May | 2010 | Weekndr by Matt Berger

Inside the workshop. A checkerboard skateboard takes shape one square at a time.

Shop doors open.

It doesn’t look like much yet, but the Weekndr Garage Skateshop opened for business this week as production on the first Checkerboard skateboard got underway. Seriously folks, we’re taking orders.

The veneer goes together using a old-timey technique known as marquetry. Kind of like building a puzzle.

Decked out in a checkerboard pattern of exotic veneers, this short board will become No. 53 in the long lineage of handmade skateboards I’ve sent out into the world. It was more than 12 years ago when No. 1 hit the street under the brand Bergerboard. It was a pin-striped longboard that emulated the woody longboard surfboards of the 1950s. The cash payment for sale went straight to the weekend beer budget, and also bought the materials for the next few boards I made and sold. Soon, Bergerboards were selling as fast as I could make them (which wasn’t very fast at all).

Over the years, I’ve evolved the construction process, tried new materials and designs, and finally settled on the current method, which is faster and results in a higher-quality skateboard. If you’re interested in No. 54 and up leave a comment.

A Japanese carving knife and a straight edge make quick work of the veneer cutting.

This laminate flooring was on sale for $0.99 per square foot at Home Depot last month.

Before we moved in to our new rental house we had to tear out all of the carpets. They were at least 30 years old and showed it both in fashion and cleanliness. Most of the house was covered in a rust orange berber, while our bedroom featured a mint green shag. Decades of cigarette smoke added a bit of a smokey hue to both.

To our great fortune, most of the house had oak wood floors hiding beneath the carpet. We absolutely love hardwood floors, and these are some of the best of them. The bedroom, meanwhile, had a plywood subfloor that needed to be covered fast. The quick solution was to install laminate flooring. Hence this inspiration for this post:

HOW TO INSTALL LAMINATE FLOORING IN FOUR EASY STEPS

Notice there's no vapor barrier...

STEP ONE: READ THE INSTRUCTIONS. So I forgot to do this before I left Home Depot with a pallet full of on-sale-now laminate flooring. What I would have learned had I read the instructions is that this brand required a vapor barrier. You’ll read more about that in step three…

STEP TWO: REMOVE THE EXISTING FLOOR COVERING. Removing the carpets was a cinch. Pulling out the nails and tack strips that held down the carpet padding, on the other hand, was a bitch. I worked a full day on my hands and knees with a pair of pliers and a pry bar pinching and yanking every protruding sharp metal object I could find. Every now and then we still come across a stray staple or tack.

STEP THREE: INSTALL FLOORING WITH VAPOR BARRIER. The name-brand Pergo flooring has a built in vapor barrier, which kicks into action when the flooring strips are clipped together. Unfortunately, I priced out Pergo to the tune of $850.

The imitation sale-priced material I purchased doesn’t feature a built-in vapor barrier, and required laying down a few rolls of plastic sheeting underneath during the installation process. I didn’t read this part of the instructions before making the 10 min. drive home from Home Depot and then leaving everything in the car for 3 hours while I ate lunch and sat on the couch for a siesta. So by the time I got to installing the flooring, I was in no mood to return to Home Depot.

This is California, I thought. It never rains in California, so who needs a vapor barrier?

We’ll see. (P.S. worst case the strips of flooring will expand from moisture and warp, twist, or bow. To prevent that, leave about a 1/2 inch of space between the flooring and the wall to allow for expansion. You can cover it later with baseboard trim.)

Cross cutting the laminate flooring.

STEP FOUR: CUT AND FIT LAMINATE FLOORING. The key to installing any type of flooring that comes in standard size units is to create a random pattern. You don’t want your floor looking like a checkerboard (unless you do) or a doctor’s office (I hope you don’t). WIth laminate flooring, this means cross cutting the end pieces at random lengths. I did that with a borrowed miter saw from my neighbor up the road.

Ninety-nine percent of the floor install moves along swiftly. I started from one end and made my way across the room. Once aligned, the pieces just click together with a nice tight seam.

Then comes the hard part; installing the final perimeter of the floor. You need a tablesaw to do this because it involves ripping the flooring into thinner strips, and fitting them around existing obstructions like door jambs. I still haven’t finished that part yet…