Steps to Install Wood Floor

When it comes to renovating the house and giving it an attractive look, installing wood flooring is one of the best options. Wood flooring can be stained and sanded from time to time, so it is also a practical choice. Wood flooringbrings natural charm and grace to a house. They age beautifully and look marvelous in older homes. Laminated wood floors can give your house this elegance and grace at a much lower price.

Laminated flooring has a number of advantages: it is cheap, easy to clean, and requires less maintenance. It is water-resistant, does not get easily damaged due to humidity, and is highly durable. All these advantages make it suitable for kitchen and bathroom flooring as well. Laminate wood floors are made of environment-friendly materials and come in a wide range of colors and styles. It takes a few hours to lay down laminated wood flooring. Read on to know the various steps involved.

1. Any carpet, padding or strip fixed along the area and perimeter of the room, should be removed. The sub-floor must be swept well. Using a vacuum cleaner for cleaning would be just perfect.
2. The most crucial task is to check for the evenness of the sub-floor. Laminate wood flooring always needs to be laid on a flat sub-floor. If a laminate wood floor is not laid on a flat surface, it will keep "screeching" all the time. Therefore, if any depression or elevation is found, it must be leveled.
3. Make sure the sub-floor is completely dry. Carpet or floor mat dryers and dehumidifiers speed up the process of drying. This is necessary as a laminate wood floor has wood as one of its components. Wood may expand or contract depending upon the moisture content of the surroundings.
4. To further lessen the risk of wood expansion, the laminate floor planks need to be kept in the room where they are going to be installed, for at least a week. This helps the wood to acclimate to the humidity and room temperature, and reduces moisture accumulation during installation.
5. After leveling, cleaning and drying, the sub-floor is completely ready for installation of underlayment pads. The function of underlayment pads is to provide support to the laminate wood flooring and make it comfortable for the person standing on it. It works as a vapor-proof barrier for the concrete floor. Underlayment pads come in various forms. The most common are wood and foam. Any underlayment pad variety would be suitable. While laying, their pieces must be joined together with plastic tape and their edges must be laid systematically as they might expand with changes in the weather.
6. The underlayment installation is followed by the laying of the laminate wood floor. Cut the floor planks through its length and width to give equal size to all. Make sure the width and length are not less than 50mm and 200mm respectively. To fit the floor at the door, planks need to be cut accordingly.
7. Start laying the floor-planks in one row. Join two floor-planks in tongue and groove mechanism. This is done by positioning the first plank with its tongue facing the wall and its groove facing the second plank to be laid. Complete all subsequent rows in this manner. Clunk the entire row into place in one motion.
8. During installation, leave a gap of 12-15 mm between the plank and the wall. This space gets filled up later due to the wood's expansion. This expansion gap can be covered up with a wood quadrant. It can be attached with the help of nails or a good quality wood glue. Make use of the puller tool wherever necessary. Try not to leave any space between adjacent planks. If there is a space, cover it up with wood glue.

Laminate floors are easy to maintain, but it's really impossible to remove scratches.Try as much as possible to avoid doing anything that will create scratches, like walking in high heels or dragging heavy loads across the floor. Laminate wood flooring is simple to install and it adds to the value of your property. Give it a shot and feel the difference.