Treadmills, with their heavy weight, moving parts and vibrations, pose possible risks to your flooring when used in your home. While you have the option to test the treadmill in the showroom to determine if it has any effect on the flooring underneath it, few may think of it. The real test comes when you get it home and set it on your own flooring. Most flooring types benefit from some protection from your treadmill. Moving your treadmill or placing your treadmill in its permanent position without protection underneath it may cause permanent damage to your hard or carpeted floors. While most treadmill owner's manuals specify you should use a mat underneath your treadmill, they do not address the potential damage a treadmill could cause to your flooring. Preferably place the treadmill on a hard concrete floor, usually located in your home's basement. If using the treadmill on a main floor, use a heavy duty rug, mat, heavy cardboard piece of plywood underneath the treadmill. Exercise equipment retailers also sell mats specifically for placing underneath treadmills.

When moving your treadmill, lift it up completely from the floor with the assistance of another person. Pushing the machine across the floor may snag carpet or cause scratches or gouges in hard floors. If your treadmill has wheels for transporting, lift the machine up from the rear until the wheels touch the floor. Wheel your treadmill carefully to the desired location, watching to make sure the wheels do not make any marks or cause damage to the floor.Cabin With Hot Tub Minnesota Most treadmill manufacturers do not reimburse you for damage caused to your flooring when using their treadmill. Chinese Crested Hairless Puppies For Sale In IllinoisIf you notice damage occurring to your floor, return it to the store for a refund if within the specified return time frame or take measures to prevent further damage to your floor immediately.Toilet Paper Dispenser With Radio

To speak to a qualified representative about your concerns involving your treadmill and if it may cause damage to your floors, contact your manufacturer's customer service department. They will further advise you on how to prevent damage to your floors when using your treadmill.Learn how to lay laminate flooring with snap-together wood. It's so easy to install that you can lay a beautiful, yet durable hardwood floor in a weekend—no messy glue and no heavy nailing. It's prefinished too, so no dusty sanding and painstaking finish work. In this article we'll show you how to prepare your floor and then lay the boards. It's the perfect project for the novice who has some simple carpentry skills. Learn how to lay laminate flooring with snap-together wood. Buying advice and the tools you need The flooring we're using is similar to snap-together plastic laminate floors except that it has a surface layer of real wood. The 5/16-in. thick flooring has specially shaped tongues and grooves that interlock to form a strong tight joint without glue or nails.

Once assembled, the entire floor “floats” in one large sheet. You leave a small expansion space all around the edges so the floor can expand and contract with humidity changes. The cost of wood veneer floors (often called engineered wood floors) varies, depending on the species and thickness of the top wood layer. Most home centers sell a few types of snap-together floors but you'll find a better selection and expert advice at your local flooring retailer. You can also buy flooring on-line. Before you go shopping, draw a sketch of your room with dimensions. Make note of transitions to other types of flooring and other features like stair landings and exterior doors. Ask your salesperson for help choosing the right transition moldings for these areas. You'll need a few special tools in addition to basic hand tools like a tape measure, square and utility knife. We purchased an installation kit from the manufacturer that included plastic shims, a tapping block and a last-board puller, but if you're handy you could fabricate these tools.

A pull saw works great to undercut doorjambs and casing (Photo 3). It's difficult to get close enough to the floor with a standard handsaw. You'll also need a circular saw and a jigsaw to cut the flooring, and a miter box to cut the shoe molding. A table saw and power miter saw would make your job easier but aren't necessary. Prep the room for the new flooring Make sure your floor is dry. Don't lay this type of floor over damp concrete or damp crawlspaces. Check all concrete for excess moisture. As a starting point, use the plastic mat test shown in Photo 1. Even though some manufacturers allow it, professional installers we spoke to advised against installing floating floors in kitchens, full or three-quarter baths, or entryways, all areas where they might be subjected to standing water. Then prepare your room for the new flooring. You have to make sure the existing floor is smooth and flat before installing a floating floor overtop. Clear the old floor, then smooth it by scraping off lumps and sweeping it.

If you have wood floors, now's the time to fix squeaks and tighten loose boards by screwing them to the joists with deck screws. Check the floor with an 8-ft. straightedge and mark high spots and depressions. Sand or grind down ridges and fill low spots (Photo 2). Most manufacturers recommend no more than 1/8-in. variation in flatness over an 8-ft. length. Allowing the floor to expand and contract freely is critical. Leave at least a 3/8-in. expansion space along the edges. You can hide the gap under the baseboards or leave the baseboards in place and cover the gap with base shoe molding or quarter round as we did. Cover the expansion space at openings or transitions to other types of flooring with special transition moldings (Photo 13). Buy these from the dealer. Finally, saw off the bottoms of doorjambs and trim to allow for the flooring to slide underneath (Photo 3). Leaving an expansion gap at exterior doors presents a unique challenge. In older houses, you could carefully remove the threshold and notch it to allow the flooring to slide underneath.

For most newer exterior doors, you can butt a square-nosed transition piece against the threshold. Follow these simple installation techniques Floating floors must be installed over a thin cushioning pad called underlayment (Photo 5). Underlayment is usually sold in rolls. Ask your flooring dealer to suggest the best one for your situation. Some types combine a vapor barrier and padding. Install this type over concrete or other floors where moisture might be a problem. Others reduce sound transmission. Take extra care when installing underlayment that includes a vapor barrier. Lap the edges up the wall and carefully seal all the seams as recommended by the manufacturer. Keep a roll of tape handy to patch accidental rips and tears as you install the floor. You may have to cut your first row of flooring narrower to make sure the last row is at least 2 in. wide. To figure this, measure across the room and divide by the width of the exposed face on the flooring. The number remaining is the width of the last row.