Installing Hardwood Flooring: One of the Safer DIY Projects

By Phil Johnson

I'm not a big Do-It-Yourself guy. Generally, my DIY activities are limited to painting, wallpapering and unclogging the toilet. Other than that, my main handyman skill is writing a check. It's no surprise, then, that the thought of installing my own wide plank hardwood floors seems about as doable as building the space shuttle.

However, after a little research, I've come to think this is the kind of project that even I could handle. At the very least, it's less life threatening than other home improvement projects like:

Plumbing – Plumbers use blowtorches. Can you say, "burn unit"?

Electrical – They use electricity to execute convicts. No thanks.

Roofing – I'm not afraid of heights; I'm afraid of falling from heights.

So far as I can tell the odds of installing hardwood floors and living to tell about it seem relatively high!

If you're thinking of installing a hardwood floor yourself, there's lots of helpful information out there about it – even videos tutorials! After careful review, I get the feeling that, with a little patience and free time, I could actually handle it.

For starters, nowadays you can buy prefinished flooring – even for wide plank flooring – eliminating the need for sanding, staining and sealing. Since using a drum sander sounds about easy as operating a Zamboni, this reduces the project complexity – and potential medical co-payment costs - quite a bit.

Next, the tools involved aren't all that complicated. They include – among other things – a hammer, a crowbar, a floor nailer and a miter saw. Now, sure, a power saw sounds a little dicey, but I figure you can lose a digit or two and still maintain a high quality of life.

As for the actual hardwood floor installation, it sounds quite reasonable, and has been described as a weekend project. It involves some variation of the following basic steps:

Remove any existing baseboard – Heck, even I can take stuff apart.

Prepare the floor base – You can put hardwood flooring on top of a plywood sub-floor, an existing hardwood floor or even concrete! Usually, you put down a plastic or felt vapor barrier to keep the moisture out.

Install the floor - Start laying planks or boards from one wall, nail them in place using said floor nailer (try not to do this) and work your way across the room. Be sure to stagger the seams where the boards join!

Edge special room aspects - If the room has floor vents, fireplaces, or some such thing, make sure to edge them, which requires a few extra cuts, no biggie.

Replace baseboards, sweep up and enjoy your new floors! At this point you may want to enjoy a celebratory beverage of your choice (in my case that'd be beer).

The more I think about this, the surer I am that I'm going to have give this project a go! Now I just need to convince my wife that I won't maim myself doing it …

Posted on August 8, 2008 at 07:19 AM in DIY • Hardwood Flooring • Home Building & Contracting • (0) Comments

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Forest Lane

Connecticut

Carlisle Wide Plank Floors