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Hardwood Floor Installation

by Bogdan Klejn 2007-10-17 - Installation

Hardwood floors are always a beautiful touch to just about any room in your home. Floors are so much easier to take care of than carpets and rugs are. When you spill something on a carpeted floor it can be a complete nightmare to clean up, because no matter what you really do it is never really cleaned up. You would have to replace that portion of the carpet and clean the floor underneath.

Hardwood floors are easy to install, convenient, gorgeous, and easy to take care of. If you spill something on your hardwood floor you simply clean it up and know that it will be clean! It is not recommended that you install a hardwood floor yourself, but rather have a professional install it for you. It can be a difficult process if you have no experience. When a professional comes to your home to install hardwood floor they will go through ten basic steps to complete the job.

Step 1: The molding in the room will be removed – base and shoe molding. They will pull the base molding from the wall with a pry bar. You will notice that there will be a gap between the hardwood floor and the wall during the installation process. This is for further development, so there is no need to worry.

Step 2: They will tack down the building paper that will help to reduce noise. This is actually an option that you can choose not to have done if you would like. However, it would probably be best if you do. They should (also an option) install what is called a vapor wall, which is stapling paper about every ten inches on the floor.

Step 3: In this step they will calculate what they need to lay down for the starter strip. Math is a very important part of the installation, as the floor needs to fit perfectly. The first strip needs to work, or the last strip will not fit. If the wood does not fit perfectly they will have to cut the wood to size.

Step 4: This is when you will see the floor starting to come together. The installers will use string and chalk to add the lines where they need to be. When they snap the string it will leave a mark of chalk on the floor. Accuracy is vital for this process. They will then make sure the starter strip will fit into place. Then holes are drilled every foot along the gap against the walls. You should see them using #6 nails to fasten the strips to the sub floor.

Step 5: They will secure the starter strip and then nail the other strips into place.

Step 6: Everything needs to be accurate and balanced with hardwood floors. In this step they will make sure they cross cut pieces for the ends of each and every strip.

Step 7: This step is used for any obstacles in the room such as vents or other things that might be in the way. They will work with this and make it fit well with the rest of the floor.

Step 8: Now is the time to complete the last row, and the installers will do this the same way they did the first strip. They should be using a block of wood to ensure that there will be no damage done to the wall while installing the final row.

Step 9: Now your floor is installed! This is when your floor needs to be sanded and polished. They might do the sanding by hand or with a machine.

Step 10: For the final touch the installers will re install the molding after the polish has dried completely.

That is it! You now have a beautiful, new hardwood floor.

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• Hardwood Floor Installation - by Bogdan Klejn 2007-10-17