Happy Holidays!

 

Another year is closing and some of us may still be living our lives with caution. As a community, we continue to evolve and adapt to the changing pandemic rules. Here at Fred Callaghan’s Carpet and Flooring, we’re doing our part by continuing to provide excellent flooring, installation, and service in accordance with the ever-shifting safety requirements of our county.

With a new year comes new opportunities and projects. We’ll be here, and hope you come in, call, or click for all your flooring needs. If you have a flooring project from ceramic to hardwood, luxury vinyl to carpeting, we are here to help at Callaghan’s.

From all of us at Fred Callaghan Carpet & Flooring, we wish you a happy, healthy, and safe holiday season. See you next year!

 

Best regards,

Fred Callaghan

-President

 

Ceramic tile flooring is durable, easy to maintain, and available in an almost infinite number of styles and designs. Selecting the right tile for your project is as important as proper installation and working with a professional is just as beneficial. Ceramic tile flooring options, while varied, all share the following parameters.

 

Size and Shape

Ceramic tile is available in numerous sizes, shapes, and styles. Large squares, medium squares, planks, mosaics, and custom cut shapes each lend themselves to different project types. Large squares work well outside, emulating the flagstone look with a durable, easy to clean material. Medium squares and planks are great indoors in high traffic areas. Planks capture the feel of hardwood with increased durability and longevity, while squares offer the classic ceramic tile look. Small mosaic and custom cut tiles offer the most customization while requiring the most installation expertise. A professional can help navigate the options and quickly narrow in on a handful of choices, saving time and headache.

 

Color and Pattern

The expansive variety of colors and patterns available with ceramic floor tile means there is a ceramic tile to fit any design. Solid colors accent rooms with busier wall and décor designs, while complex patterns liven up otherwise bare areas. Bright colors draw the eye to the floor, while dull, mottled colors mask dirt and debris. Complex patterned tile requires extra care during installation to create lasting beauty, while monochrome options offer flexibility with later redesigns.

 

Material

Ceramic comes in a variety of materials and finishes, each of which feature different properties for different applications. Exposure to light, water, and debris is an important factor to consider when selecting the material for your ceramic tile floor. Over time, natural light will dull the color in any flooring. Some ceramic tiles are designed with high density pigmentation to reduce the impact of natural light exposure, while others are designed to age and fade, creating a lived-in look. Regular water exposure can be problematic with some of the softer ceramic materials on the market. Porcelain, an extra hard ceramic, is the ideal ceramic option for any area with regular water exposure. Rough mosaic porcelain tiles are perfect in professional kitchens, showers, and work rooms that require drainage and a non-slip surface. Properly installed mid-sized square tiles are extremely durable and capable of withstanding both extended high weight exposure and sudden impacts. Their size and installation practices make medium squares the easiest to replace should cracks occur.

 

Visit Fred Callaghan’s Designer Show Room today for a professional consultation and in-house pricing and free in-home measurements.

Hardwood floor has timeless style and fits many rooms and uses. Follow these 4 steps to install your dream hardwood floor!

Prep the Floor

Before installing any new flooring, remove the previous flooring and ensure the soundness of the base floor. The floor should be level, dry, free of debris, and structurally sound. If the subfloor is structurally unsound, consulting a professional may be necessary. Hardwood should never be installed directly onto cement, but an underlayment allows the beauty of wood into any location.

 

Acclimate the Flooring

Bring the flooring planks into the room and allow them to acclimate to the temperature, pressure, and humidity. Some planks will warp and crack during this process. Plan accordingly with 10% more material than the square footage of the project room. Flooring should be placed in the area to be installed at least 72 hours before installation with temperature and humidity maintained at installation levels to have a healthy floor. During this time, look for warpage or imperfections in the planks and set those aside.

 

Design the Layout

Before final installation, place the boards down over the prepared floor or underlayment and plan the layout. Planks should be perpendicular to floor support beams, with a 1/2 to 3/4 inch gap around the exterior of the room. Start with the longest, visibly straightest wall of the room and use the straightest boards for the first three rows. Stagger joints by twice the width of the flooring,

 

Set the Boards

There are two methods of nailing the floorboards to the subflooring, face nailing and blind nailing. While both can be accomplished by hand, using a power nail driver for face nailing and a pneumatic flooring nail driver for blind nailing will reduce plank breakage and installation time. The final row of planks may need to be trimmed to maintain a safe buffer between the planks and the wall.

 

Call and schedule an appointment or come into Fred Callaghan’s luxury design showroom today!

Luxury vinyl tile is softer underfoot and easier to install for do it yourselfers than traditional ceramic tile. The following 5 steps are all it takes to install your very own luxury vinyl tile.

Prep the Floor

Strip away old floor coverings, smooth out any areas that are not level, and prepare the trim. Trim can be measured and notched using an upside-down tile as a guide. It is important to assess and address the soundness of the base floor during this time. Any sections that are no longer sound should be replaced before continuing and may require a professional.

Install Underlayment

Luxury Vinyl Tile can be installed onto and over just about any surface. The tile can be glued directly to some surfaces, while a vinyl underlayment will allow the installation of a floating floor over any surface. Floating floor installations are not recommended in rooms that will have multiple heavy pieces of permanent furniture.

Set the Pattern

Take the time to measure out the spacing for the tiles before laying any glue down. Plan to center a tile or a seem with the door to the room and try to minimize needed cuts by spacing the tiles to be as near full sized as possible along the walls. Mark on the underlayment where outline of the guide tiles, as well as the center points of the room.

Set the Tiles

Apply the adhesive to the underlayment or base floor, starting at the back wall working toward the guide door. Set the luxury vinyl tile on the adhesive following the guidelines from the previous step, starting at the guide door working to the back. Spacers ensure a consistently square application across the room. Luxury vinyl tiles are fairly fixed once laid flat against the adhesive. To fit tiles under trim, hold one end aloft while the other skims over the adhesive into place beneath the trim.

Finishing

After all the tiles are in place, ensure all spacers have been removed and apply a floor weight to ensure even adhesion to the underlayment or base floor. After the luxury vinyl tiles are in place, keep close to the seams while grouting. Unlike traditional ceramic tiles, the entire tile doesn’t need to be covered over with grout to ensure a smooth and even seal. After the grout is cleaned up, let the adhesive set according to manufacturer directions.

That’s it!

 

Take advantage of low pricing and call or come to Callaghan’s Flooring Design Showroom today for a complete selection of Luxury Vinyl Tiles, cash and carry.

While things have begun to return to a new normal and people have resumed in-person work, many still work from home. Spending more time around the house may lead to more wear and tear in the most trafficked parts of our homes, and the necessity of home improvements becomes more noticeable than ever. The question is, update or replace? There are many flooring options to consider for high traffic areas, and replacing outdated floors with ceramic tile may be the right answer.

Easy to Clean

Glazed ceramic tile in the kitchen, bathroom or entry hall is an easy-to-clean surface that even the harshest cleaning materials won’t damage. Deep gouges, delamination, cuts and gashes will never be a problem with ceramic tile. Mud, snow, and stains of all sorts quickly and easily are removed from ceramic tile surfaces, most without the need for chemicals of any kind.

Timeless Style

Ceramic tile is available in innumerable styles, shapes, colors, and finishes. From square blocks of varied sizes to custom mosaic installations of uniquely shaped pieces, there’s a perfect size and shape ceramic tile for any setting. Available with wood grain reproductions, bright glossy colors, soothing matte pastels, and any style in between, ceramic tile is batch crafted to appeal to all style.

Enduring Investment

Professionally installed ceramic tiles last a lifetime with little maintenance, perfect for busy working areas. The ceramic tile itself is stain and damage resistant, with ceramic tile floors from the time of the Roman empire existing intact to this day.

Energy Efficient

Ceramic tile releases heat, keeping homes cool. In the hallway, kitchen, or back sunroom, ceramic tile keeps your feet cool and your summertime energy costs down. Slow to accept heat and slow to release it, the thermal properties of ceramic tile helps insulate the home against rapid temperature spikes.

 

Beat the heat and come by our renovated luxury show room or call to schedule a consultation with our experts today!