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The Importance of Decorating your House in 2013

Filed Under: Design

Home design is constantly developing. Every year a lot of new decorating ideas come about and we have the opportunity to draw inspiration from many innovative, smart tips to decorate the place where we live according to our exigencies.

As the trends change, home furniture is improved according to new interior design standards, so we can, for example, replace some cabinets with the latest model of combined furniture and experience a new way to live our living room. Every year is a very good occasion to plan a home decoration and it can be done efficiently just having a look at the latest design trends and tips.

This year too we can benefit from plenty of decorating ideas that can help us to decorate our home in an effective way. It’s important in order to not just make a random choice of the furniture.

Decorating your home is not about that. Home decoration is not only a matter of replacing an old piece of furniture with a new one. Planning your home decoration is an opportunity to decide how much you are going to enjoy your house environment. Pushing the furniture on the wall, for example, and put a table in the centre of the room, is just one of the thousands of ways to decorate the room and it might not be the most effective one.

Every home decoration project is aimed to determine the room atmosphere according to the latest design trends. In 2013 home decoration ideas are aimed to create an open feel. Spacious, light-filled rooms are gaining favour and can be effectively decorated with minimalist modern furniture, which is still on high demand and can be used to decorate every room in the house. This style of furniture is also a good match for small, cosy spaces and a very good idea to improve their look. According to the latest home decorating trends, small, compact rooms are becoming a frequent choice. Many opt for compact home offices. Corner furniture is an effective way to decorate small rooms and can be a very good solution for your home decoration in 2013.

The always enhancing design industry offer us every year a wide range of innovative and stylish solutions for our home decoration, all aimed to significantly improve the house environment in order to make it more functional and spacious. By following 2013 new design tips you can learn a new way of doing it.

West London painters and decorators from Decorwise provide tailored decorating services for home and business owners.

Garage Vinyl Tile Flooring

Filed Under: Information

When thinking about garage flooring options, the main requirements are for a material that is water, flame and stain resistant, slip-proof and durable even in the semi-outdoor conditions of a garage. Vinyl garage floor tiles are a cheap and easy way to fulfil all those requirements, and they also allow the homeowner to be creative and give the garage its own personal twist. Garage vinyl flooring is not your delicate domestic vinyl, though. To be able to endure the heavy usage expected of garage use, industrial vinyl flooring that is manufacturer to be extra resilient is the best alternative.

Domestic Vinyl Flooring tiles are made of three layers: a felt or fiberglass backing that can be glued to the substrate, a vinyl filler and a texture or pattern layer which gives vinyl its looks. On top of the design layer, which is very thin, there is often a protective layer of clear acrylic sealant, which makes vinyl resistant to stains and water and can be treated to be resilient to scratches. However, this treatment is not enough for the features required of garage vinyl flooring.

Vinyl garage floor tiles don’t have a pretty design layer. Instead, they are made from a single thick sheet of polyvinyl, treated to be slip resistant and extremely durable. Garage vinyl flooring can be purchased as a sheet that can be rolled over the existing concrete floor, or interlocking tiles that are more difficult to install but often provide a better visual appeal.

Benefits of Vinyl Garage Floor Tiles

The main benefit of installing vinyl tile flooring on your garage is that is non-porous and as such it won’t be affected by anti-freeze fluids, battery acid or even road salt brought in by the car wheels. Vinyl tile flooring for garages is also designed to be easy to install, and doesn’t require glue. Instead, it is simply laid over the existing garage floor and can be removed as necessary to either replace broken tiles or to clean it using a hose. There are many different finishes available, of which anti-slip is probably the most popular one. Industrial vinyl flooring doesn’t come with a decorative layer, so the patterns available are limited, however you can buy it in many different colours.

Disadvantages of Garage Vinyl Tile

The main disadvantage of garage vinyl tile flooring is the chemicals involved to make it resilient, fire-resistant and slip-proof. Some of them, such as cadmium and lead, are known toxics and associated with a higher risk of cancer. Paraffin, also in garage vinyl tile as fire retardant, is also a known toxic and there have been accusations that the chemicals used to make PVC flexible and suitable as garage flooring have caused asthma, obesity or even insulin resistant diabetes. While this is probably not a major concern for somebody who only uses the garage to store items and vehicles, it may be an issue if you expect to spend more time there, such as those using the garage as a workshop. Research your garage vinyl tile flooring options thoroughly and look for those with an acceptable level of potential toxic chemicals even if they are marginally more expensive.

Pros and Cons of Wood Plank Vinyl Flooring

Filed Under: Information

Vinyl wood planks are a hybrid between vinyl sheet flooring and pell and stick vinyl square tiles. Resilient as the first, but as easy to install as the second, it also avoid the checkerboard effect vinyl tiles can produce. Wood plank vinyl flooring has a similar format to hardwood laminate flooring, and comes as planks joined together with a tongue and groove cut. Each vinyl flooring wood plank is joined to the others using a click mechanism, and so the surface is much smoother and you don’t need to use vinyl glue to install, making it perfect for quick jobs.

One of the major benefits of wood plank vinyl flooring is the ease of installation and removal. The installation system is also very similar: vinyl wood planks are backed with a rubberized material that extends past the long edge on one side of the plank. This extension is treated with vinyl plank glue so it’s sticky. When you install vinyl plank flooring each plank is laid down overlapping that sticky bit of rubber, creating a staggered texture and a smoother surface. Unlike vinyl tiles, vinyl planks aren’t glued to the subfloor, removal is also easy and doesn’t require the use of glue solvents or other toxic substances to remove the leftover adhesive residue.

Wood vinyl flooring planks get that name because they look like hardwood, and have a similar texture but finding vinyl wood floor planks that can fool somebody into thinking they are real thing can be an expensive challenge. While the pattern may look like hardwood, it still has a plastic sheen to it that is difficult to hide. It comes in a large variety of colours and patterns, resembling all styles of wood, from oak and beech to exotic woods. But it also can be made to look like stone, marble or any other material imaginable. That makes it extremely versatile and suitable for a variety of home decoration projects.

Floating vinyl plank flooring is very durable. Is water resistant, and it won’t chip or warp when properly installed, which makes it extremely valuable for households that have pets or small children. However, the acrylic coating will scratch with normal foot traffic, and after a few months you may start noticing a fine web of scratch marks. You can solve this by using suitable products designed to restore vinyl coating but if you are after a long lasting floor that can endure heavy usage you may prefer to install laminate or hardwood flooring instead. You can reduce the damage by avoiding using outdoor shoes indoors, and sweeping regularly.

Vinyl wood flooring planks are perfect for children’s rooms and task oriented rooms, as the feeling under the feet is much softer than laminate or hardwood and it also has good sound-reduction capabilities. Unlike stone, it has a warm feel to it, which makes bathroom vinyl flooring a very sought after offer as it is a room where you want a floor that is warm and comfortable on naked feet, but wouldn’t install wood due to the risk of water damage. They are also easy to install and remove, and cheap enough that remodelling the floor as your need change over the years is affordable. However, it is not hardwood, and it shows.

The primary disadvantage of wood plank vinyl flooring is just that, the fact that is vinyl and not hardwood. It looks like vinyl, though some luxury versions have their own beauty and can pass for laminate flooring easily. Vinyl is also not suitable for high traffic areas, because it will soon get noticeably scratched, unless you invest on extra-durable vinyl that is coated with a hard wearing protective layer, usually designed for commercial spaces and schools.

Before installing floating vinyl plank flooring, weigh the pros and cons and consider the usage you want to give that new room. Ask for samples and shop around until you find the right texture and pattern that suits your home decoration at a price you are happy to pay. While wood plank vinyl flooring is durable and has its own style of beauty, if you are after a floor that closely imitates hardwood you may feel disappointed after you install it.

Installing Vinyl Tiles With Grout

Filed Under: DIY Installation

If you are after a flexible self-adhesive tile that is sealed like a ceramic tile floor, installing vinyl tiles with grout gives you the perfect alternative to more costly natural stone or ceramic flooring. However, grouting vinyl tile is totally different from grouting ceramic or natural stone tiles for several reasons. To start with, groutable vinyl tile flooring uses an acrylic based grout instead of traditional cement-based products. Groutable vinyl floor tiles are also thinner, so the joints will be shallower. Installed properly, grout vinyl tile flooring can offer you years of service and look great with minimal expense.

Lay Down the Vinyl Tiles

To lay down vinyl tiles with grout the first step is placing them on the area where they will be installed, paying careful attention to the joints. Groutable vinyl floor tiles come in different styles, but the majority will have either rounded edges or bevelled edged. If your grout vinyl tile flooring has rounded edges, you will need to space them as you would ceramic tiles. Otherwise, they need to touch each other and the grout will be placed right above the joint. You may need to cut some tiles to fit the edges of the floor. If you already know how to install vinyl floors, the procedure is exactly the same at this point.

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Attach the Tiles To The Subfloor

If you are using peel and stick vinyl tile squares you will need to remove the backing and glue them to the floor. For non adhesive vinyl tiles you will need to use vinyl floor tile adhesive to make sure they are perfectly glued to the floor. The floor needs to be perfectly clean and flat in order for the vinyl to stick. If the floor isn’t dry or clean enough, or the surface is not even, the tiles will lift up and you will need to glue them again. Use a vinyl tile roller to make sure there are no bubbles and the tiles stick to the floor. You will need to leave the vinyl tile adhesive to dry for a few hours, usually overnight, but check out your manufacturer’s instructions.

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Installing Vinyl Tiles With Grout

So far, installing vinyl tiles with grout is not very different from installing normal vinyl tiles. So the next step after the tile adhesive is dry is actually grouting your new vinyl floor. You will need to mix the grout following the manufacturer’s instructions, and scoop a bit of it with a grout float. Place the grout on the joints of your groutable vinyl floor tiles and drag it carefully, making sure to cover the joint while remaining level with the tiles. Start with a small amount of grout to avoid making a mess and remember you will need much less grout than if you were installing ceramic tiles.

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Once your new groutable vinyl tile flooring is done, you will need to use a damp grout sponge to wipe the tiles and shape the grout lines. However, you will need to be extra careful because the grout joints at this point are very shallow and you could just wash out the entire thing and would need to start again. Once you are done, you will need to wait between 24 to 48 hours before walking on the floor to give time for the vinyl tile grout to dry, and then it’s time to enjoy your new grouting vinyl tile flooring.

Installing Vinyl Over Vinyl Sheets

Filed Under: DIY Installation

Vinyl tiles are an easy and affordable way of giving a room a totally new look. They are easier to install than vinyl sheets, and if you are not very experienced at DIY they are definitely the best option. But if you already have a vinyl floor, a common concern is whether installing vinyl over vinyl sheets is possible. In most cases, installing over sheet vinyl is possible, but you will need to prepare the floor correctly.

Is The Old Floor Lifting Up?

First of all you will need to check out the conservation status of your existing vinyl flooring. The most important thing to look at is whether it’s perfectly bonded to the subfloor. Old vinyl flooring in need of maintenance often shows signs of lifting from the subfloor, and will need some vinyl flooring repair in order to install vinyl tiles on top. Use vinyl flooring glue and wait a few days to see if the old vinyl flooring lifts again. If it does, removing vinyl floor with a knife may be easier than installing over vinyl flooring that is in such bad shape.

Are There Marks Or Deep Scratches?

If the existing vinyl flooring has cuts, holes or deep scratches, those imperfections will make installing vinyl over vinyl difficult and will need to be fixed before continuing. If there is a lot of damage you may be better off removing the old floor and preparing the subfloor for laying vinyl floor directly on top of it. If the imperfections are minor, you can fix them using a self-levelling embossing solution to fill the holes, and make sure the entire floor is perfectly flat.

Installing Vinyl Tile Over Existing Vinyl Floor

In order to install your new vinyl luxury tile you will need the floor to be perfectly clean and flat. Start with using a good floor cleaning liquid, but avoid those that have wax or give a glossy finish. Use a clean mop, and change the water as soon as it gets dirty. You need a really spotless surface for the self adhesive vinyl tiles to stick properly. Dry the floor using towels, and make sure there is no soap residue at all. Leave the floor to dry (and make sure you don’t step on it with dirty feet) and apply a coat of vinyl primer on the vinyl sheeting to improve the adhesive effects. Once the primer is dry it’s time to lay your new vinyl flooring on top of the old one.

If you are using vinyl tile squares it’s better to start in the middle of the room and move outwards towards the walls, so if you need to cut any tile it’s only one that is close to the wall. Be careful when cutting vinyl flooring over existing vinyl, as you could make a hole that would need to be fixed before you can install the tiles. Depending on the size of the room, this work can take less than a day. Just make sure you are very careful and align each tile perfectly with the ones next to it so the effect is of a professional vinyl tile installation over your old vinyl sheet flooring.