George K.
Hardwood is an attractive flooring option that provides a timeless aesthetic. You can pay professionals to do the installation, but if you are handy and knowledgeable, you can do the installation yourself. Check out G&B Quality Cedar Products.
For those that are looking to do their own installation, here is a quick guide to help you to add hardwood to any room or home.
Choose Your Wood And Installation
When you are looking to install hardwood floors in your home, you need to decide what wood and material you are using. This will vary depending on your budget, the size of your project and space, and the preferences you have for the type of wood you wish to install. You will also decide what sort of installation you will use as they will vary and some floorboards may be built differently. Once you have made your decision, it is time to start preparing your project space.
Prepare And Gather Tools
For this specific installation, you’re going to use a table saw, jamb saw, as well as needing a mallet and installation kit. A tape measure and pencil. You’ll also need to gather the flooring, nails, duct tape, caulk, nail gun, as well as a vapor shield. Professional woodworkers from wood2new.org acknowledge that you should always prioritize certain safety practices. In addition to your tools, make sure you are wearing the proper safety gear that includes goggles, gloves, and knee pads.
Prepare The Base Floor
Remove the existing flooring and check that the existing subfloor is flat and level. If it is concrete, fix any chips or holes with a patching solution. For wood floors, remove any protruding nails, and sand down the floor. Lay down the vapor shield, as this will protect your floors from moisture. Once down, you can lay down your floorboards to get an estimate of what the floor will look like and in what direction you want to install them. Start from one wall and work your way across the rest of the room.
Cutting The Boards
Once you have established your layout, and taken down the correct measurements, you can begin cutting your wood flooring. Make sure that when you are doing your initial measurements, that you leave a gap for your flooring to expand. Divide the width of the room by the width of the board to determine the number of rows you are going to be installing. For most rooms, you won’t get an exact number, so you will have to make adjustments and cut the last board to fit in the remaining space. If your last board would be too narrow, consider trimming and cutting boards on both sides to accommodate a better looking and functioning installation.
Preparing Doorways
This is a small but necessary step to your hardwood floor installation. It is easier to cut the trim around your doorways and fit the boards beneath them than it is to cut around the boards to fit your doorways. To get the right measurement for your doorways, use a board and lay it flat against the trim. Use a pencil to mark the areas, and use the saw to cut the trim, removing the excess away from them. This will make it easy to slip the wood floor underneath.
Laying The Flooring
The first row of flooring will require you to leave a gap for expansion. With that in mind, you will line up your boards against the wall, with that gap, and nail down your boards. Once established and set in place, start with the second row and progress from there. The second row of boards will start with a piece that is longer or shorter than the first paneled board, so as to give your flooring that staggered look. Depending on your hardwood, you may not need to nail these boards down, but instead, lay them down and they will firmly attach with grooves previously cut into them. This will make installation much easier.
Once you have completed your floor installation, you will remove the spaces that were used at the beginning that factored in for expansion of the wood. When you remove them, you can then install a baseboard and molding to give your room a cleaner, more finished look. Caulk your edges to ensure gaps are filled in and look as smooth as possible. Once that has been done, you are free to give your floors a quick sweep and even polish to help complete the job.
Once you have completed your hardwood installation, make sure that you keep it in good condition. There are different ways to properly maintain a hardwood floor and you want to ensure that you do so to have them last as long as possible.
