly as long as it’s not too compromised from damage.

 

[AquaART]

PERGO Outlast, that stuff is waterproof and looks pretty good. Ranges roughly $2.30-$2.90/ SqFt, cuts easily, realively stable, and easy to install.

I have engineered stranded bamboo in my bedroom from Home Depot, that stuff feels like steel. It’s lacqered in aluminum oxide based finish not only on top, but all the tounge, grooves and underside. Paid $2.29 SqFt and now want to install it the light the house.

 

[KJAG]

PERGO Outlast, that stuff is waterproof and looks pretty good. Ranges roughly $2.30-$2.90/ SqFt, cuts easily, realively stable, and easy to install.

I have engineered stranded bamboo in my bedroom from Home Depot, that stuff feels like steel. It’s lacqered in aluminum oxide based finish not only on top, but all the tounge, grooves and underside. Paid $2.29 SqFt and now want to install it the light the house.

Yeah. There’s plenty of ideal flooring options. OP clearly stated she isn’t going to be ripping out and re-doing the entire floor.

 

[SallyWho]

Well. The guy didn’t know what he was doing when he installed that floor. Cute dog by the way. Good on you for taking her in. I’m struggling to grasp how your seam split even with water damage. Water damage can warp the boards but typically won’t separate the seams, unless it’s not tongue and groove, which it probably is. He probably just didn’t tap the t&g together sufficiently like he should have. If it’s a floated floor, and it’s near the wall, you may be able to remove the baseboard, pull out some boards and tap in the boards properly as long as it’s not too compromised from damage.

Yeahhhh....the guy I bought the house from fancied himself a professional DIY'er. I guess he tried to save some money on the floors by doing them himself, knowing that he wouldn't be in the house long enough to watch it come undone. You should see the gaps around the corners and kitchen cabinets. The cosmetic factor doesn't bother me bad enough to fix it right away (too many other more immediate things needed fixing first), but if the function starts to suffer...

I'll probably ask a friend of mine- basically a contractor, with all the skills and experience he has- to come give the floors a look. He may be able to repair that worst bit by the fridge; it's only about 18" from the wall. Besides, he doesn't ask for money- I can pay him in cake! If I wind up replacing the floors, I doubt the installers will take food as payment! But I REEEAAALLLLLYYYYY don't want to tear everything up and replace it all. That's money and hassle I can't afford at the moment. Can you imagine having to stuff everything from the utility room, kitchen, living room, hallway, and two closet into other spaces, and because I work nights, I'd have to go find someplace else to sleep for a couple of days! Ugh. I'll be avoiding that by almost any means necessary.

 

[DHill6]

Any wood and water doesn't mix. We had new bamboo flooring, glued down to cement slab, plumber made a mistake, the 9 month old bamboo through out the house was removed by insurance company. They stated they couldn't be 100% positive that the replacement section would match. Went a different route with hickory wood flooring, has a sealed finish on it so spots wipe up good. With that being said, it's another wood product, if there's a flood, we'll be in the same situation again. I put a wool rug under the tank, any little bit of water doesn't penetrate it, works for me.

 

[HB AL]

With the floor you have two options, replace/repair or just let it be. As for the tank get it going, you'll forget about the floor

 

[SallyWho]

With the floor you have two options, replace/repair or just let it be. As for the tank get it going, you'll forget about the floor

LOL! With the floor supported from the crawlspace, I likely won't notice any sagging, and won't see any damage to the laminate until I move the tank for any reason! Surely by that time I'll have sorted out my dog and she won't be peeing inside anymore...surely. Actually, I was just thinking a few minutes ago if I should go ahead and order salt so I can get a QT tank cycling, but I think it's still a bit early yet. Electrician comes on Friday, and I still have to build the water mixing station drip tray (it's in the closet 6' away from the tank's spot...on wood laminate flooring, so I'm making a drip tray for it), the stand, and canopy; order the tank and overflow, permanently install the RODI....yeah, it's still a bit too early to get my QT cycling. But soon!

 

[HB AL]

Skip the QT, get the DT up and running, QT is overrated anyways, I haven't run one in 30+ years of doing this but I do buy all my fish from the same lfs all those years.

 

[SallyWho]

Skip the QT, get the DT up and running, QT is overrated anyways, I haven't run one in 30+ years of doing this but I do buy all my fish from the same lfs all those years.

Nah, I'm going to go the QT route. I'm not lucky enough to dodge parasitical bullets! I'm sure it'll pay for itself over time. There is a local LFS here in town, but it's small and I don't know that I'll be able to count on her always having what I want, and no guarantees that she can get them from the same supplier (assuming her suppliers are reputable). So I'm going to act with an overabundance of caution, because I'm not lucky enough to be okay without it, and not rich enough to keep starting over! LOL! Seriously, if it weren't for bad luck, I'd have no luck at all.

 

[KJAG]

Skip the QT, get the DT up and running, QT is overrated anyways, I haven't run one in 30+ years of doing this but I do buy all my fish from the same lfs all those years.

Terrible advice.

 

[FizxVix3n]

Yeah, it's fortunately not the roof! I just got that sucker replaced 6 weeks ago, and I still find puddles in the living room when I get home from work. The little stinker.

Just a heads up (from my experience of adopting multiple senior dogs) baby diapers with a hole cut for the tail work the best. Pampers even have a yellow line that turns blue when wet so you know if they are even a bit damp, they were best received by my gals and everyone was happy. Good luck!

 

[kp1991]

Definently hold off on that build until your floors are done itll be hell to do floors after a tank install not to mention the stress on the system trying relocate unless you design and engineer casters into your cabinet imo thatd be a good idea

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[Idaho-reefer]

Not only will the seams swell with water, if it’s a floating laminate floor the tank weight on it will prevent the floor from naturally expanding and contacting. Which translates into all the seams around your tank buckling without even adding the water aspect. After dealing with cheap laminate floor I can speak from experience. Change the flooring first at least under tank.