Are you willing to redecorate your floor in a new and different style? Then, guess what is the hotlist these days – it’s the pennies. Yes, you heard it right. People are trying this method to give a traditional yet unique look.
But if you don’t have patience, then you must not start tilling your floor with pennies. It is a challenging and time-consuming task that needs a lot of precision to bring about the best results. If you are still willing to do it all by yourself, you must follow the few steps mentioned below.
Tips for creating a DIY unique floor
First thing first – Floor preparation, before you plan to bring about any change or refurbishment, you must remember to prepare the floors. Here is a mini-guide for you to do so.
Remove the baseboard from the adjacent wall
You can easily remove the baseboard without breaking it by first locating the nails and then by setting up the pry bar between the board and the wall at the same location as that of the nail. Press the pry bar gently to remove the board out of the wall. Also, don’t forget to mark the board pieces so that you don’t get confused while reinstalling it.
Remove the floor that you already have
Use a knife or a pry bar to lift the existing floor from the edges to lay a new floor on the flat and smooth surface.
Smooth the base of the floor
You might notice that there is still some adhesive present on the floor, which earlier attached the flooring with the floor. Scrap the floor with sandpaper and then sweep or vacuum the entire place to prepare it for flooring.
Add a plywood subfloor
Once you have nicely nailed or fixed the plywood with the floor, then you must remember to fill all the gaps or nail portion to prepare the floor for the installation of the pennies. Also, ensure that your floor is even; otherwise, the result won’t be as attractive as you expect.
Painting
The last step for preparing the floor is to paint it with primer color, which you want to appear through the gaps in between pennies. You must use neutral colors like beige, tan, gray, or even black for the best results. Please wait until it is scorched.
Once you have all set with the floor, you must start laying down pennies on the floor with the help of the following technique:
- Always remember to start from the corners to make your mistakes un-noticeable.
- Use a good quality glue with a capacity to accept the epoxy overcoat layer.
- Place each penny with great precision. Also, work in rows to get a straight line.
- It is entirely your choice that which side of the penny you want on the upside and in what fashion you want to lay them on the floor.
- Work in one direction to avoid alignment mistakes.
- After you are done adhering to the complete floor with pennies, leave it for 24 hours before hopping onto the next step.
- Then, add a layer of polyurethane on the pennies to fix their position on the floor.
- Start applying the epoxy layer on the floor, but make sure to get the entire floor done in one go.
- Make sure to use an old and unwanted box to prepare the epoxy mixture.
- Pour the epoxy material onto the floor and use an old paintbrush to smooth it all across the floor.
- Remember to be quick as it dries quickly, and once it is hard, you won’t be able to level it.
- Once done, leave the floor for another two hours, but if you want the best results, make sure to avoid walking on it for at least two days.