Best kid-friendly flooring for kids rooms

Installing Tarkett Fiber Floor

This is the second time we have installed Tarkett Fiber Floor. I am convinced that it is the best kid-friendly flooring for kids rooms.  Our first experience was with our son’s bedroom. We were so pleased with the results that we decided to install Fiber Floor into Elizabeth’s room as well. For her flooring, she chose the Square Dance Fiber Floor in the Salsa Chachacha colors from the Easy Fun Living Collection.

Before the floor arrived, we had already torn out the carpet, pounded and pulled out all the old carpet staples, and made the floor as smooth as possible.  Fiber Floor can be installed over an existing floor, a wood subfloor, an even flatter new plywood floor, or an existing vinyl floor. It does not have to be adhered so it can be taken back up when you move, when your kid decides they like something else, or when you redecorate.

My daughter loved it when we laid out the flooring downstairs in our living room. She immediately started playing hopscotch on the square pattern. She was so excited to get new flooring in her bedroom!

Measuring and laying fiber floor

First step was to rough cut the size of the product to the right length of one of the dimensions of the room (plus closet door size, plus room door size), minus 1/4 “.  This 1/4″ is for stretching of the material during room temperature swings.

We rolled it up and took it upstairs. Next, we unrolled the Fiber Floor in the bedroom. This is quite easy to do with just 2 people to adjust it in place. It could actually be done with just one person, if necessary.

Elizabeth couldn’t wait. She started playing on her new floor even before it was completely installed. She was so excited to have a new fun floor.

Trimming flooring around doors

Our next step was to leave enough space to allow the flooring to run into the closet and doorway into the hallway. It is important to figure that into your measurements and when you lay the flooring. You don’t want to see a seam from the bedroom when you close the closet door nor do you want to see the seam between the hallway and bedroom.

Notice the excess along the wall after you leave enough space for the flooring to go into the closet and into the hallway? That needs to be trimmed away. We used a long level to cut a clean line. Be sure to use a sharp exacto knife. Since we don’t have the floor trim board in place yet, we had some measure of error to work with. We purposely planned to install the new trim after the floor is installed.

Large Pattern Match and Seam

Elizabeth’s bedroom is big in this house. It’s 14 x 15′.  That means for product that is 12′ wide, we had to have one seam on the floor.  If you room is about 12′ or smaller in the smallest dimension you will get away with the seaming part. First, we found a piece that would match the pattern on her floor, then we double cut the seam for a perfect match and cut.

The pattern is set for 3 rows of squares and then it repeats.  That means that you could have to throw away up to 3′ of material to make the seams work to match the squares together.  But, that was not the case in our room- we cut off about 21″ which wasn’t too bad. Consider this when you order your floors.

How to Double cut flooring

We added the second piece of material that was cut to OVERLAP the already installed portion by 2″ or more, with patterns matching.  Then, my husband took a sharp utility knife and cut a deep straight line right through both pieces of material.  What happens here is kind of a neat trick of the trade- when you cut through BOTH pieces of material, and pull out BOTH excess strips of material- you are left with a perfectly matched seam.  The only trick is to cut the material DEEP and STRAIGHT DOWN.  If you cut at an angle, the seam will show the exposed white vinyl underneath and it will look bad.

Next the double sided seam tape was placed first sticky side down onto the floor.  The two flooring pieces were realigned (just one more time to be sure) and placed over the tape.  The top of the tape had a paper release liner that we pulled up through the seam as per below, and the two materials laid flat right over the tape.  We have done this already once before with my son’s bedroom flooring and this seems to be the best way.

Applying 2-part epoxy to seam

A two part epoxy was also provided.  It is just a wet glue that you mix up with a slick little applicator.  This adhesive was applied to the top side of all the seams.  The application process took about 3 minutes.  Extremely easy, and not messy.We had to let the floor rest for 24 hours before putting the furniture back on, especially around the seam.

Floor Installation Complete

After the seam was in place, the room is done! Tarkett Fiber Floor can be installed with no adhesive although you can use an adhesive if you wish. We chose the no adhesive method. I wasn’t sure how this would work in the beginning, I thought it might slip or move. It is solid and doesn’t move at all! I’m very happy about this. The installation was easy and if we ever want to change my daughter’s bedroom style, we can easily pick up the Fiber Floor in no time at all!

What makes Fiber Floor so soft?

It is the TechniCore structured foam technology. There is a TechniCore foam layer in the Fiber Floor that adds cushion and indentation protection. It really creates a comfortable, warm and inviting flooring. I have already had a few people check out Elijah’s and Elizabeth’s floors and they have commented on how surprised they are that it is so soft and comfortable. As a mom, I wanted to be sure that my kids had a clean, comfortable environment to play and sleep. Fiber Floor offers that and more!

If you are unsure if the floors are soft, listen to this. Fiber Floor is so soft that my daughter sleeps on them. She was so excited about her new floor that we had to sleep on them the first 3 nights in a row in her tent!

Tarkett Fiber Floor is the best kids flooring

This is our second Tarkett Fiber Floor installation. My son loves his Funtastic Island Fiber Floor from their Easy Fun Living Collection. Read about his floor installation here. My daughter loves her Square Dance Fiber Floor in the Salsa Chachacha colors from the Easy Fun Living Collection. She has so much fun jumping on the squares and playing with her toys on the floor.

Initially, we started looking for a hard flooring because of my son’s allergies. We live in the woods and experience additional pollen coming in from the woods, plus our large dog sheds a lot. With a hard flooring surface, I know that my kids’ floors are clean. They are so easy to clean with a dust broom and mop. I never have to worry about grounded in dirt and germs on my kids floors.

My daughter’s room before picture

My daughter’s room smelled musty to the point that I was opening her bedroom window during the day, even in March to air the room out. This picture shows the matted down, thinned out shag carpet in my daughter’s room.

I hated to see my daughter play on this dirty carpet but no amount of cleaning is helping! I am beyond thrilled to have installed Tarkett’s Fiber Floor in my daughter’s bedroom. She now has a clean, safe surface to play on that is fun.

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.

Cindy

Founder and Lead Blogger at Akron Ohio Moms

Cindy is the top Akron Blogger with her own take on awesome brands for families, where to vacation for families, a beat on local activities and family fun, a knack for getting moms to share , and a house that is always 2 weeks away from a complete remodel!