How did he do that?

Because I got so much help from everyone on this board - especially Gary and Floorguy - and since everyone seems so impressed with the floor layout diagrams that I and another person posted on this board, I thought I would tell you guys how it was done. Initially it is a little more work than graph paper. However, after doing the first one you will find it to be just as fast or faster than graph paper and the results are certainly much more professional looking. For commercial installers this would be a fantastic sales tool and give your potential customers another reason to choose you over the other guy! Besides the computer you obviously already have, you’ll need a basic flatbed scanner and a capable graphics program. I recently bought a nice scanner (Epson Perfection 4180 Photo) for my wife’s scrapbook hobby and it also came with a freebie graphic editing program by Adobe called Photoshop Elements 2.0. This is the Lite version of the $500 professional Adobe photo editing program. However, the cheapest flatbed scanner you can find will work just as well. If you do not already have a graphic program considering purchasing a scanner that also includes the necessary photo editing software. I like the hardware setup I have and Adobe Elements 2.0 is a nice simple program that was included for free. Elements also includes an excellent help function for those who are new to photo editing with a computer. With these and a floor plan from the house builder or customer, you are all set. Hope you get as much out of this as I did your advice! - Now back to my own flooring job...

Here are the steps:

1) Scan in the floor plan using the black & white line scan setting. I like working with .tif files and then saving the results from the editing program in .jpg file format. This seems to work better and keeps the detail intact as much as possible.

2) Using the graphic editing program, open your floor plan. “Erase” all lettering and doors from the plan. If you have “dust bunnies” from the scan, erase these too. I highly recommend saving your “blank” floor plan now! Then do a “Save as” and rename it Floor1… or something else. That way you can do multiple plans and have a blank one to come back to when your customer says she wants it another way.

3) If you will be changing directions of the flooring between rooms or halls, you will need to draw thin lines across door thresholds or hall transitions where it will be changing. Use a very light grey color for these lines so you can see them. Also make sure all wall or cabinet lines are unbroken. If they are not, go over them with the line drawer function (in black). At this point you will need to merge all visible layers of the file. You’ll find this under the Layer tab of the Elements program.

4) Now using a pattern (see below), fill each room with the direction pattern you like. The fill function on Elements looks like a paint bucket that is pouring. It literally pours the pattern into the room but stays within all the walls and cabinet lines (as long as they are unbroken).

5) Once done filling, you need to once again flatten or merge all layers that Elements may have created. Then, you can save the picture for later use or printing. If you want to post the result on the internet, Elements can do so with the “Save for web” option under the File tab. This option reduces the file size but also degrades the clarity a little. After you save the file to your local computer, you must then upload the .jpg file to your server. But that is a subject for another day...

Getting the Wood Pattern:

The pattern I used can be found here: Horizontal

For Adobe Photoshop Elements 2.0, you can “capture” this pattern (or any other you find on the internet) and use it for your projects. There are also many other patterns available from Adobe’s web site. These include rock, special paint effects and various tile patterns.

To get a fill pattern for Adobe Elements 2.0 – Using your browser, click on the file above. The horizontal pattern will appear in your browser. Right click on the displayed pattern and then “Save As…” to your computer. Name it “Horizontal.jpg”. Now open this same file within the Elements program. Go to “Layer”, “New Fill Layer” and “Pattern”. Name the pattern “Horizontal” and save it. If you want a vertical layer use the “Image”, “Rotate”, “90 Degree Left” option and save it as a pattern using the “Vertical” name.

COOL! Thanks! I'll try it!

WOW!

Now that called, getting educated!

THANKS!!