If you’ve ever thought about doing hardwood floor installation yourself, you’ll be happy to know that it can be done. There are many different kinds of hardwood floor installation methods, though. From simpler installs, to complete sound reduction, every method brings something to the table. When it comes time for you to install your brand-new hardwood floors, you’ll want to enlist a pro to help you out.
Hardwood floors are beautiful and can give your home a nice finish, but they’re not always easy to handle. If you want a simple installation process without all of the things that go along with a more complex installation process, you can plan on spending a bit more money. You can also try renting some planks if you’re short on cash and want the floor installation process to begin right away.
One of the best ways to start your hardwood floor installation process is by using an installer to lay down the first few boards. The installers will use one nail or two to secure each plank to the subfloor, which means that you don’t have to worry about nailing the boards down. Using just one nail or two isn’t a bad idea, either. It’s just important that you get all of the nails in place before you start working on the actual boards. If you nail too many in the wrong spots, the boards may pop out of the subfloor and start to look messy in no time.
When you’re installing hardwood floors yourself, you can still follow a similar installation process, but you have to be a little careful. If you have long nails or the wrong type of nail, you may have to sand the boards down a bit before you can use them again. Sanding them down can be done with a sander, but it’s better to have all of the extra metal removed than to risk having your new plank flooring damaged from excessive sanding.
Some hardwood floor installation installers are also used to installing laminates and MDF. Linoleum is a relatively easy material to install with no tools, but most installers find the MDF surface to be a bit more difficult to work with. If you’ve never used large pieces of MDF before, it can be hard to figure out where exactly to place your man boards without creating runs in your floor. Hardwood floor installers will know exactly where to place each board and what size of the board to use in your installation. This can make a big difference in how smooth the end result looks.
Another tool that you’ll need when doing your own hardwood floor installation is a good set of nails. If you plan on doing the entire floor by hand, make sure you have plenty of nails in your arsenal! Some solid wood types take to nails more easily than others. You may want to ask your hardwood floor installation professional if he or she has a few extra nails just in case you need them. Nails will keep your new solid wood subfloor in place and help it last longer.