Hello all,
I have a lab puppy. She's gone through most of her destructive phases
as a pup, but I'm left with some of her damage. Plus some damage from
an improperly installed door.

Ok, so here's what we got. The previous owner very poorly installed a
pre-hung door in our house. You can see the jamb is all crooked and I'm
sure he didn't seal it properly. The dog, was nice enough to show us
all the wood rot damage we had there by digging it out, and making
quite a mess. At first, we thought it was just the jamb, but it turns
out it (somehow) got under the threshold and into the laminate flooring
at the door. So the laminate flooring had begun to bubble up and crack.
and now I can see various layers into it.. It must be removed.

I personally only like Tile at exterior doors to absorb moisture
(especially here in Texas). So I'd like to make a very small tile entry
way (this is actually a backdoor which is part of our living room, so
asthetic suggestions are welcome) I'm looking to install maybe 6-9 sqft
of tile tops. What I'm not sure how to do is:
1. Remove laminate flooring just around door area. Seems like it must
be cust straight so a threshold between the tile/laminate can be
installed to hide the seam. Don't know what to cut this with. *** It is
installed on a slab.
2. Do something clever with the wooden baseboard that adjoined the
laminateflooring and the wall. Maybe I don't need to do anything here,
maybe new tile will slip nicely underneath?
3. What else?

I'm mostly concerned about how to make a nice even square/rectangular
area for the tile without ripping out all of those boards.

Also, I've never installed tile, Do i need to put something over the
slab, or install it right on the slab. How do I align the heights?

And yes, I know I need to replace the door, that's part of this
project. I can handle that.

Thanks for the help!!
-Brett

Once you rip out the door stuff and associated damage, you should get a
clearer picture as to what else has to go.

Then make that go. Then work back up to the cosmetics, with durability
in mind this time.

Surely a competent local person can consult with you on material best
suited to your climate. And help with your technological challenges.
:')

IOW, once you get the big stuff right, the details are generally
simple.

HTH,
J

Perhaps my original question wasn't very clear

I'm trying to figure out how to rip out the laminate flooring in just
the area I want to place tile. The entire room is laminate flooring all
the way up to the door. I don't wan to tear up whole boards because of
the stagered pattern it'll go pretty far into the room.. So I need to
cut it somehow , but there is slab underneath.

Ideas?

Thanks!
-Brett

In article .com,
says...
Perhaps my original question wasn't very clear

I'm trying to figure out how to rip out the laminate flooring in just
the area I want to place tile. The entire room is laminate flooring all
the way up to the door. I don't wan to tear up whole boards because of
the stagered pattern it'll go pretty far into the room.. So I need to
cut it somehow , but there is slab underneath.

Ideas?

A circular saw with the dept set to the thickness (or a *little*
less) of the laminate should work. It'll get "interesting" by the
walls but a hand saw should work for the last few inches, though
tiring. I have a Makita 3-3/8" cordless circular saw that's very
good for such work.

--
Keith

Keith,
Fantastic. Just what I was looking for.. I thought something like this
would work. Any idea how I tell the thickness? Is something typical for
laminate?

So this door is in a corner. how far out should the tile extend? The
jamb is about 1 ft away from the corner wall.. Should the tile go into
the corner and along the wall? also how far into the room should the
tile go? a nice square shaped area? Should it extend past the other
door jamb/trim? Does it matter These are asthetic questions, I know..
But want to know what I can do to maintain the asthetic appeal and
wondering if anyone has suggestions.

I'll be doing this work myself. I'm pretty handy, but I'm not sure how
it's supposed to look to look good.. if that makes sense..

Thanks,
Brett

In article .com,
says...
Keith,
Fantastic. Just what I was looking for.. I thought something like this
would work. Any idea how I tell the thickness? Is something typical for
laminate?

Start in the middle of the hunk that's to be torn up and adjust the
depth of the saw until you barely cut through the laminate. There
should be some sort of a pad between the flooring and subfloor,
assuming it's a floating floor. You should be able to see this
when you cut through to it. You can then cut a piece out and use
it to make a more accurate depth gage.

So this door is in a corner. how far out should the tile extend? The
jamb is about 1 ft away from the corner wall.. Should the tile go into
the corner and along the wall?

That's what I'd do. A small sliver along the wall might not work
too well (again assuming the laminate flooring is "floating").

also how far into the room should the tile go? a nice square
shaped area? Should it extend past the other
door jamb/trim? Does it matter These are asthetic questions, I know..
But want to know what I can do to maintain the asthetic appeal and
wondering if anyone has suggestions.

What's the purpose of this tiled area? I'd want it balanced with
the door. This may not mean the door is centered on the tile
though, depending on the room. Centering the door in the tile is a
good starting place though. You might take a piece of drop cloth
(cloth anyway, so it doesn't scratch the flooring) and lay out the
tile on top of the current flooring to see how it looks. If it's
an area for muddy shoes or such it has to be at least deep enough
to be able to take 'em off easily.

I'll be doing this work myself. I'm pretty handy, but I'm not sure how
it's supposed to look to look good.. if that makes sense..

BTDT.