# Floor Protection



## WNYcarpenter (Mar 2, 2007)

We just started a good sized remodel...mainly a 2 story addition, with some alterations to the existing home. This project is likely to last 6-9 months....

There's going to be a LOT of traffic on old DFir flooring....I imagine all floors will be sanded and re-coated later...

We buy scrap card board by the pallet from a local container company....so we rolled out 6 mil plastic then put down card board and taped. No doubt we'll be pulling it all up in a couple months and re-doing.

Anyway, it made me curious about what some of you folks do to protect your projects when you know you'll be there a while ( BTW, No one is living in the home!)

Just for S&G's, I took some pics of the project, but not the floor....That'll be my next post.


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## genecarp (Mar 16, 2008)

We freshen up a little more often, but red rosen paper and blue tape is usually our sop. If we are on a real highend floor, i will also drop cloth the whole area.


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## woodworkbykirk (Sep 17, 2008)

craft paper or plastic taped down first, then wall leveller we salvage off houses which we re-side, and then osb.

wall leveller we get free as its pulled off houses, osb is thicker and cheaper than masonite


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## WNYcarpenter (Mar 2, 2007)

I won't be on this job for the duration, but I'll try to pull it all together next spring....


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## angus242 (Oct 20, 2007)

I have done kitchen remodels over existing hardwood. First, _uber-clean the floor of any debris_. I use a layer of rosin paper, layer of cardboard (from cabinet boxes) and then a layer of luan...all taped at the seams. Since a kitchen floor isn't that big (typically), it has been cost effective so far. I have read about products that are made for this application I have considered.

Single use and cheaper:
http://www.blakeproducts.com/index.a...TS&Category=42

Reusable but more expensive:
http://www.blakeproducts.com/index.a...TS&Category=41

Just saw this on here a week or two ago. Looks decent:
http://www.ramboard.com/


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## Aframe (Mar 24, 2008)

For just dust control red rosin is fine, better protection against spills and sweepabilty, FIBEROCK™ Floor Protector Paper, taped at seams and edge. Add 1/8 masonite or 1/2 homasoat for heavy demo.

Be careful taping to finished wood floors, even blue tape can screw up some poly finishes


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## giantfan (Sep 25, 2009)

I have used red rosin paper in the past with 1/4" masonite over top. I duct tape the masonite togeather. 

I will never use red rosin paper again as I had one instance when the paper got wet and the red dye leached into the wood floor and stained it. 

Check out protectiveproducts.com they have some great products for hardwood and carpet. The tub protection works like a champ as well.


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## Kent Whitten (Mar 24, 2006)

I have been pitching ramboard here since I have seen it on a few jobs ans seems really nice. Little expensive for the taste of many here.


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## genecarp (Mar 16, 2008)

O yea, we have also used carpet remnents to protect floor, just make sure you place the abrasive backing up, i once came in and a couple of guys where placing the carpet good face up, The underside of many carpets will scratch the **** out of any wood floor(carpet padding works well also). Of coarse on a reno that you know the carpets are coming out, leave them down as floor protection till the last minute. G, man i am home recovering from surgery, thank god for CT.


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## neolitic (Apr 20, 2006)

genecarp said:


> ........ man i am home recovering from surgery, thank god for CT.


Hope you are doing well.
Didn't know you had a problem.

I do envy your perks, you certainly 
have a good lookin' nurse. :thumbup:


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## neolitic (Apr 20, 2006)

WNYcarpenter said:


> We just started a good sized remodel...mainly a 2 story addition, with some alterations to the existing home. This project is likely to last 6-9 months....
> 
> There's going to be a LOT of traffic on old DFir flooring....I imagine all floors will be sanded and re-coated later...
> 
> ...


I am liking this stuff for pathways
across carpets, and especially for stairs. :thumbsup:

http://www.dropcloth.com/cleanandsafe2a.html

BTW:
We have a sticky.....
http://www.contractortalk.com/f18/dust-free-remodeling-31707/


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## ChrWright (Jul 17, 2007)

I use Dow Protection Board III quite a lot:

















It's about $35 for a fan fold unit... 3'x50'.


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## neolitic (Apr 20, 2006)

ChrWright said:


> I use Dow Protection Board III quite a lot:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Too stingy to spring for a link? :laughing:


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## ChrWright (Jul 17, 2007)

I looked for one, but all I could find was a DOW spec page with no pic. :laughing:


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## RemodelMania (Sep 19, 2006)

WNYcarpenter said:


> We buy scrap card board by the pallet from a local container company....so we rolled out 6 mil plastic then put down card board and taped. No doubt we'll be pulling it all up in a couple months and re-doing.


We used to do something like that until we found this: reinforced kraft paper floor protection

This stuff already has a plastic sheet laminated to it and reinforcements so it ddoesn't tear, so you can elimintae the multi-layer approach. you still need masonite or whatever for the really heavy areas with equipment on it like someone said, but otherwise this is a one and done solution. waterproof too.


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## ChrWright (Jul 17, 2007)

ChrWright said:


> I use Dow Protection Board III quite a lot:
> 
> It's about $35 for a fan fold unit... 3'x50'.



Sorry, it's actually 4'x50'...


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## neolitic (Apr 20, 2006)

ChrWright said:


> I looked for one, but all I could find was a DOW spec page with no pic. :laughing:


So for us locals shifty, where did 
you buy it?


BTW:
What I like about the Clean&Safe
is that it's easy to roll up and
redeploy in occupied homes. :thumbsup:


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## ChrWright (Jul 17, 2007)

neolitic said:


> So for us locals shifty, where did
> you buy it?
> 
> 
> ...


Lowes carries it... stocked down low under the rigid foam.

I'd like to find some other alternatives... this stuff is not exactly GREEN...

But I like that it's waterproof and gives a bit of cushion--and is easy to cut and form to wherever we need it to go.


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## Mellison (Aug 3, 2008)

Masonite, the thinner stuff. It runs about $6.00 for a 4X8 at the box stores.
I like the stuff you posted Chris, but I'm too damn tired to do the math to see the cost comparison with masonite.


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## WNYcarpenter (Mar 2, 2007)

genecarp said:


> O yea, we have also used carpet remnents to protect floor


That's exactly what we did today over the cardboard...2nd floor demo with carpet, so we used it to protect the hard wood better.



neolitic said:


> BTW:
> We have a sticky.....


Thanks Neo, the idea to post this question just came to me during the jobsite prep. I should frequent this remodelling forum more!

My compnay can be 'penny wise, pound foolish' at times. Projects like this always have a grunt. Some of our long time employees have their ways and like to give the low man a project like pulling the protection and re-laying new stuff. 'Busy Work' if you ask me...if we invested a little more in protection materials, we'd save $$ IMO.


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## mikeswoods (Oct 11, 2008)

I've added "floor protection" as the first item on my bid worksheets.It's been forgotten all to often in my costs.

Surprising little cost factor.----MIKE


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## Berger035 (Oct 27, 2009)

We use a few products from a company called Protective Products. All of them are held in place with a real low tack adhesive that doesnt screw up the floors. 

One is the carpet protector... it comes in a bunch of different sizes on a roll. 

We also use the stuff they have for tile floor, again on a roll. 

the one we use the most is the floor protector, mostly on hardwood floor but can be used just about anywhere, it has a thin padding on it which protects the floor from just about anything, like staples,nails,screws,grit,anything you may track in on your shoes... all of them can be quickly wiped clean with a damp rag at the end of the day. You can roll them back up and put aside if you need to for the home owners... they also last a long time, can stay down for weeks with no problems. and if you desire they could be reused job to job for a while till they wear too bad but we just trash them after were done the job. 

we mostly use them when doing kitchen remodels and bathrooms... they stay down from demo to paint so down for a month or more, some larger remodels they have been down for 6 months with no problems at all.

a little goes a long way...the prices are reasonable as well so you may want to check them out.. google protective products international inc


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## giantfan (Sep 25, 2009)

RemodelMania said:


> We used to do something like that until we found this: reinforced kraft paper floor protection
> 
> This stuff already has a plastic sheet laminated to it and reinforcements so it ddoesn't tear, so you can elimintae the multi-layer approach. you still need masonite or whatever for the really heavy areas with equipment on it like someone said, but otherwise this is a one and done solution. waterproof too.


I used something like that years ago, not sure if it was the exact same stuff but we had a problem with the reinforcement strands. We covered the paper with masonite and the pattern from the reinforcement strands imprinted into the finish on the floor. We had to give the entire floor a light sanding and apply a new coat of finish. :sad:


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## mrmike (Dec 9, 2008)

Man, I wish I would have had more floor protection the other day as I was patching some sheetrock in the ceiling in a little hall way & my portable drill fell from the very top of my stepladder & took a chunk out of their hardwood floor. Somehow it landed right on the bit. I had 2 mil plastic down only for the dust,etc. I filled it in & touched it up but still have to explain to the homeowner who has been away on vacation.............. I guess we cannot be careful enough !!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## angus242 (Oct 20, 2007)

mrmike said:


> ...my portable drill fell from the very top of my stepladder & took a chunk out of their hardwood floor. Somehow it landed right on the bit.


I had that _exact _same thing happen to me, although my bit embedded in the unfinished plywood. From that day forward, we do the floor protection AND I never leave my guns anywhere but on the floor, laying on their side or hooked to my belt.


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## CliffBuilder (Aug 11, 2010)

Just found this forum on the search engine. This is all contractors huh? Finally, a place to get some fresh ideas. :clap:

Seems like i'm a bit late in this conversation, but I started using "Ram Board" and love it! I was using just plastic covering before but had issues with dropping tools on the flooring. I saw ram board on a job site about 5 years back and was quite surprised on how efficient and thick it was. Seems like i see it everywhere now.

Your thoughts...


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## ChrWright (Jul 17, 2007)

Welcome to the forum. Glad you found your way here. 

It would be great if you could post an intro, and let the guys and girls know where your from and what you do.

:thumbsup:


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## CliffBuilder (Aug 11, 2010)

Anyone else have any thoughts on ram board? or used it before?


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## jemmincoaster (Sep 28, 2010)

There is a thin foam sheet for this application. It comes as the continuous paper that expands very high. Foam should be blue or pink. You can then cover the foam to get some pieces and dust from entering the foam. This is what I generally does.


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## JohnFRWhipple (Oct 20, 2009)

*Is that "Blue Stuff" recyclable like "Ram Board"?*

Can you recycle that "Blue Stuff"

I take my ram board to the recycle depot and dump it with my cardboard waste.

That Blue stuff looks like foam or plastic...

I protected this floor in 2 minutes and used only 18 Square Feet of Product. When done I can reuse it or recycle it - 100% recyclable and I can assure you the Recycle Yard in North Vancouver accepts it. I have been bring my used Ram Board there for years...


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