Wood Floor Installation

What to Keep in Mind when Planning Wood Floor Installation

Custom wood floors can be beautiful, but it takes some planning to ensure that this is the case. This is because one of the biggest keys is proper installation. While you may see several companies claiming that they can do it, only some of them actually have the experience needed to get it right. If you're doing it yourself, you will have to be even more careful, because most do-it-yourselfers have no prior direct experience at all.

The first key to successful wood floor installation is the preparation of the subfloor. This underlying layer must be totally flat, and made of a material that won't warp, buckle, or otherwise become less than flat over time. The reason for this is simple: Custom wood floors can only stay as flat as the surface their panels are resting on.

Next is the customization part. All pieces of the flooring need to be cut exactly right so that they properly fit around the other elements of the room's structure. If there are to be inlays in your custom wood floors, it's even more important to get the cutting right. Otherwise, there will be very obvious errors.

Finally, care must be taken to ensure that all of the panels are installed straight. This usually takes repeated measuring, and if errors are found, some parts of the floor will need to be redone to correct them. Some suggest putting the panels down without any adhesive first, checking to make sure everything is right, and once that is confirmed, doing the full installation with the adhesive that will make it permanent. This is time-consuming, but well worth it for something as long-lasting as a floor is meant to be.