Installing Flooring
Updated: Jul 28, 2019
By the time we got to installing flooring, we thought we had figured it all out. We definitely had learned a lot already just by removing the floors and we knew that things took a lot longer than we would ever expect, but we were optimistic.
However, as with every home project, it was a lot more challenging than we could have anticipated. We had actually purchased the flooring before we closed on our house. Looking back this was a huge risk, but it was on sale so we wanted to snag it while we could. However, in hindsight this wasn't the smartest thing we could have done. The only way we knew a rough estimate of how much to buy was based on the appraisers sketch. Fortunately this was pretty close and we purchased a few extra boxes of flooring just to be safe.
We ended up choosing a laminate hardwood which we purchased at Costco. We picked something similar to this. We did need to go ahead and call the Harmonics company to get some of the edge pieces, but ultimately it was easy to work with
. We also purchased a moisture barrier to put underneath the floors which ensures the warranty of them as it protects the floors from getting moisture build up underneath the boards.
Now that we had picked out our floors, then came the hard part: The Installation.
What we needed:
- Rubber Mallet
- Laminate Hardwood Installation Kit
- Work Gloves
- Persistence and Patience
- Table Saw
- Mitre Saw (We have one made by Mikita which is awesome!)
- Jig Saw
- Flooring
- Moisture Barrier
A few factors go into installation. The first is to make sure you are installing the floors perpendicular to the supports. We started in our TV room. Put down the moisture barrier first.
The other thing to make it look correctly installed was to install the flooring in a thirds pattern. Against the wall we used a full floor board, next to that we used a 2/3 floor board, and next to that we used a 1/3 floor board. When putting in the first boards against the wall, also put in a small spacer to prevent the floors from sliding under the wall. From there install the floor boards in the same pattern. Use the laminate flooring kit to install with a rubber mallet to protect the floor boards from cracking.
This takes a lot of time and make sure you are wearing work gloves too! I'm pretty sure I lost feeling in my pinky as a result of not wearing them. The one other piece of advice is to make sure that you go room by room. We made the mistake of trying to connect the floors in the middle which resulted in Brian sitting on the ground pushing the flooring apart with his feet while I pushed a board into the place.
After many weeks of work, we got it done, and the result was awesome!
