(I put this under "construction" because I couldn't find any header about "do-it-yourself decorating".)

I plan to have NO carpeting in the house. I have a bedroom that has plywood on the floor, and that isn't a problem EXCEPT that whoever laid it used nails with large heads. What I'd really like to do is lay pretty wallpaper on the floor, and then cover with lots of urethane so it has a tough surface.

But what do I do about the nails? It would take forever to punch them down with a nail set, and then I'd have dimples. Would it be feasible to put down a coat of urethane, then the wallpaper, and then more urethane? In other words, what would be a good base for the wallpaper, so that the nailheads wouldn't show through eventually? Or am I just crazy to want to try this???

I know there are some articles in the archives about unusual floor coverings, but I can't find them - are they under "construction" or what?? I tried the "control/F" thing, but didn't find anything.

Sure could use some hints and tips!! Thanks!

-- Bonnie (51940@aeroinc.net), April 03, 2002

Answers

Seems like an awful lot of work to me, not to mention having to stay out of the room 'til it's dry after every coat of urethane....

Is there some reason you don't want to do vinyl tile or linoleum? Yes, they cost some money, but your time is worth money too....

-- GT (nospam@nospam.com), April 03, 2002.

This thread was in the uncatgorized threads.

click here

Hope that works and is what you were looking for :>)

-- diane (gardiacaprines@yahoo.com), April 03, 2002.

Well, for some reason the link didn't work. Sorry.........go to the listing of threads uncategorized and go way down to "need creative idea for cheap flooring"

-- diane (gardiacaprines@yahoo.com), April 03, 2002.

wallpaer on the floor,, wouldnt last long, even with poly U. IF you still want to go that route,, lay a subflooring, that get glued down, ,then use the wallpaper

-- Stan (sopal@net-pert.com), April 03, 2002.

Lay a launa subfloor, Its a thin sheet of plywood. Glue it down to the floor then put whatever you want over the top. I would suggest not using wallpaper, it will not last to being walked on and will be a mess to get up. Most baths are pretty small. Some odd/lot vinyl squares are pretty cheap and will last.

-- Gary (gws@columbus.rr.com), April 03, 2002.

People at the lumberyard thought I was nuts but I did this about 5 years ago and its worn real well. I bought sheets of Textured Hardboard Siding : it comes in 4 x 8 sheets, textured and scored to look like rough boards and its primed gray and about 7/16 inches thick. I laid it out to look like random floor boards, glued it down over the old linoleum with building adhesive and a few nails. Most of the joins fall under the bed and you dont even see them. I stained it all a nice honey brown color and couple coats of old style varnish over that to fill in a bit of the texture. I've got 4 big dogs who run in and out of the room all the time as the doggy door is in the room and the floor has worn really well. I can wash it with a wet mop and it looks great. Lowes sells the 4 x 8 sheets for about 17 dollars but I bet you could find them cheaper. Frankly, most people can't believe its not an old board floor. Give it a try. Its a lot faster and easier than laying flooring. Good luck.

Mark

-- mark chenail (chenail@uiuc.edu), April 03, 2002.

As mentioned above the urethane would not last ,but I have seen clear epoxy coatings on floors which are very durable and would still show the wallpapper underneath.My sister put pictures of her family underneath a coating of epoxy on bar they had built and it come out beatiful.I don't know how much the epoxy coatings are but it wouldnt hurt to check into it(hardware store),if youre dead set on doing the wallpaper.Good luck Dave (central WI)

-- Dave (duckthis1@mybogusemail.com), April 03, 2002.

Mark, do you mean Hardee plank? fiber cement? What a cool idea!

-- Rose (open_rose@hotmail.com), April 03, 2002.

Bonnie, About 3 years ago I decided that my kitchen floor was a mess and I wanted a change. It was old kitchen flooring that was torn in places and stained in others. I didn't want to pull the old up so I left it. I used 1/2 inch maskin tape and taped out squares on the floor then I used texterized paint to fill in the squares. When dry carefully pull the tape off. Next I used colored paint ( I used only one color for the entire floor) and put down 2 coats. After the paint dries completely put down your urethane. I used minwax fast drying. I put down 4 coats of this. This took me about 3 days to complete. You can walk on each layer after it completely dries with socks on your feet. But not too much. Remember to sand between layers of urethane. People can't believe that my floor is painted! After 3 years it does need to be coated with urethane again. All I plan on doing is cleaning the floor real good and apply. I don't remember the total cost but it wasn't much. I do remember it took 1 five gal. bucket of text. paint plus an extra gallon. Using the text. paint should take care of covering your nails too. Good luck. Michelle

-- Michelle Thomas (mpthomas83@hotmail.com), April 03, 2002.

Rose:

well up here its called textured hardboard and frankly it looks like cardboard impregnated with cement....so maybe cement board is what you call it.....You see it all over the place in most lumberyards. I know the idea sounds crazy but it works and looks fine. I dont know how it would hold up under really really heavy traffic but my dogs with long nails rampage back and forth all day and no scratches at all. Its ideal for bedrooms where you dont get a lot of traffic.

Mark

-- mark chenail (chenail@uiuc.edu), April 03, 2002.

We went into an antique store once and they had a urethaned plywood floor that was beautiful. Have you thought about that? We also, ten years ago, redid a whole house in carsiding turned upside down. It was very reasonable then. Don't know what it would cost now. Also you can get pine 1 by 6's. Don't let anyone tell you that it won't hold up, because we just recently went back to see our old place and the floor looked great after ten years!

-- Kathi in Mo. (rrubyacres@excite.com), April 03, 2002.

Years ago knew a women who put plywood down on her floors painted them and then used stencils to decorate them. Looked pretty good I thought. Don't know how long they lasted but I'm sure the cost wasn't much. I would probably go with the title too. Good Luck !!

-- Helena (windyacs@npacc.net), April 03, 2002.

I was about to suggest the stencils too. An old idea - say a century old. Stencil a carpet (like a Persian rug) on the floor, leaving some wood showing around the edges. Then seal with polyurethane. More time in the thinking and the preparation than the doing. Better to get the nail heads definitely below the surface - that way the paint won't wear off them, and the poly will fill the holes. Should't take long to punch nails once the room's clear - just crawl around feeling the nails, and punch any that might be sticking up.

-- Don Armstrong (darmst@yahoo.com.au), April 03, 2002.

If you are set on your posted Idea, I would suggest you either punch down the nails and use wood putty to fill in the dimples or lay luan board. It is about 4 dollars a sheet here and works great.

SOmeone mentioned hardee plank, We used that on the house we had built , and It is great stuff. I could see where it would be good for the floor. Its also great for concrete forms, as my hubby is building a sidewalk for his parents and used the extras we had for the forms to save money, they worked out great , because they were moldable ( ie, she wanted a curved sidewalk instead of squared corners.).

I dont think the poly u would hold up. ( just my opinion). Happy flooring..... Kristean in Indiana.

-- Kristean Thompson (pigalena_babe@yahoo.com), April 03, 2002.

www.royaldesignstudio.com

You might want to visit this site, excellent quality stencils and wonderful ideas, I am on their mailing list also. I agree that stenciling and varnish with lots of sanding are probably going to give you the best results. They also have a question forum, with wonderful folks on their! I have wallpapered alot, both for us and for cutomers, I can tell you that laying it on a floor is not going to be easy, especially a rough surface like plywood, every seam, every wrinkle, is going to look horrible. On an uneven surface on a wall we would lay an underlayment, this is going to be alot of work on a floor! With color blocking or stencils you could use the imperfections like the nails and seams to your advantage. Perhaps in a fake tile or put Trompe L'oeil in the search engine at the site and you won't believe what you can do! Vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh TX (Nubians) (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), April 03, 2002.

Thanks, Diane, for the source in the archives - I found it. Someone used paper grocery bags, torn into block-sized pieces, for their floor, and sealed it, and seemed happy with it.

Perhaps I'll use bits and pieces of ALL the above help (thanks, everyone)!!

-- Bonnie (51940@aeroinc.net), April 04, 2002.