D.I.Y. flooring…Can it be done?
Installing hardwood flooring is a great way to increase the value of a home, but for many homeowners, installing the flooring themselves is the only option their budget will permit. The beauty and design of hardwood flooring and other flooring types can be quite intimidating to the inexperienced do-it-yourselfer, but installation is relatively easy. Simple tools and patience are all that is required to lay down a beautiful new floor. In fact, this home improvement project can be easily completed in a weekend.
Advantages of hardwood flooring
Hardwood flooring is arguably the most popular type of flooring to have in any home. Hardwood floors are easy to clean and maintain and, with some conditioning and gentle maintenance, have the natural durability to last for years.
Wood flooring is available in a wide variety of different patterns, textures and colors. Add to this the many different shades of wood stains, and the possibilities for designing a beautiful wood floor are almost innumerable. Hardwood floors can also be easily refinished, either by sanding or stripping the finish, so room design changes may be accommodated without removing the flooring completely.
Hardwood flooring is the best type of flooring to have in a home if anyone in the family has allergies. Unlike the fibers of carpeting or even tile grout, hardwood floors cannot trap allergens. Instead of having to use expensive filters on vacuums or heating and air systems, all the dust, pollen and other allergy-inducing debris can be easily swept away.
Installing a hardwood floor
The average homeowner can easily lay down ProSource floors, or any other type of hardwood flooring, in a weekend. Installing a hardwood floor requires the most basic tools, including saws, a hand drill and either hammer and nails or a nail gun. Once the hardwood flooring has been purchased, it is important to allow it to acclimatise to the home’s atmosphere. Flooring should first sit for about five days at temperatures between 65 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit and should sit up off the floor if the base flooring is concrete.
Installation should begin by laying down the first row of boards along the longest wall of the room, preferably one without windows or doorways. This should also be the wall that is perpendicular to the floor joists of the room. Lay the first row of boards down, countersinking the nails as they are attached.
Next, “rack the boards.” This is a professional term for laying out the remaining boards and arranging them where they are going to go. Rearrange them, adjusting for shading or pattern, so that they look the best, then attach them using hammer and nails or, preferably, with a nail gun. The final boards will most likely have to be cut to fit. Install trim around the entire floor to finish.
Other types of flooring
Hardwood flooring is often complemented by other hard flooring types, such as natural stone and tile. These types of flooring can be easily installed as well. A wet saw, which uses a diamond blade to grind through materials instead of cutting with teeth, is necessary to properly cut the materials. Grout or mortar are then used to attach the flooring materials instead of nails.
I would like to thank Dave Stephenson for the guest post. My entire home is hard wood flooring. I love the cleanliness and the look of hardwood. It is quite easy to install yourself; my husband and I have done both ceramic tile and wood. It is a fun project and absolutely a worthwhile upgrade. Good Luck with your home improvement dapper friends!!
Elle S.
I do prefer the look of hardwood floors. Carpeting and tile each have their good points but nothing beats the rich warmth of wood in my opinion. I’ve never tried to install but I did refinish mt parents wood floors by hand. Talk about a labor of love!
Elle
hey_wren@yahoo.com
Gina Brickell
I love the look of hardwood floors. We currently have laminate because we have a 5 year old and it’s easiest to maintain in my opinion. Once he’s older, we will probably convert. I love the looks of them!
chattykat59
I put Pergo in my house, and I am sorry I didn’t just bite the bullet and install the real deal. Oh well, hind sight is 20/20 and I plan on moving out and renting it out to someone else anyway…
Jessica Robinson
We have hardwood floors in our house, maybe because I’ve grown up with them I’m not a big fan, I perfer carpet because it can be so soft.. But hardwood is a lot easier to clean!
Dianna
When we moved into this house–we had hardwood floors in one of the kids bedroom, I hated the carpet and ripped out myself–and Oh My Gosh, I had uncovered the most beautiful hardwood floors in the living room–they are so easy to care for. We Do have carpet in all the bedrooms, except the one, even though I know there probably is more hardwood under them..Thanks for the review…
polly
i have tile on the entire floors downstairs…my son put in hardware floors in his house and it looks beautiful
celina k
What a great guide. We have hardwood flooring, and I love it, but unfortunately it needs to be refinished! Beautiful original floors though, I am very happy we have them.
Jessica Fortner
Hardwood floors are gorgeous. Right now we have a toddler so carpet is definetely better for us though. :p
cathy henatyszen
hardwood floors are great, very appealing to the eye… I like that checkered pattern
Mer
Lovely! Hardwood floors are my favorite, and definitely on my list of things to redo, one day.
desitheblonde
my gf decied to insulate the bedroomof her trailer she done the whole floor and then kitchen black splash on the wasll and then now she doing the beroom wall in the wood
Char W
Lots of good tips! It makes it seem like a more feasible project than before. We are thinking about getting new flooring but not sure if we want to go with tile or hardwood. The kitchen is linoleum and there is carpet in the living room, down the hallway and in each bedroom. The carpet was new in 2006 but no longer looks new with two kids. We have looked at tile and hardwood but haven’t decided yet.
Athena
We have hardwood floors in the bedrooms and tiled floors in other areas of the house. I think these are better because their easier to clean that carpeted floors.
Tina Kohrman
I do like hardwood floors better than carpeting because hardwood floors are a lot easier to clean. I don’t know if I would ever attempt to lay my own hardwood floor.
Darlene ysaguirre
I have hardwood floor all down stairs and with 3 young kids i prefer it ..beats having to clean the carpets all the time
jackeline
I love how hardware floors look and feel that it’s more hygienic. I wish I could rip out the carpet in my apartment and replace it with hardwood floors.
Kristie from Kristie's List
I like the look of hardwood floors, but it’s not necessarily the easiest to clean. That snap-together laminate seems to be pretty popular.
Michele P.
we have old hardwood floors that need refinishing upstairs and downstairs. I dislike carpet because I have cats… and hate vacuuming plus the area can harbor fleas..ugh.
Sarh Snarski
Other then the bathroom, kitchen and bathroom hallway our entire house is hardwood floors. I definitely prefer the hardwood over carpet with young children. I’m not huge on tile and definitely do not like laminate flooring.
Laura
I like hardwood and wish we had it. We have pets and the fur gets into the carpet like crazy. Carpet is cozy I will admit but you can always put a area rug down on hardwood and replace it pretty easily.
bookloon at gmail dot com
charychild
I love hardwood floors. I wish we had the money to tear up the old carpeting in the house we moved into to put in new flooring. I also really want stone tile for the kitchen and bathrooms.
Beth @ E. lizard Breath Speaks
i wish we could have hard woods all over the house. we have them in the master bedroom. they are a little pricey – so we have carpet other places. enjoy your weekend. ( :
Lisa Quinn
I really preferred hardwood flooring. It looks stylish.