Our most viewed post and video, by far, is the Brown/Kraft Paper DIY Alternative to Wood Flooring tutorial: how to cover a floor in brown kraft paper to create a great, leather-looking surface. And after having this tutorial get published in Cottages and Bungalows magazine in April 2011 (woot!), more readers and bloggers have tried it in their homes with great success.
It’s also the post I get the most questions about – here, on our You Tube channel, and through email. I thought it was about time to address some of the most common questions people have about this easy, affordable, and beautiful flooring option.
Before I get to the specific questions, I want to emphasize a couple of points that answer most general questions:
- ALWAYS do a test area if you’re unsure. If there is no out-of-the-way place to do it, get a piece of material that is the same as the surface you want to cover and try it.
- If you want to try something other than what I did, don’t be afraid to experiment with your ideas…on your test patch, or the actual floor if you’re a daredevil.
- I can only tell you my experiences– I don’t know exactly how this will work/hold up in your situation. That’s the nature of DIY, I’m afraid.
- This is pretty low-cost and low-impact, so I always tell people to go for it when they want to try something different- don’t be afraid to be creative!
Brown Paper Floor Frequently Asked Questions:
1. Can I do this on concrete?(the most-asked question, by the way- who knew there were so many concrete floors?)
- I haven’t done it myself, so I can only give my reader’s experiences. I’ve been told that using only the polyurethane to “glue” down the paper works for concrete – but not the 3:1 glue-to-water ratio that I use on wood-based sub floors. Paint the concrete with poly, apply the paper and then poly over the top. Again- I haven’t tried it, but I’ve been told this gives good results. If the concrete sits on dirt, there may be moisture issues and I’d do a test area.
- Here’s what one You Tube commenter said:
“Yes I just did it on concrete in my sons room, it looks great, I love it- about to do the hallway now. I just made sure to scrape it clean so it was smooth. But we love it, so glad I found this”
2. Can I do this on tile? Vinyl? Other subfloors like pressboard or plywood?
- See question #1 and general suggestions above
- My only experience has been with wood-based subfloors (specifically, particle board, but I’ve also done patches on plywood- more wrinkles with particle board, less with plywood) – I think putting this over tile would leave grout marks- not sure at all how that would look.
- If the linoleum is in good condition and there aren’t a lot of bumps and ridges in the surface design (most things show up when the paper dries) the paper should adhere. As always, I recommend to do a test patch in an out-of-the-way spot and see what it looks like!
- Here’s a reader comment who applied it to a painted floor:
“If you have a floor that already has a coat of poly on it (we had a painted floor), you can use poly for your glue and it works very well!”
3. How durable is this? Does it last?(second most-asked question)
- Again, I can give you our experiences: in our former house, we did the stairs and the entire upstairs (400 sq. ft.) three years before we sold it. The stairs looked as good as the day with finished them – much to my surprise – and there was one spot upstairs that tore from moving furniture. I touched it up before selling.
- At our current house, it’s been two years since we finished our son’s bedroom (at the time of this article) and it, too, looks just the same as when we finished it. I think it might be discolored where the bed feet are, but it hasn’t been moved, so I won’t deal with it until it’s needed.
- SO, I feel pretty confident in saying that it’s very durable – considering it’s paper. That’s the result of the polyurethane – I do four coats, but you can always do more, it’ll just cost more.
- UPDATE: see our video, below on how it’s held up after 4 years:
4. Can I do this in a bathroom? Kitchen? Dining room? Etc…
- I haven’t tried it in these areas, though I’ve heard from a few readers who’ve put it down on their bathroom floors. They report good results – one said her parents had it back in the 70s and it lasted more than 7 years. Another reader said after awhile it wore a little in front of the bathtub and they added more paper and poly and it continues to work for them!
- I would think kitchens may be the same, though they get a lot more traffic. My suggestion is to take a chance – for $60-70 and a few days time you’ll have a cool floor for awhile at least. And maybe longer!
5. Can I do this on stairs? On walls? On counters?
- See second point of question #4 – it’s cheap, so go for it and find out!
- As for stairs, as I said in #3, I’ve done it (and others as well) and they really look nice and hold up well
6. How long does it take to finish? Will the wrinkles smooth out? Is it hard on the knees?
- It takes a long weekend – about 3 days – to do the technique like I outlined in the video, longer if you want to stain the paper (more on that below).
- Yes, after the glue/water dries, the wrinkles will be much less noticeable, then pop up again after applying the poly. As the poly dries over the next week, they will lessen until hardly noticeable. Read this post about how I thought I failed, but then didn’t.
- Yes, it’s hard on the knees and the back! Be prepared…
7. Is it loud? Slippery? How do you transition to other flooring (ie, thresholds)?
- We don’t find it to be obnoxiously loud, but it does squeak more than carpet, as you’re walking on the subfloor.
- Yes, it’s slippery like any surface that’s been coated with polyurethane (wood floors, etc.). You’ll need rugs with pads under them and for little kids, those socks with the no-skid bottoms. *smile*
- We buy wood thresholds from the home store and stain them what we want to transition between the lower paper floor and our wood floors. Works for us.
8. How does it hold up with dogs?
- Our dog doesn’t go into the rooms with this floor, so I only know what I’ve read from others. I’ve had readers say their floor was fine with pets. As I’ve said, with the coatings of poly I believe it wears really well. The bonus is, if it does get pulled up in an area by pets (or moving furniture and such) you can simply tear a piece of paper to cover it and poly it down. Good as new, which can’t be said for many other floor treatments.
- That said, I’m not sure there’s any floor that dogs won’t put some scratches in (except carpet, but that has it’s own issues…), so you’ve got to be OK with that, I think.
- If you’re worried about your dog chewing, I’d suggest doing a Google search on dogs and the poly finish. There aren’t edges to be chewed, but you never know what a chewy dog will find.
9. Can I use a roller to apply the polyurethane? Does it smell? Do I have to sand between coats?
- You can use a roller if you want to – I use a brush as it’s easy for me and I can get into the corners and edges without cutting in later. Readers have told me they’ve used a foam mop-head type applicator as well as a roller. I’ve always heard that rollers could increase the bubbles in the finish, plus I have more control with a brush, so that’s what I’ve always used.
- The water-based poly has minimal smell- not at all like the oil-based stuff that is so strong and lingers for days.
- I’ve never sanded between coats. This isn’t a fine finish- just for protection, so I don’t bother.
10. Can I use other types of paper? Fabric?
- Sure! Use any paper you’d like. As with most other questions, I always suggest trying it first.
- I’ve never even imagined it with fabric- you may have problems with edges fraying as you brush the glue on, if it’s a loose fabric. Or not. Experiment!
11. Can I cut the paper into strips?
- I know of a couple of readers who’ve used strips, and they like it. I think it gets harder when the pieces are bigger, though, so keep the pieces easy to handle and glue down.
12. Can I use oil-based polyurethane?
- I DO NOT recommend it. I have had readers tell me it worked for them and I don’t know the difference, but when I tried it (it’s cheaper, and I succumbed…) I had awful oily splotches. I had to tear it ALL up and lay the paper all over again. And the smell- it was so bad, and for days. I’ll never use an oi-based product on it again.
13. Can I stain it? How?
- Yes, readers have successfully stained it. You stain it one of three ways:
- Stain the floor right after the glue/water mixture has fully dried, BEFORE starting the poly coats. Use the stain you’d like and apply it with a foam pad applicator or brush. Let dry fully before starting the poly coats. Here’s one reader’s technique (though I still don’t recommend using anything oil-based with the paper).
- Mix a water-based stain in the glue/water mixture, effectively staining the paper as you go. This is more time-saving than the first option, but you have to experiment with the mixture first to get the ratio so that the floor ends up the color you want.
- For concrete floors, since you’re not using the glue/water mixture, you’ll need to tint the polyurethane (some poly comes with stain in it- you can experiment with that).
14. Can I put another floor over the top of it later? Do I have to rip it up?
- I think that’s one of the nice things about this- if you ever want to install wood (or, heaven forbid- carpet :-), it would go right over the top with no problem. About the only thing you couldn’t do would be to paint it, although people surprise me all the time…maybe someone will do this one day!
- I wouldn’t bother removing it, but I suppose that depends on what you’re putting on top. Guess what? Yeah…do a test patch. *smile*
15. How do you clean it?
- I clean my paper floors like I clean wood floors: I vacuum with a canister vac weekly and use a slightly damp mop as needed (ours are in bedrooms- the need for mopping is not that great). Like wood floors, I never put a lot of water on them- just a damp mop is good. They really are easy care!
16. Can it be repaired if it tears? How?
- Yes, easily. Simply tear and crumple a new piece of brown paper to cover the area to be fixed. Use poly only and brush the floor with it, lay the new piece on the area and brush more poly over the top. Let dry and repeat for the number of coats you’d like.
17. What about resale value?
- As far as renovations go, this is a pretty inexpensive one, even if it’s just for a few years before you can afford something else. But as I mentioned in another question, we sold our other house with this flooring on the stairs and second floor with no problem. In fact, the new family thought it was cool (we sold it ourselves, so we heard all their comments). Everyone who’s ever visited our houses have thought it was a great floor and many of them have wanted to do it to their own floors. Each situation is unique, though, and I’m sure there are people who wouldn’t like it (they’re probably carpet people!).
- UPDATE: We’ve sold the house pictured here with no problems with the flooring, as well.
Whew! As you can tell, I really have gotten a lot of questions about this. If you’ve made it this far, you must be interested in trying this so if you have any more questions I haven’t mentioned, be sure to leave them in the comments and we’ll do our best (or our readers will!) to answer them here. I’ll just keep adding to the list.
And be sure to tell us if you’ve done this technique and leave a link if you’ve posted about it on a blog or website!
Joanna says
Hi I’m hoping you can help, I’ve done the paper floors in my entry way and kitchen and LOVE them, that being said, I recently did my living room and Did not stain it (I thought I’d like the natural look) I only applied a thin coat of poly, I’m going to try and apply a blue stain on top now and then more poly…. think it’ll work????
Jami says
I have no idea, though I’m thinking the stain will streak instead of sinking in because of the poly coating. Do a test area first!
Bill Itzla says
Would it be better to use the poly as the glue instead of the Elmer’s? Would it make it adhere better to the vinyl?
Jami says
You could try a test area. People doing this over concrete usually do that instead of the glue. It will be more expensive, of course, because poly is more expensive than glue.
Bill Itzla says
Thank you. I think I will use a product from PP&G called Gripper. It is a primer that I have used with a great deal of success.
Angie says
Hello Jami,
I know you might have had this question before but I just started my paper flower and I’ve seen your videos and others and my only concern is the lines and bubbles my floor has right now and I just want to make sure how do I get them out if I can ether before I put the polyurethane or just continue to apply polyurethane to they some what disappear. I home you can help me with this and thank you. Angie
Jami says
The bubbles should all calm down before adding the poly. Some might reappear after that, but when all is cured and dry it should be smooth!
Machelle Graham says
Can you use colored paper torn into shapes to make an inlay type design or is that too many edges to deal with? I’ve always wanted a stenciled floor and this just sounds way more interesting to me. By the way I loved the idea of paper floors I feel you couldnt tell.
Jami says
You can use any paper, but thicker paper will act differently, so I’d do a test on a piece of plywood or something to see how you like it through the process.
Patricia says
I have had a a paper floor for about 18 years in my kitchen. I put it over a vinyl floor Clean the vinyl, let dry. I used the glue & water technique and put on about 2 to 3 layers and When it was dry I painted a tile design on it with craft paints, resembling an old fashion tile. I didn’t crumble or tear the papers but did overlap them the paper, it still wrinkled but I left the wrinkles in and painted over them. I then used polyurethane and gave it about four coats. Don’t put a lot of water on the floor and remember the older it gets, especially in a heavy traffic area, parts of the floor will start wearing. No one believes the floor is printer paper.
Jami says
Oh that sounds amazing, Patricia – and the fact that it’s lasted 18 years! I’d love to see photos of that – could you email one to me? You used printer paper? Love it!
Gitanjali Singhal says
Thank you for this post. Another question: how thick is it? How many mm should I allow for?
Jami says
It’s not that thick, though I haven’t actually measured it. Paper and 4 or so layers of poly don’t add up to much. 🙂
JAN says
I did my entire basement (concrete, sub terrain, Wisconsin) 5 years ago, and it still looks perfect. Recipe I used was 50/50 Elmers white glue/water; let it dry for 2 days; then oil based stain; let it dry for 2 days; then 5 coats of Varathane water based High Traffic (semi gloss). Varathane is awesome by the way, if not only for its durability, but you can recoat after 1 hour, so finishing only took 1 day. I let is cure for about a week before moving furniture over it. NOT EVEN ONE SCRATCH. If water puddles, the Varathane will turn whitish; just wipe it up and let it dry, GOOD AS NEW! I also did all the stair treads the same way down to my basement (pressboard treads), still perfect after 5 years and a 120# Great Dane following me everywhere. The only time I found it to be slippery was when saw dust got on it while working down there. Otherwise, not slippery at all. ON TO COUNTERTOPS – I did about 30′ of ugly 1980’s pink/grey builder’s grade formica countertop with paper as well, 5 years ago. I could not find anywhere if Varathane was food safe, so I used Minwax Polycrylic. Awesome product! I am now at the point where the countertops could use a coat or two of the Polycrylic. Same as Varathane, if water puddles, it will turn whitish, but will return to normal when dry. I ALWAYS work on a wood cutting board, as is a good practice no matter what type of countertop you have. I need to type in caps now, cuz this is very important – BUY ALL YOUR PAPER AT ONCE (different lot runs cause different colors) AND PUT THE SAME SURFACE OF THE PAPER UP!!!!!! Builders paper has a different finish on each side. I found this out to my dismay and had to redo a huge section. If doing the rip and crush method, run a pencil over the ‘wrong side’ and make sure to put that side DOWN when gluing it. I LOVE my paper floor and am now contemplating a move in which I have decided to do the ENTIRE house that way. Don’t be afraid, as it is not only economical, but beautiful finished result.
Jami says
Oh my gosh, I LOVE this Jan!! How wonderful that it has held up that well on both your concrete floor and your counters. Those are great tips about the paper – I, too, ran into issues using different paper bought at separate times. I didn’t notice the different sides thought that’s easy enough to make sure of before starting just in case – after that much work I know like you do that it’s no fun to redo a large section. 🙂
Thanks so much for this update – I’m sure it will help others and I will refer them to your comment!
Tara says
Hi there my name is Tara Dye and I live in Casper Wyoming. We are remodeling our basement and choose to do the paper bag floor and I absolutely love it. We have encountered a mis hap however!!!! We were almost finished and ran out of polyurethane so my husband ran to the store to get more. He got to cans and by mistake one was a matte finish instead of high gloss like the rest of the floor. There is a big difference in the color. What do you suggest we do with the small area that was done with the matte finish? Possible recover it with more paper with the high gloss? Just cover with high gloss?? HELP:)!!!
Jami says
I think all you’d need is to cover it with high gloss if you think it’s just the shine that’s making a difference. If it’s the nature of the poly that made the paper darker, I’d think you’d need to go over that area with another layer of paper and then the gloss. Hope this helps!
Collis says
Great first read. Thank you.
Patty says
Question:
I papered my bedroom floor and love the look. I am considering papering my livingroom. In my bedroom, all of the plywood seams show through even after using wood filler and sanding. It was easily covered up with and area rug but i dont want yhen to show in my living room. How do I hide the seams?
Jami says
Hmmm, that’s really odd, Patty. I didn’t have that happen to my floors. Are they really uneven? Maybe your living room floors will be more level? Since I haven’t had the issue I’m not sure – maybe add another layer of paper around the seams?
Renee Lees says
There is a floor leveler made by the Henry company. It’s easy to use and readily available at Home Depot or Lowe’s. We used it in business for years
Jenea Empson says
I am going to try this on bi fold doors
Jami says
Fun idea!
Angel Pettaway says
Hello, I am new in trying this technique. I have a lot of edges that have lifted. How do I fix it?
Jami says
Maybe your glue ratio didn’t have enough glue? I didn’t have that happen, but I think if you reglued the edges that would fix it. If you’re past the glue stage and onto the poly stage, use the polyurethane to reglue the edges.
Melissa G says
Hi Jami. I have a question regarding the paper bag floor. I didn’t see this in any of your FAQ or any of the other blogs. I just did my basement floor & finished the 4th coat of poly. After the gluing process I did have some ripples in a couple of pieces but they were not all the way through the piece. My ripples are only on the edge of a couple pieces. I thought it would go down after letting the glue dry for 1 week. They didn’t look too bad so I applied Poly & thinking the poly would pull the edge the rest of the way down or even it out so you didn’t feel the edge ripple. However that didn’t happen. I am wondering if you ran into this or if you have suggestions on how to fix or prevent this. It am able to push them down so they seem soft but don’t stay down. Almost like it is an air pocket ripple & won’t suction down. I can send pictures too which I think would make it easier to understand. Thank you so much in advance.
Jami says
Oh, I know what you’re talking about, Melissa. 🙂 Yes, it’s an imperfect process. I usually had a few places like this and just let it be since you couldn’t see them with furniture, etc. If you are bugged by them, you can take a straight-edge razor and slice them, apply poly to the top and inside as much as possible, and push them down over each other- does that make sense? You’ll just need to press one side down and then press the other side on top until they are laying flat, coating the area with poly initially and then after it dries. This worked in a couple of areas for me, I hope it does for you!
Sharon says
How do I repaint my floor do you have to strip it and start over?
Jami says
If the paint is in good shape, you can just sand and paint over the top. If it’s got a lot of areas of peeling paint, those would show through, so you’d probably want to strip it.
Karyn says
Hello!! We are currently in the process of putting this down in our kitchen, in the middle of a kitchen remodel. The contractors would like to put cabinets down, and we are just getting to the poly tomorrow. How long do we wait between the last coat of poly and serious tromping around on the floor to install cabinets? Thanks!
Jami says
I just follow the manufacturer’s directions! You can walk on it – I guess be careful?
Selva says
I want to try this im my living room and dining room. You said that these foors may scratch when moving furniture and with a lot of traffic. Will more polly protect the floors better? Will pads that are placed under the feet of the furniture prevent scratches?
Jami says
They may work, Selva. We found that even pads under the bed feet left some markings. But anything that’s noticeable is easy to patch with a small bit of paper and poly. 🙂
Cynthia Anderson says
I am about to do this in my bathroom. Im either going to try a white bed sheet or some white wall paper. I bought poly with a light wood stain.
Jami says
I like how you’re being creative, Cynthia, but I’d definitely try a test with the fabric – not sure how that would work at all (I’m thinking about frayed edges, etc.). Just make sure the polyurethane is meant for floors – the other kind will not wear as well. Oh, and have fun. 🙂
Holly says
Have you had anyone do this in a travel trailer? How do you think it would do in a uncontrolled environment? Absolutely love it! Thanks for sharing!’
Jami says
No, not that I know of, Holly – but I think it could be a good solution if the trailer doesn’t leak. The paper is covered by lots of polyurethane – so it should hold up to a lot. It may scratch, though, with the rocks and stuff that comes in when traveling…
Lara justesen says
What type of glue is used? Is it just the standard All Purpose Elmers “Glue-all” ? Is it the “Interior” one? The gallon our local home improvement store carries runs about $15. Is that about right?
Jami says
Yes, we used the all-purpose, Lara. It was $10 when we did it, but I’m not surprised to see it’s gone up!