How to Install Engineered Hardwood Floors
Engineered flooring can come in many shades, sizes and prices, and manufacturers are working hard to offer new and improved options that will be long lasting and beautiful to look at. They have already come up with great options that appear as a much more affordable alternative to solid hardwood floors, which involves higher up-front costs and also higher installation and maintenance costs. You will be surprised at how versatile, easy to install and easy to maintain engineered hardwood flooring is, so you should be able to achieve stunning-looking floors without having to resort to professional services that could turn out to be quite expensive.
Engineered floors now come in a whole array of shades, so you can choose lighter wood to complement a room with a fresh and natural feel, or you can go for a darker shade to bring depth and richness to any space. Most importantly, engineered wood pretty much eliminates the need for professional assistance since it is such an easy floor to lay down and take care of.
Follow these few simple steps in order to prep your floors properly and proceed to install your brand new engineered hardwood floor in no time:
- Prepare and clean your floor
Before you can start installing the new flooring, you must ensure the subfloor is prepared and clean. Start by sweeping or vacuuming the floor, sanding off any bulging areas, adding screws to raised edges, and pushing down any protruding nails. Take this time to also remove baseboards all around the room for a closer installation to the wall, and trimming down door casings to ensure the planks will fit underneath.
- Lay builder’s felt
Continue by laying down builder’s felt or tar paper along the subfloor, and use a staple gun to fix it down, making sure no nails are protruding. This will provide a protection layer under the engineered hardwood flooring to protect it from water damage and mold.
- Install engineered hardwood flooring
Now you are ready to start installing the floor. A great tip is to open all the boxes containing the strips and use them all so as to alternate different shades and patterns and accomplish a more natural look. Lay down one row of planks along the length of the wall with the tongue side against the wall, ensuring you leave a 1/2-inch gap meant for expansion. Use a flooring stapler and push a staple down every 6 to 8 inches at a 45-degree angle. Continue laying down a second row of strips, snug them up with a mallet or a tapping block and hammer, and set them in place with the flooring stapler. At this point you will want to make sure all nails and staples are buried down into the wood to prevent accidents when walking on your floor.
- Place baseboards back
To finish your work, attach the baseboards back to the walls with a nail gun in order to hide the expansion gap between the floor and the wall, and make sure the nails are tapped down so they won’t stick out.
Installing your hardwood floors doesn’t have to be a gruesome or unpleasant task. Engineered hardwood flooring has been specifically designed to facilitate maintenance and installation, so you won’t have to deal with long weeks of workers parading around your home, and huge machines roaring in your living room in order to get beautiful looking wood floors.
