Contributor
Installing Prefinished Hardwood Flooring: How To Install A Wood Floor

Installing Prefinished Hardwood Flooring: How To Install A Wood Floor

One of the best ways to make your life a whole lot easier when you’re installing flooring in your home is  buying  wood flooring. These boards already have the finishing coat applied by the manufacturer, so you have one less thing you have to do in the installation process. The finishing coat on this flooring lasts for a while and give the floor planks a beautiful sheen. If you are about to begin a home improvement project that include re-doing your flooring, then you’ll want to consider wood flooring as an option. To cut down on costs you can install the flooring  yourself and that’s just one fact you might not know.

1. You Can Complete the Wood Installation Yourself

person installing wood flooring

If you’re looking for ways to cut down on costs when installing your flooring, then you can do the installation yourself. It isn’t as difficult as installing a floor that also need finishing. Also, you’ll only need a few tools to complete the job. Our best advice is to do your research before you begin the installation process and if you have any questions you should ask the manufacturer of the flooring that you’re purchasing. If you don’t feel confident in installing the floor yourself, then you should definitely consult a professional. You’ll want to hire someone that is affordable and you know they’ll do a good job.

2. Installation Includes Labor Fees

Just like when you get your car fixed and you have to pay labor fees, you’ll also have to pay labor fees for wood flooring installation. Some people do the installation themselves because they want to save money, but if you feel better knowing a professional is doing the job you should do research and create a budget for the job. When you’re creating the budget include at least half of the budget for costs to install. The smaller the square footage for your flooring the less it will cost for installation. Knowing that you have the labor budgeted will give you peace of mind when you start the flooring installation process. This way you won’t be blindsided by any of the extra charges.

3. Floor Installation Time Frame

 

A man installing a solid hardwood floor with a flooring nailer.

Sometimes installation can take longer than most people expect. If you’re installing yourself you should give yourself at least 2 weeks to complete the installation process. This seems like a lot of time, but you’ll want to purchase the wood and have it sitting in the space for at least a week so that it can get acclimated to the humidity. The wood will expand and contract based on the climate/humidity in the room. The best thing to do is move out all the furniture in the room and focus on doing on room at a time for installation. You should give yourself enough time to complete the process. Don’t feel like you have to rush anything because the flooring will be better if you take your time.
 

Have Questions About How To Install Prefinished Hardwood Flooring?

 

Installation of a prefinished wood floor is certainly not rocket science. Instead it is more like putting together a puzzle. Like a puzzle you must start with certain steps: checking the moisture in your subfloor, clean out your room, including scraping any excess building materials like drywall mud from your subfloor, and unrolling the 15# felt that you will use as a moisture barrier/underlayment. In reality that paper is there to cut down on squeaks. 

 

These are 3 facts you probably didn’t know about prefinished hardwood flooring installation. Now that you have all this information, you can now select the flooring for your home. Browse our selection of prefinished hardwood flooring to see what fits for your next flooring upgrade.