Hardwood Floors Installation has been Made Easy

The thought of hardwood floors installation may bring many do it yourself to their knees. In the past this task has been labor intensive and time consuming.

The entire process required each board be pre-drilled before nailing. After installation, sanding was required, using belt sanders. The dust had to be removed and the floor stained and finished. Many very skilled do it yourselfers would simply give up and hire a contractor for the expensive job or choose other floor covering. Even in homes where the flooring was already installed, but in need of refinishing, many homeowners found it easier to simply install carpet over the flooring.

For the few that endured, the resulting floor was beautiful and long lasting. In fact, there are homes from the colonial time period that still have their hardwood floors shining as beautifully today as they did when our patriots walked their floors.

Today, this process need not be dreaded. Engineered floors make the process of installing hardwood floors into your home one that can be completed within a day. These flooring systems are pre finished. Hardwood floors installation is very simple and can be made to look professional by most homeowners. These floating floors are installed over padding which provides additional warmth for your home. In installing these floors, you will not drive any nails, except into the walls when installing the base molding. The floorboards click together with the tap of a hammer.

A part of the beauty of engineered flooring is that it can be installed over almost any surface. Unlike a traditional hardwood floor that required a wood subfloor for nailing, this system can be installed over concrete or ceramic tile. Linoleum can remain in place and the floor installed over it. Carpets and their padding will need to be removed and disposed of before installing the flooring.

The floor boards are tapped into each other and click together. You will need to leave about three eights of an inch for an expansion gap around all walls. This keeps the floor from buckling during times of higher humidity.

It is easier to trim the door facings so that the floor boards fit under them rather than try and fit the floor boards to the facings. Base trim must me fastened to the wall and not the floor. Attaching to the floor would invalidate the expansion room left earlier.

After finishing installation, the furniture can be moved back into place and the room enjoyed. This flooring is very low maintenance, requiring only dusting or vacuuming as needed. Although wet mopping is not an option with this flooring system, there are many floor cleaning systems that will help to keep the beauty of your new floor. Check with your local hardware store for such cleaning systems.

There are many benefits to a engineered hardwood floors installation. One is that you will have fewer dust mites in your home to cause allergic flare-ups. Since dust is easily removed from the floor, you will enjoy a cleaner home than ever possible with carpet.