| You can get a beautiful room for less if you learn | | | | rolls or be planks that you will lay perpendicular to the |
| how to lay hard wood floor in your home. To install a | | | | eventual finished floor on top. With foam or paper |
| wood floor, you need to understand some basic | | | | types, use a utility knife to trim to exact fit. Planks |
| facts about the nature of wood and of flooring | | | | may also require custom fitting. The flooring itself |
| mechanics. There are a lot of ways to learn how to | | | | should be started in a corner and worked out from |
| install flooring, and it's always a good idea to get help | | | | there. A spacer goes in first to act as an easement |
| from a friend with some prior experience. | | | | for expansion and contraction of the wood. Use |
| Installing hardwood floors can use traditional or | | | | spacers along each wall. |
| floating floor methods. Floating floors have planking | | | | For doorways, you will need to cut a groove to let |
| with tongues and grooves that fit together and are | | | | the new floor planks fit underneath until it is snug |
| simply laid over special materials like cork or foam. | | | | against the walls. Measure and fit this very carefully |
| Traditional methods use some of the same methods | | | | to look as good as it can. The best fixative is an |
| but need more expertise and are much more of a | | | | aliphatic glue. This dries fairly quickly, in approximately |
| challenge for the beginner. | | | | 60 minutes and reaches full strength in 24 hours. Use |
| After deciding on new flooring material and getting | | | | a rubber hammer and a shim of a board to protect |
| advice and supplies, you must remove the old flooring | | | | the surface when you secure each plank. The last |
| and prepare the surface of the under floor that the | | | | one may need a custom cut and a crowbar to |
| new wood floor will be installed on top of. The very | | | | wedge into place against the wall. Protect this wall |
| first step in remodeling is removing old flooring, but if | | | | with some scrap plywood. |
| this is new construction, this is of course not needed. | | | | Allow the glue to dry completely before allowing |
| Strip out the old flooring in sections you can manage | | | | normal traffic and then enjoy the room! A couple of |
| using a special wide scraper or even a metal spatula | | | | helpful tips include leaving the wood indoors for a |
| to help. You need to remove it completely and then | | | | few days to equalize the humidity before putting it |
| sweep and vacuum very thoroughly. Check for a | | | | down, as well as laying out anything patterned |
| smooth and level surface. You may need to fill any | | | | without glue before committing to the final |
| dips or low areas or even do foundation repairs. | | | | placement. |
| Next, you will lay the under floor, which may come in | | | | |