When you are remodeling your house and you don’t protect your floor, sometimes it can make the job bigger than it needs to be. When you are finished and everything is done, suddenly you realize you have to redo the floor as well because of damage. You might find lumps of plaster or concrete glued to your wooden floor or, even worse, embedded in your carpet. We have all seen it in DIY paint jobs with friends and family, where they were painting the walls, there is suddenly dried paint over the carpet and the edges around the room. You could have rips and grooves torn in the floor when workers move equipment in and through the house. This is one of those issues that is easy to fix with just a little forethought. The easiest way is to put down some flooring protection. We have written out a couple of different things you can use and some things to watch out for. They are as follows.
Plastic film for carpets
Carpet, unfortunately, is one of the easiest things to ruin. If you get too much dust and debris down in the roots or the shaft of the carpet, it can be almost impossible to get out. Use carpet protection film. After your renovation, you really should use a HEPA vacuum cleaner, something that can pull out the smallest of particles, to fully clean the carpet of any small debris. You only want to do that after you have already protected your carpet with plastic film. The plastic film is a bit like a saran wrap that sticks to carpeting. You can lay it down or top the carpeting and protect it from dust and other things that may fall on it and ruin it. It also works well for differently shaped areas such as stairs, as it will just stick to the carpet over the twists and turns. Plastic film will actually give the carpet more traction as well, so there’s less chance of a slip during the renovation.
Paper coverings
Craft paper or rosin paper is a heavy duty paper that you can roll out over the floor surface and tape down with non-residue tape such as painters tape or masking tape. This covering is better used on hard surfaces as it can easily tear on softer surfaces such as carpet. There are also reinforced papers that you can use. These papers have a moisture barrier on the bottom that can protect from spills such as paint or any other liquid. This will give you a time to clean it up without its seeping through. Many people try to use newspaper; however, newspaper is not appropriate for protection in any home renovations. Newspaper is made from the cheapest possible paper which tears very easily. You are better starting with a thicker paper and use a paper that is made for the purpose.
Ram board
Ram board is it for heavy protection. Ram board is generally made from recycled fibers and constructed in a way to make it gas permeable. You can use this as a much higher level of protection on your floor. Ram board is a reusable and very heavy duty. It is made with a special kind of process which allows the vapors from a newly installed floor below it to pass through. This allows you to walk on the new floor while it is still curing and keep it safe.
Corrugated plastic
Corrugated plastic is also a heavy-duty floor protection. This is best used for areas with a more fragile floor, such as tile, marble, or an unfinished wood floor. Dropping a tool on one of these floors may crack or shatter a tile, or marble surface, and make it almost impossible to fix without having to replace that area.
Sticky mats
Not exactly a floor covering, sticky mats still protect your floors. They are a large sticky mat that you would put near all the doorways. As you walk on them, the sticky surface will remove dust and particles from your shoes. There is less chance of your shoes grinding in a small stone you have tracked into the house and into that floor surface. We would not rely on these alone but they are definitely something good to add to the arsenal of keeping it all clean.
If you going to be doing the renovation yourself or you are going to hire a contractor to do it, it is still in very good idea to make sure that everyone understands that all the floor services are to be covered and protected. This protection also extends to other delicate items such as banisters, balustrades, or any wainscoting and might be showing. You get the idea. We wish you the best of luck with your renovation and we hope one of our ideas has saved you some heartache in the future. Good luck with that renovation and may it go smoothly.
