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Are you a regular gym-goer, or do you love to get active in the beautiful surroundings of your local green space? Perhaps you struggle to fit exercise in, or just dont feel motivated to be part of a physical activity.

Whatever your situation, we want to hear from you.

A brand new city-wide consultation has launched with the aim of creating a thriving leisure offer that all Liverpool residents can benefit from.

Residents are being asked to fill in a short online survey which will give the city council an insight into how people in the city currently stay active, what sports and activities they want in their community and what service improvements they would like made.

The questionnaire aims to find out which types of facilities are used (private or the councils Lifestyles gyms), what is the main driver for people getting active, how often people take part in physical activity, whether the pandemic has changed exercise habits and what encouragement would residents need to use the citys parks and green spaces more.

Latest figures show around 30 per cent of Liverpool residents are inactive, so the teamalso wants to hear from these people to find out what barriers theyre facing and how the council could support them on their journey to fitness and improved health.

The responses will help shape a new approach over the coming years which will focus on transforming the health and wellbeing of residents with a focus on hotspot areas of inequality. The feedback will also allow the team to ensure current leisure services are meeting the needs of those who require it the most.

The physical activity survey will take around ten minutes to complete and can be found at http://www.liverpool.gov.uk/consultations. Translated versions can be downloaded from the website or hardcopy versions can be obtained by calling 0151 233 3000.

The survey will close at midnight Sunday 20 February and the findings of the study will be released in April 2022.

The survey is the latest in a number of consultations that Liverpool City Council has held in recent months, giving residents the opportunity to have their say on different, important Liverpool issues.

Liverpool City Councils Cabinet Member responsible for physical activity, sport and leisure, Councillor Harry Doyle, said: These consultations are a vital communication tool with residents as a council we need to be listening to local communities and finding out what is and isnt working for them and how we can work together to make a real difference.

As a user of the Councils Lifestyles centres, I am passionate about physical activity and know how valued participation in sport and activity is within all our communities.

Being active is one of the best things you can do for yourself for both your physical and mental wellbeing. We want to make sure we have a plan of action in place for the next 12 years which supports and encourages everyone in making positive choices that get them moving.

To achieve this we need a snapshot of what physical activity means for our residents at this moment in time. We want to hear from as many, different people as possible those who enjoy a walk in our parks, gym-goers, people who take part in organised sports, those who arent active at all and those who take part in active travel.

Only when we are armed with this information can we then work with everyone across Liverpool to deliver a leisure service which will be a game-changer.

Read more from the original source:
Have your say and help transform the health of city residents - Liverpool Express

Speculation last week that Johnson would face a full Conservative confidence vote has so far come to nought. Also: US redistricting, French, Portuguese and Chile elections.

Guest post by Adrian Beaumont, who joins us from time to time to provide commentary on elections internationally. Adrian is an honorary associate at the University of Melbourne. His work on electoral matters for The Conversation can be foundhere, and his own website ishere.

For a UK Conservative leader to be ousted, the first step is for 15% of the partys MPs to send letters expressing no confidence to the chair of the 1922 Committee, Graham Brady. As there are currently 359 Conservatives in the House of Commons, 54 letters expressing no confidence in Boris Johnson are required.

If this first threshold is met, there is a secret ballot of all Conservative MPs. If the leader wins this confidence vote, they cannot be challenged for another year, although this rule could be amended. If the leader loses, they would be expected to be a caretaker PM until the next leader is elected.

Last week there was speculation that an announcement that Brady had received the 54 letters was imminent, but it did not occur. Johnsons danger is due to the parties that were held while the UK was in COVID lockdown at Downing Street. This caused a slump for the Conservatives in the polls in December. The Conservatives regained some ground in early January, only for even more party revelations to crash their vote again. Some Conservatives may be waiting for Sue Grays report into the parties, expected next week, before moving against Johnson.

It was bad timing for Johnson that these party revelations came when the UK was suffering another COVID wave due to Omicron. This made peoples memories of past lockdowns more vivid, and so the parties resonated more than they would otherwise. In good news for Johnson, the Omicron wave is subsiding, with cases way down from their peak and hospitalisations also starting to fall.

I am dubious that ousting Johnson would be in the Conservatives electoral interests. While Johnson is very unpopular now, voters tend to move past non-recurring issues. The parties occurred in the last two years, and are unlikely to cause voters additional pain in the future. As the UK COVID situation improves, voters are likely to move past the parties.

Another argument against removing Johnson is that he got Brexit done. At the 2019 election, non-uni whites swung strongly to the Conservatives over Johnsons promise to get Brexit done see my Conversation article last May. Will these voters remain Conservative under another Conservative PM?

Democrats gain in US redistricting, but Bidens ratings remain poor

A US Census is held every ten years, with the boundaries of Congressional Districts set for ten years by that Census. Most states have completed redistricting of their CDs from the 2020 Census. The FiveThirtyEight tracker says that there are 129 Democratic-leaning seats, 124 Republican-leaning seats and 21 highly competitive seats in the new maps so far. The changes from the old maps are Democrats up seven, Republicans up one and competitive down six.

While some states use nonpartisan commissions to draw their maps, in most states redistricting is up to politicians. If one party holds the governor and both chambers of the legislature in a state, that party can gerrymander. Republican-controlled Florida (28 CDs) and Democratic New York (26) are the two biggest states still to complete redistricting. A Republican gerrymander in Ohio was rejected by the state courts, and this could also occur in North Carolina.

Bidens ratings in the FiveThirtyEight aggregate are currently 53.5% disapprove, 41.9% approve (net -11.6). They have worsened recently owing to the recent COVID surge. There has been no recent progress with the Democratic legislative agenda. Inflation over the full 2021 year was 7.0%, the highest since 1982. A recent CBS YouGov poll indicates voters think Biden is not focussed enough on combatting inflation.

French, Portuguese and Chile developments

The first round of the French presidential election is on April 10, with a runoff between the top two on April 24. Conservative Valrie Pcresse has slipped behind the far-right Marine Le Pen in the race for second with incumbent Emmanuel Macron well ahead in first. Macron easily beats Le Pen, but its closer against Pcresse.

A Portuguese election will be held on January 30, with 230 seats elected by proportional representation. Polls indicate a close contest between the overall left and overall right. Portugal currently has a left government.

At the December 19 Chilean presidential runoff election, left-wing Boric defeated the far-right Kast by 55.9-44.1.

Excerpt from:
Will Boris Johnson be ousted as UK Prime Minister soon? The Poll Bludger - The Poll Bludger

New Zealand is preparing for an avalanche of Omicron cases. When we do confront the new variant, how much does timing matter? Jamie Morton explains.

What would an Omicron outbreak look like?

That's precisely what modellers are busy trying to calculate right now. But it's clear the inevitable wave we're facing will be both large and swift.

Te Pnaha Matatini's Professor Michael Plank said it was possible we may face an outbreak big enough to peak with tens of thousands of new daily cases.

It may kick off much as Auckland's Delta crisis did, with an unlinked community case pointing to a hidden iceberg of infections, but escalate much faster.

Across the Tasman, it took just a month for new daily cases in New South Wales to swell from a few hundred to nearly 40,000, forcing the state to bring public health restrictions back.

That owed to the sheer speed at which the variant can spread:one recent Danish studyfound it to be 2.7 to 3.7 times more infectious than the Delta variant among vaccinated and boosted individuals.

Plank said states like Queensland, which just recorded nearly 16,000 new cases, and South Australia could act as good guides of what to expect here, as they had high vaccination rates but hadn't seen the Delta surges their neighbours had.

But there were steps that could soften the blow.

One was vaccination coverage: while around 93 per cent of eligible New Zealanders have received both doses, wider uptake of the booster shot was also critical.

While it wasn't yet clear how well the booster shot prevented transmission of Omicron, there was now plenty of data to show it greatly reduced the risk of severe illness.

UK monitoringshowed that, at about 20 weeks after the second dose, effectiveness against symptomatic disease was only around 10 per cent with Omicron. But at two to four weeks after the booster dose, that protection rose to 65 to 70 per cent.

Around 830,000 Kiwis have received booster doses since 1.2 million people became eligible this month.

"It's a big unknown at the moment as to what level of coverage we'll have when Omicron does start spreading here," Plank said, "but the more people who are boosted, the more we can bring case numbers down".

Our overall lack of exposure to the virus was also important.

By contrast, in the UK, which has high vaccine coverage, high booster uptake, and almost two years of exposure to circulating virus, about 97 to 98 per cent of adults test positive for Sars-CoV-2 antibodies.

Even so, Britain logged a daily high of more than 180,000 cases early this month.

Otago University virologist Dr Jemma Geoghegan noted that New Zealand's child vaccine had only just gotten underway and nearly 220,000 unvaccinated teens and adults were also vulnerable.

Around 830,000 Kiwis have received booster doses since 1.2 million people became eligible this month. Photo / Supplied

"While kids have always been the least likely to have severe disease, looking overseas, the vast majority of people who end up in ICU are unvaccinated and I'd say they're the most vulnerable group here."

As well, the same health inequities seen over Auckland's Delta outbreak where Mori and Pacific populations were hit disproportionately hard could again feature in an Omicron wave.

Another factor was what health interventions officials tried to block it with.

As director-general of health Dr Ashley Bloomfield has acknowledged, the traffic light system that's performed so well against Delta may now need a change-up and the outcome of a Cabinet meeting discussing current settings will be announced tomorrow.

Bloomfield has indicated that more restrictions were likely to be put in place as the country.

Working from home and lowering the number of people allowed at gatherings were all back on the table, but he said the health response wouldn't necessarily be around more lockdowns.

With Omicron's potential to quickly overwhelm our test-and-trace regime, Otago University experts have suggested pivoting to a mitigation approach of "flattening the curve" to protect the health system.

University of Auckland senior lecturer Dr David Welch said Australia hadn't done a good job at using such measures against Omicron.

"They've really gone for a 'let it rip' approach so I think New Zealand does have greater ability and social licence to control it a bit better than Australia has, and hopefully take the edge off."

Does timing matter?

Omicron's lightning-fast march across the globe it could well infect half the population of Europe within two months showed that its transmissibility didn't solely depend on inherent seasonal factors that influenced other respiratory viruses.

"Most respiratory infections have their peak incidence in winter, at least in temperate countries like New Zealand and the UK, hence terms like 'seasonal flu'," Otago University epidemiologist Professor Michael Baker said.

"But pandemic respiratory infections can strike during any season, as we have seen with the rapid spread of Omicron in summer in a number of Southern Hemisphere countries such as Australia and South Africa."

Director-general of health Dr Ashley Bloomfield has acknowledged the traffic light system that's performed so well against Delta may now need a change-up. Photo / Supplied

However, he added, Omicron was still somewhat easier to tackle in summer, as there was slightly greater potential to slow spread with measures like encouraging people to shift activities outside, or open windows.

The biggest headache with battling Omicron in the colder months, of course, was that health services would be already stretched dealing with winter ills like the flu or RSV, which caused a national crisis last year.

"This winter, New Zealand can expect to see more severe respiratory infections as several of the common respiratory viruses notably influenza have been largely excluded for the last two years, so immunity to them is likely to have declined."

While around two thirds of nationwide ICU beds were already occupied and only a few of them with Covid-19 patients that capacity could be surged to around 550 ICU-capable beds, the Ministry of Health told NewsHub last week.

Baker expected the country would probably achieve "peak immunity" to Covid-19 at some point in the next three to four months, immediately after a high proportion of adults had received a booster, and young children were fully vaccinated.

"Arguably, that would be the timing when New Zealand would be best placed to manage an Omicron outbreak with the least health impacts."

That's why, despite it being further from the very warmest time, Baker and colleagues have been pushing the Government to try to delay Omicron's arrival until at least March.

"We can also use this time to get other measures in place including supplies of rapid antigen tests, higher quality face masks, and better protocols for schools, workplaces and healthcare services."

Otago University epidemiologist Professor Michael Baker. Photo / Supplied

After calls to "turn down the tap" on overseas arrivals and lower the case load at the border, the Government last night put a halt on releasing more MIQ rooms.

Will we be dealing with an outbreak before winter anyway?

Baker said it was highly likely New Zealand would confront Omicron well before winter.

It could happen when New Zealand relaxed its border controls as had been planned after February or indeed at any moment, if Omicron slipped into the community via MIQ, airport staff or air crew, or a sea port.

That danger was highlighted yesterday, when an airport worker tested positive despite having received both vaccine doses and a booster, and also by the handful of other Omicron scares recorded since Christmas.

With another 56 new cases detected at the border today the vast majority, if not all, likely to Omicron an outbreak-causing failuremight occur within weeks, or even days.

An analysis of previous breaches indicated a failure occurring with every 100 to 200 cases in MIQ although that risk would have changed with higher vaccination levels in travellers, and the more infectious nature of Omicron.

There's been a ten-fold increase in cases at the border compared to December.

Currently, the seven-day rolling average of border cases is 33.

As Baker and colleagueswrote this week: "While not all of these failures will result in a community outbreak, a certain proportion almost certainly will."

And if an outbreak did happen now, Welch said we'd at least have the advantage of the virus having a lower effective reproductive number (Re) that's the number of secondary infections caused by one case in a population with mixed susceptibility than in winter.

Whereas Omicron's current Re might sit at around two, it could be three or above over winter.

"That partly might be why we're seeing so few cases right now. Yet, by the same token, New South Wales and South Africa are roughly in the same seasons we are, and they've had very large outbreaks."

In the meantime, Welch said New Zealand had an opportunity to prepare.

"I think there needs to be some urgency in getting those boosters out and getting children vaccinated."

He stressed that, while Omicron infections appeared to be milder at an individual level, it was the variant's systemic risk that made it such a threat.

"Everyone becomes at much greater risk if the hospital system stops working."

- by Jamie Morton

Read the original post:
Explained: Why the timing of Omicron's arrival matters - Newstalk ZB

I needed someone to replace some water-damaged hard wood flooring in a 120-year-old house in Washington, DC. I received three different flooring quotes from area companies, and I was particularly impressed with the District Floor Depots team. Mario came out to conduct the initial assessment and was kind enough to provide a thorough summary of options available for the repairs and finishing. The office sales and project management team took his notes and assembled a detailed quote that ultimately was cheaper than the closest competitor. In the end, we liked our experience so much that we expanded the work to cover resurfacing the wood flooring in the entire home. There was an error in the quote that altered the price, but Lesli called me and walked me through the correction and explained that the final quote was actually cheaper than the original. I was very thankful for that clarification that saved me money. The team was incredibly responsive with the planning and contracting phases. The initial job was scheduled to take 3-4 days, but they assigned a guy named Ever and his team to the job. Ever was very responsive to my inquiries and ended up completing the job in only two days. The red oak flooring was a decent match with remaining original boards, and the finish we used matched all the stairs and railings we didnt refinish. The major dust and debris generated from sanding a 1,600 square-foot space was expertly cleaned up from all surfaces, which really exceeded my expectations. I couldnt be happier! Thanks to Mario, Ever, Elsi, Lesli, Juan, Ella, Yusuf, and the rest of the team for your service!

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District Floor Depot - Discount Hardwood Flooring in DC, MD ...

Before installing vinyl plank flooring, determine which type of vinyl plank best suits your renovation needs. Vinyl planks can be sorted into three main categories based on their installation method: GripStrip, click-lock and glue down.

Interlocking vinyl plank flooring creates a floating floor, but instead of having an adhesive connecting the planks, the planks interlock with tongue-and-groove joints that easily snap together for a reliable fit.

GripStrip vinyl plank flooring has a manufacturer-applied adhesive layer that connects the planks to one another. This installation method creates a floating floor, which means GripStrip vinyl planking covers the subfloor without adhering or fastening to it in any manner. Floating floors are an easy, mess-free way to install new flooring without necessarily having to remove the existing flooring.

Glue down vinyl plank flooring adheres to the subfloor using either one of two types of adhesives: hard-set or pressure-sensitive. Hard-set adhesive is spread along the subfloor, then the vinyl planks are laid down on top. Pressure-sensitive adhesive is already on the bottom of the plank and bonds to the subfloor when the plank is pressed into place. While both types of adhesives are durable, the pressure-sensitive adhesive can make replacing individual vinyl planks easier.

All three installation methods are suitable for novices, require little time and can be laid over any rigid and level subfloor. Which method you choose depends on personal preference and the room you are planning to renovate. When choosing between floating floor options, note that GripStrip vinyl plank flooring is often water-resistant, while click-lock vinyl plank flooring can be entirely waterproof.

Read the rest here:
How to Install Vinyl Plank Flooring - The Home Depot

$5,500 to $8,000 is the average cost to install 1000 sq/ft of vinyl plank flooring.

The cost of vinyl plank flooring is $4 to $12 per square foot when professionally installed. Most homeowners pay between $5.50 and $8.00 to have good-quality, water-resistant or waterproof plank flooring installed. This means the average cost for 1,000 square feet of installed vinyl plank flooring ranges from about $5,500 to $8,000.

This page includes detailed vinyl plank flooring costs for materials and installation. Cost factors are explained that will allow you to anticipate a cost range before you shop for LVP and get estimates from flooring installers.

There are plenty of factors to consider when installing a new or replacement floor but for most households the most important question tends to be How much will it cost!?. You may have heard that vinyl plank flooring is a budget friendly flooring option but is that really the case. In this Home Flooring Pros report we are going to lay out the true cost of installing vinyl plank flooring so that you can have a clear idea of whether it is the right flooring choice for you.

When youre ready you can start getting quotes from trustworthy, professional installers in your area.

Lets start with an overview of how the total cost to install vinyl plank breaks down.

The cost of the flooring is the biggest price factor. Cheap vinyl plank flooring starts at about $1.50 per square foot. Peel and stick options can be even cheaper with cost as low as $1.00 per square foot. Premium luxury vinyl plank and tile flooring costs $6.50 to $8.00 per square foot.

Here are the most common materials and their cost they do not include installation.

Installation labor cost ranges from about $1.50 per square foot for easy jobs and as much as $4.50 per square foot for complex installation where a lot of cutting and trimming around obstacles is required. If youre handy, you might want to try DIY installation. Its fairly easy as far as home projects go and can be a rewarding experience. Sure, youll probably ruin a few pieces while getting the hang of installation, but there are good cost savings to be had.

Removing and disposing of old flooring can add $2.00 to $4.00 per square foot depending on the difficulty of the work. When the subfloor must be replaced with new plywood or OSB, expect the cost to rise another $3.00 to $5.50 per square foot.

Heres an installation cost table showing simply what is likely to be included in a low cost, average cost and high cost vinyl plank installation.

Here are the reasons why you might pay closer to $4.00 or $12.00 per square foot for vinyl plank flooring.

What do you get for the money when purchasing vinyl plank or tile flooring?

$1.00 $1.99 per square foot: Self-adhesive or peel and stick vinyl plank flooring is your cheapest option. It is often a DIY project, an inexpensive way to cover bare concrete in a basement or give any room a quick makeover.

The subfloor must be in near-perfect condition, because imperfections will telegraph through this thin vinyl flooring and be easy to spot. Wear layers are quite thin, usually 6 or 8 mils. Cheap vinyl plank flooring can be expected to look good for 3-10 years depending on how much traffic it sees.

$1.50 $3.00 per square foot: Affordable vinyl plank flooring in this price range is often glue-down flooring, though a few floating click-together options are available. You might also find stone polymer core, or SPC, flooring options here. Theyll be entry-level or clearance flooring.

Good-quality standard LVP/LVT is considered water resistant but not waterproof. Thicker wear layers make the flooring more durable than most sheet vinyl and self-adhesive options. Most of the flooring in this category comes with attached pad. Fiberglass pad is better than felt, but its not the most important factor to consider.

Vinyl plank and tile in this category should look good for 10-15 years largely due to a thicker wear layer of 10 to 16 mils.

$2.25 $5.00 Per Square Foot

In this vinyl plank flooring cost range, youll find very good standard flooring and quite a few rigid core vinyl flooring choices, mostly stone polymer composite (SPC) flooring.

Thicker material and better wear layers make this a more durable choice, and you should get 10-20 years from this material depending on how heavily it gets used. Wear layers for vinyl plank flooring in this cost range are usually 12, 16 or 20 mils.

$3.95 $7.50 Per Square Foot

Most vinyl plank and tile flooring in this price range is WPC or stone polymer composite (SPC) rigid core material. It is often called engineered vinyl plank, or EVP. The flooring is waterproof, includes pre-attached underlayment (pad) to absorb sound and floats.

The design might be click-together or loose lay, meaning each plank abuts those around it without interlocking design. The attached pad used on loose lay is designed to grip the subfloor without adhesive. Wear layers of more than 10 mils are most common with the thickest being 22 mils for most products.

$6.00 $9.50 Per Square Foot

This is premium waterproof WPC and SPC vinyl flooring. Youll even find a few options costing more than $10 per square foot for the material. The wear layers offer the best durability and are 16 to 22 mils thick and sometimes a little thicker. Expect this flooring to last 15+ years in residential settings and 5-10 years when used commercially.

There are a lot of well-known players in the luxury vinyl tile and vinyl plank flooring business.

Costs vary a bit. Heres a list of top vinyl plank flooring manufacturers with the types of flooring each sells.

Cheaper products have vinyl cores theres no stone polymer or wood polymer cores that give them greater durability and stability.

Youll find mostly wood-look vinyl plank flooring, but its manufactured in stone looks, herringbone and metallic looks.

While some make a big deal about cost differences between them, thats generally more hype than reality.

Wood Look Planks: $2.25 $12.00 per square foot. Its the widest cost range because it far-and-away offers the most options from cheap to average to highest cost.

Stone Look Planks (marble, slate, granite): $2.00 $8.00 per square foot. Thats a lot cheaper than genuine marble tiles at about $14-$25 a square foot or genuine slate or granite tiles at $11-$20 per square foot will cost you.

Herringbone Planks: $3.50 $7.00 per square foot. Save $8-$10 per square foot with vinyl herringbone than genuine wood.

There are many wood-look and genuine wood flooring options. And it might be useful to compare costs before you decide on vinyl plank flooring or a comparable option.

How much does vinyl plank flooring cost compared to laminate? Engineered hardwood or genuine hardwood? Those are common comparisons, and here are the answers.

Costs are per square foot:

There are several site conditions that affect the labor cost to install vinyl plank flooring.

Removing old flooring: Carpet and pad are easy to tear out. Click-together laminate and vinyl can be removed quickly too. Perimeter glued vinyl usually leaves damage behind where the adhesive pulls material off the subfloor. The entire subfloor must usually be replaced or covered with fresh material when fully glued flooring or ceramic tile is removed. The cost to remove old flooring and properly dispose of it runs $2.00 to $4.00 per square foot. This is an area you can save money with DIY if you have a convenient way to dispose of the old material.

Wood subfloor repair or replacement: Minor gouges or raised edges caused by water damage can usually be filled or sanded, and the existing subfloor can be reused. While not common, occasionally the subfloor is in very poor condition, and it has to be torn out or at least covered with new material. Expect estimates of up to $1.00 per square foot for repairing the subfloor or substrate. The cost of replacement runs $3.00 to $5.50 per square foot.

Concrete issues: The key to successfully laying vinyl plank flooring over concrete is that the surface must be even and level. If it isnt, imperfections will probably show through, and those problems can also cause the flooring to come apart and/or to wear unevenly. Preparation includes filling low spots with self-leveling concrete and filling cracks with elastomeric caulk. Repairs might be priced out by the square foot around $5.00 to $6.00 per square foot for self-leveling concrete. Crack repair generally costs $1-$3 per linear foot depending on the width of the crack and what material is used for the repair.

Vapor barrier: Flooring pros debate whether vapor barrier should be used over concrete. It isnt essential because vinyl plank flooring is water resistant or waterproof. However, if your installer prefers to put down vapor barrier, and youre convinced it is necessary, cost starts under 50 cents per square foot for DIY and tops out closer to $2.00 per square foot when the contractor supplies the material and installs it.

Job complexity: When the floor area is wide open and rectangular, any flooring is easier to install. When estimators eyeball a job, they look for narrow areas such as hallways, obstacles like posts or a fireplace hearth, door jambs and other site factors that slow down the installation process. These can raise the cost per square foot for labor.

Volume of flooring: Installation cost per square foot goes down a little as the amount of flooring goes up. For example, the labor cost for installing 60 square feet in a bathroom is generally $3.00 to $4.50 per square foot while laying 500 square feet throughout the house might reduce cost by $1.00 or more per square foot.

Room clearing: Installers love to see empty spaces, but they often have to move furniture in and out of rooms to install the floor. Expect estimates of $25 to $50 per room based on the amount of furniture that must be moved. This cost might appear as a line item on the estimate or it could simply be factored into the installation cost per square foot.

Appliance disconnection: When working in the kitchen, installers might have to disconnect and reconnect gas appliances. This typically costs $20 to $35 per appliance.

Stairs: Installing plank flooring on stairs is a time-consuming task. Most installers charge $45 to $75 per stair.

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Cost to Install Vinyl Plank Flooring | 2022 Home Flooring Pros

Theres a lot to like about hardwood flooring. It brings a bit of natures beauty into your home, and it goes with just about any decor. It requires an investment of both time and money, but when the dust settles, wood floors are almost always worth it. Whether you are thinking of installing hardwood in a single room or your entire home, here are some factors to consider.

Your lifestyle. The biggest factor in deciding whether hardwood will work for you is your lifestyle. Do you have children or pets? Are there high-traffic areas, such as a den, where you are always moving furniture around for gatherings or movie nights? Are you willing to put up with dings, dents and imperfections from a dropped soup can or your Aussiedoodles nails?

Or are you OK with a floor that reflects you and your familys life and history? If so, then hardwood is worth it, says Jennifer Meska, director of merchandising for national retailer LL Flooring.

Solid wood vs. engineered. Solid wood is just that: a solid piece of wood, typically -inch thick, that can be sanded and refinished multiple times. Engineered wood is a layer ranging from paper-thin to -inch of high-quality wood over a plywood core. Depending on the top layers thickness, engineered flooring can be refinished once or twice max. Engineered flooring is both durable and flexible. Manufacturers can also build in features such as water resistance, which can make this flooring choice an option in damp areas, including kitchens and bathrooms.

Appearance. Some woods have finer grains or a uniform texture, while others may contain knots or vary in color. Before you commit to anything, bring home large sample planks (dont rely on a 3-by-3-inch block or a single plank) of each wood you like, and move them from room to room to get a sense of how they will look. The color in the store may be different from what you see at home.

READ MORE: What's the best home improvement you can get for under $20,000? New flooring.

Stability. It may sound obvious, but hardness matters. The wood flooring industry uses the Janka scale to measure the hardness of a particular type of wood. The test measures the force needed to push a 0.444-inch steel ball halfway into the wood. At 1,290, red oak is the median. Black cherry, teak and Douglas fir rank softer; hickory and pecan are harder. Brazilian cherry is one of the hardest. Theres no good or bad Janka rating; rather, its an indication of how much wear and tear solid wood flooring will be able to handle over the years.

Site-finished or prefinished. Solid hardwood is available both without stain and sealer, or prefinished, which are stained and sealed at the factory. For unfinished wood, stain and finish are applied at your home after installation. You get to test multiple shades of stains, and the result is a consistent color across the entire area. One tip from Meska: Ask your installer to keep a record of your color/formula or to leave you a small can in case you have to replace a damaged area.

For either product, youll also need to consider the finish. This ranges from matte to high gloss. Some woods even come with an oil or wax finish for a soft, hand-rubbed look. Finish is really a matter of personal taste, but Jeff Shipwash, owner of Shipwash Properties, a fix-and-flip real estate investment firm in Knoxville, Tenn., says you are more likely to see imperfections with a higher gloss.

READ MORE: These are the top home renovations Philadelphians plan to tackle in 2022

Local climate. Hardwood can work in any climate, but you do have to take your location into consideration. Wood swells in high humidity and shrinks as humidity falls. Your installer can explain how to mitigate any potential issues. In areas with sticky, hot summers, you may need air-conditioning. Miller says engineered flooring is more stable and adapts to changes in temperature and humidity better than solid wood.

Hassle factor. Installing a wood floor is invasive and disruptive. Even before installation begins, wood planks may have to acclimate to your environment. That means stacks of boxes will sit in your home for up to two weeks, so the wood can adjust to the temperature and humidity. Existing flooring must be ripped out. Furniture must be removed. Unfinished wood must be cut to fit and sanded, producing enormous amounts of sand dust, akin to a glitter bomb going off, Shipwash says.

Then you have to stain the wood, wait for it to dry, and then sand and seal the wood three times, allowing for the finish to dry between coats, he adds. You cant walk on the floors, and some folks are sensitive to sealer fumes, so you may have to move out of your home for a week or more.

Even though it also has to acclimate, prefinished wood does cut the installation time by half or more. Once its down, its ready to go.

Cost. Engineered wood tends to be a bit cheaper than solid. For example, three-inch-wide traditional red oak costs about 20% more than engineered, Meska says, but the installation costs are the same. People think it is cheaper to get unfinished wood, but you will pay more to finish it, Shipwash says.

Your installer. Because this is a major investment, its best not to cheap out and hire someone off Craigslist, Shipwash says. The NWFAs consumer website is woodfloors.org. There, you can find NWFA-certified installers and salespeople in your area by clicking on Hire an NWFA Professional and entering your zip code. Another option is to locate a local or national specialty retailer. Odds are that business can recommend installers.

Miller says some flooring manufacturers offer their own certifications, so it may be worth the time to look at their websites to see whether they have certified installers in your area. As with any home improvement, you should interview installers and get multiple bids. For additional guidance, download the NWFAs Homeowners Handbook to Real Wood Floors.

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Thinking of installing hardwood floors? Heres what to consider. - The Philadelphia Inquirer

MarketQuest.biz has made a report that is clear and error-free possible. Our specialists endeavoured to create the highest-quality and most effective strategy framework possible in the Global Flooring Installation Market from 2021 to 2027. In the overview section, youll find statistics and data on market dynamics. It also goes over how the overall Flooring Installation market works, as well as the markets volume and size.

The report summarizes the results of an industry-wide assessment of the parent industrys dynamics. The research takes a multidisciplinary approach to identify new possibilities and untapped potential in the Flooring Installation industry throughout the world. Our analysts analysed the competitive landscape in depth and projected the strategy framework employed by industry competitors.

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The study contains information on several market segments, including:

The study includes information on several market segments, including:

All the leading players in the Flooring Installation market is:

The research covers the industrys key geographical areas, including:

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The geographical analysis section looks at all of the worlds regions that contribute to the growth of the worldwide Flooring Installation market. This section contains data on each regions volume, market size, and value in order to help our clients achieve a competitive advantage in the worldwide market.

Question Asked Very Frequently:

Which region will make notable contributions towards global Flooring Installation Market revenue?

What are the key factors driving Flooring Installation Market expansion?

What will be the value of Flooring Installation Market during 2021- 2027?

What are the key players leveraging Flooring Installation Market growth?

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Global Flooring Installation Market 2021 Incredible Possibilities, Recent Trends, Business Opportunities and Forecast to 2027 Discovery Sports Media...

The right flooring system lays a good foundation for a quality finish, saving problems and costs later. CaberFloor P5 is the UKs most specified moisture-resistant P5 flooring.

The high-strength particleboard is ideal for domestic and most other floors and removes the need for intermediate noggins. The boards are moisture-resistant, stable, durable, easy to lay and, with a tongue and groove or square-edge profile, provide an excellent surface for subsequent floor laying operations.

Some floors require more advanced solutions and, no matter the size or shape of the floor being laid, there are key questions to ask.

Although not necessarily obvious, the first point to consider is whether the buildings roof will be in place. If the answer is no, the floor will need to withstand the elements.

This is where CaberShieldPlus proves its worth as it is designed to allow building work to continue in all weathers. CaberShieldPlus is an advanced product that has all the inherent benefits of CaberFloor P5.

In addition, it offers double-sided protection with a tough, permanent waterproof coating and is BBA approved for 60 days exposure, when laid according to manufacturers instructions. It is also a non-slip, safe working platform that withstands high site traffic.

An alternative solution is CaberDek which is BBA approved for 42 days exposure, when installed with CaberFix according to manufacturers instructions.

The P5 grade flooring has the advantage of a strong, waterproof and slip-resistant peelable film. It provides protection from the elements and construction mess and, when removed, leaves a clean, finished floor.

The film is impact, puncture and tear-resistant to withstand high site traffic. CaberDek also provides 44dB sound reduction when used in conjunction with leading I-beam and insulation manufacturers.

All three CaberFloor products comply with BS EN312 and are designed to be used with the CaberFix range of specially developed sealing and fixing products that include powerful adhesives and tapes.

For example, CaberFloor P5 is best used with CaberFix Joint&Joist, an adhesive and sealant that will adhere to a wide variety of materials, creating a strong, silent, and flexible bond. Similarly, CaberFix D4 complements CaberDek and CaberShieldPlus. This adhesive bonds flooring to joists, T&G joints and seals exposed perimeter and edges.

Beyond the advantages and practicalities of using CaberFloor, the materials and processes used to manufacture the product offer the reassurance of being sustainable.

Unsurprisingly, West Frasers range of board products is available in a wide selection of sizes to minimise waste.

All timber used is responsibly sourced and FSC certified and the panels are manufactured in the UK from locally grown timber and are net carbon negative.

Additionally, all of West Frasers UK mills have obtained the coveted ISO 14001 environmental accreditation.

The West Fraser website contains a handy flowchart to help builders, specifiers and architects choose the right flooring system for every project, coupled with handy installation guides and videos https://uk.westfraser.com/resources/help-advice/installation-instructions/ for the individual CaberFloor products.

Samples of all West Fraser construction panels can be ordered on the website Uk.westfraser.com. Head to the housebuilder page on the website to download a selection of tools including a fully-interactive guide to all West Fraser products and a checklist to make sure you have everything you need for your build.

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West Fraser's CaberFloor: The solution for all flooring applications - Planning, BIM & Construction Today

The globalhardwood flooring marketsize is expected to reach USD 61.78 Billion in 2028 and register a revenue CAGR of 4.3% over the forecast period, according to the latest report by Reports and Data. Steady global hardwood flooring market revenue growth can be attributed to rising demand for better aesthetics, robust durability in flooring options and materials, as well as cost-effectiveness. Hardwood flooring is widely deployed in residential, commercial, and industrial settings due to characteristics to enhance visual appeal and make the space appear more spacious (particularly, wide plank hardwood flooring). A primary advantage of hardwood flooring is its flexibility and versatility to adapt to nearly all kinds of themes for interior home design. Also, high durability and better wear and tear resistance of both engineered and solid product types are factors resulting in increasing preference, which is also driving increasing deployment in various end-use applications, and this is driving revenue growth of hardwood flooring market.

Rapid industrialization and urbanization in developing countries such as China and India and rising demand for wood flooring with better value addition are factors contributing significantly to market revenue growth. As per hardwood flooring industry statistics, in 2018, engineered hardwood flooring accounted for 28.8% share of the total flooring market revenue in China, owing to improving living standards and presence of branded flooring products. According to a recently conducted research, there are around 3,000 wood flooring producers in China, with over 1,200 producers capable of manufacturing both engineered hardwood and laminate wood flooring products.

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Major players in the market include Mohawk Industries, AHF Products, Somerset Hardwood Flooring, Mannington Mills Inc., BerryAlloc, Home Legend LLC, Beaulieu International Group, Formica, Provenza Floors Inc., and Egger Group.

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For the purpose of this report, Reports and Data has segmented the hardwood flooring market based on wood type, product type, plank width, flooring style, application, end use, and region:

Wood Type Outlook (Revenue, USD Million; 2018-2028)

Product Type Outlook (Revenue, USD Million; 2018-2028)

Design Outlook (Revenue, USD Million; 2018-2028)

Finishing Outlook (Revenue, USD Million; 2018-2028)

Application Outlook (Revenue, USD Million; 2018-2028)

End Use Outlook (Revenue, USD Million; 2018-2028)

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To summarize, the report titled Global Hardwood Flooring Market provides a detailed report of the market by extensive research about the companies involved, current market status, drivers and constraints, and current and future COVID-19 oriented scenario. The study explores the historical years to provide insights into market estimation and fruitful opportunities for key players and new ventures.

Key insights presented in the report:

Regional analysis to provide insight into recent trends and opportunities

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