As we continue to re-floor our entire house, we finally escape the kids rooms (Elijah’s and Elizabeth’s) and dig down into the upstairs hallway, or, as I used to call it, the mismatch of dangerous carpet! The sad part is that we believe the previous owner specifically designed the carpets to be like this around each doorway to mimic (poorly) Frank Lloyd Wright’s style.
We tore that old carpet out- it turns out that we had to uninstall carpet that was installed the absolute WRONG way. The carpet was tacked down with hundreds of 8-penny nails- similar to what you might hold a picture frame on the wall with. My son enjoyed helping us tackle this horrible mess. He loved using the hammer to pull out the gazillion nails! It took hours-but I digress.
Putting the OSB down can be done by hand, but, when you consider you will be using several hundred staples in our case, it was best to bring out the pneumatic stapler. A big thank you, as always, to my father in law Bernie at Good Life Remodeling in Medina, OH.
Just when I felt we were done, guess what the pro brings out- a small box of finishing mortar. This fast drying mortar was used to fill in the gaps between the boards put down.
Installing Tarkett Floor in-a-flash
Ok, to the Tarkett‘s Floor in-a-flash! It turns out that the actual flooring part was the QUICKEST part of the installation- so, I can honestly say FLASH is a good word– it all depends on what you are starting with.
Floor in a Flash comes in smart little boxes and the flooring ‘panels’ are 8″ wide each. Each box contains 21.5 square feet of flooring- so you will have to measure and decide how much you need. With Floor in-a-flash, because you are not dealing with sheet vinyl, you CAN minimize the overage you need to just an ‘extra 10%’ over your measurement.
The dark wood grain pattern of the Oak Select Gunstock that we installed complemented our wall color very well. You see in the below image a big #5 written on the box. Our son Elijah helped with the numbering, bringing him into the project. Why number? Well, the instructions suggest that you number the boxes so that you can alternate the boxes that you use- thereby mixing up the variability in the colors of the panels. With everything from Wallpaper to Flooring, its important to either mix it up or match it up. In this case mix.
OK, so what exactly IS Floor in-a-flash?
Floor in a flash is a 8′ panel product with an adhesive back covered with a release liner. The product is installed side by side in your area of choice. As with any flooring, this will install best in a nice square or rectangular area. However, because this is paneled, the installation in a hallway was much much easier than a sheet floor or carpet installation. Plus, because it is dare we say ‘stick, peel, than stick harder’, product, you do not have to deal with any pounding or sawing that you would see in a laminate floor. Oh, almost forgot, the product cuts with a simple utility knife.
Obviously in a hallway, you have lots of cuts. So, its important to have a nice straight edge. My husband found that he cut tuck any overage down into the edge where the subfloor met the stairwell. That was a bad move, the edges start bubbling up within a day of installation, so he had to go back and cut it so that there was no apparent slack.
Recommendation
Overall, we were happy with the installation of this product. We are occasionally pressing down bubbles in the edges between panels due to too much product installed, and some small white lines occur because of small variations between product heights (you see the underlying white vinyl)- For this reason, we would recommend a lighter colored product with more color variation.
Thank you Tarkett for supplying Floor in-a-flash for our project.
This was not a paid post. My own opinions were used based on my perceptions and experience. Thank you to Tarkett who supplied the product for review and the ongoing relationship with AkronOhioMoms.com. Check out the great selection of products at http://www.tarkettna.com.
Thanks, Sarabeth. It really made a huge improvement in little time, we love it!
This looks really good…it makes such a big difference in your home!!
That’s nice that you can use a utility knife to cut it-I am not the most handy person with other tools!
Is this the same as laminate wood flooring?
We have that through our kitchen and love it!
It’s always a bummer when an “quick” remodeling job turns out to be more work than you had expected. I’m sure the Floor in-a-flash was a nice ending to your remodel though. I would love something like that for my partially finished basement. Something that could be replaced fairly easily if any damage was to occur.
that looks awesome. I need to do something about my old hardwood floors. They’re the nail in kind and the nails keep popping up and snagging us. this might be great.
This looks awesome. might just do this in the dining room!
Thanks, Betty! We like it too and it is wearing nice too, no problems at all.
Wow! that floor looks amazing!
Wow, what a story Crystal. I’m sure you and your dad are just sick over the floor install. We are very happy with all of the various Tarkett brand products we have used so far. The Floor-in-a-flash is also available at Lowe’s. You are right, it does seem like an easy project for your dad to install. Good luck! Let us know how it turns out.
I wouldn’t have believed from the picture that that was a vinyl covering and not hardwood. I’m very leary of “quick” installtion products but this looks like it just might do what is says. The reason I’m not too keen on “quick’ do it yourself products can be seen in my kitchen right now. My father (who is a carpenter) and I installed a pre-connected tile floor in my kitchen (it was called Click-it I think) and it has been a total and compete disaster (literally every tile has a crack in it..some are breaking into pieces even). The product was from Lowe’s however I bought all but one of the boxes from an “overstock’ warehouse in my area. Lowe’s actually recalled the product but since I bought it from somewhere other than Lowe’s I didn’t quality for a refund. I’m going to look into the Floor in a Flash for everytime my Dad comes to my house he goes on and on how sorry he is (but it’s not his fault but he’s a perfectionist and it’s almost killing him that it looks so bad). I know my Dad could install this easily. Thanks for the review..really helps me!
Having a finished basement will be so nice, Michelle. Having a solid surface will make the room practical for many uses, including kids play! Floor in a flash will give you a beautiful flooring surface in no time so you can actually start enjoying the finished basement sooner! Good luck, Michelle.
It looks great! It’s good for us to get some ideas for flooring as my husband is finishing our basement these days.
Anash, you have to have some skill but really this is an easy do-it-yourself project. 🙂
im not a skilled diy’er but this looks like it might be easy
Thanks, Nancy. My hubby and father-in-law did a great job on this project, I only helped a little. 🙂 Seriously, this is a product that you can do yourself without a professional with excellent results. Plus, it is so quick to install that you can have a totally new looking room in just a few hours!
Wow – this is quite an undertaking! You did a great job and the floors look lovely!
Yes, it does a great job of giving the appearance of hard wood but at a fraction of the cost and installation. Of course, you can tell it is not hard wood when walking on it but it is beautiful.
Wow…that floor looks AMAZING!! It really looks like hard wood from the pictures. I have never heard of Floor in a Flash before.
I agree, Jennifer. It’s a neat product that is totally new to the market and allows people like me to install floors without hiring someone to help!
Pretty neat!
I haven’t had any scratch issues yet, not at all. If you recall in my post, I did talk about it bubbling up in a couple spots because of our installation. We need to try gluing those few spots down. This is NOT a huge issue at all. It is quit beautiful, affordable, and super-easy to install.
Does this scratch easily, now that you’ve had it for a while? We are trying to decide what type of product to install in my greatroom.
Interesting product.. this might be something we could use in our house in between projects. I wish I had known about this when we had a lot of exposed subflooring and weren’t able to put in the hardwoods for a whiel!
Thanks, Jeffrey. We think so too! Love that it takes next to no time at all to change the entire appearance of the floors and room too!
Those floors are beautiful.
Wow, sounds like a project and a half! Tammy, with floor in a flash, I bet you could have a new bedroom in just a couple hours at a really affordable price. Just think of it as a fresh start now that you tour everything old off.
After moving from ohio to florida we bought a repo/hud house which became a money pit
The previous owners never pulled up carpets or padding, the top carpet was suppose to be yellow but it was black
there was 5 layers of matted carpet
then the linoleum tiles under all the carpet was 3 layers thick
it was so nasty pulling it all out and the dirt and smell was horrible
well 8 years later my bedroom still has no floor covering its just cement I’m dreaming someday I might get the floor covered
camper223[at]live[dot]com
It’s amazing the new products that become available, Pam.
I have done many simple remodeling jobs myself….I have laid regular roll vinyl flooring, square vinyl flooring and wood laminate flooring….but I never tried this before…something to think about. Thanks
Yea, and the bubbling up was really our installation problem, no big deal though.
Despite the minor problems with bubbling this really looks good. I have never heard of this kind before but will check into this for small project.
Glad to hear that you have an option for your family room. I know pets can really influence floors! You want something that you can keep clean. That is why I like it too because I can see if the floor is dirty and know that once I mop it, it is really clean. With carpet, you are hoping for the best, knowing that dirt and germs can be trapped below. With pets and kids, I want something I KNOW is clean. This is an affordable solution too.
wow. it looks real!
you just sold me on this product!
one of my iddy biddy doggies has epilepsy and leaks before, during or after a seizure, and as much as i try to stay on top of it…my family room carpets are a mess. we put in lamminate through out the rest of our home after we bought it b/c the seller tried to cover a mold problem. the laminate is ok but not my fave.
i love that floor in a flash looks so real, but has a “vinyl” type feel.
i love it, when i can scrape up some money, that is what i’d like to use in my family room!
Yes, there are so many things you need to use like the floor filler to have a professional job in the end. So happy my father-in-law knows all the tricks of the trade and that he is super sweet to help us so much!!
Floor Filler! I must get some for my kitchen floor we are replacing! I’m so glad I read this article, Cindy! And your new flooring looks so nice!
Wow, the floor looks great and some what easy to do! You guys sure are doing a great job with all the remodeling!
Floor in a flash box looks good. Is it a vinyl product?
that is so cool! I need to put in a new floor in my kitchen, and this looks perfect! We’ll need a new subfloor, too. If Tarkett needs another reviewer…… I’m all over it!
Yes, Kelly. Once we got the subfloor finished, the Floor in a Flash was so quick to install! We are very pleased with the installation
The flooring did really look fast, and its beautifuL!
That looks amazing! I love how it turned out.
I’m amazed how good this looks!
WOW! For a peel and stick floor, these look GREAT!!
xbeautifulcoma at yahoo dot com