Installing Hardwood Floors: To DIY, or Not To DIY?
Monday June 02, 2008
Article Word Count:428 Comments (5)
PermalinkThe No. 1 reason homeowners tackle projects on their own instead of hiring a professional is because it saves them money. Eliminate the middleman, get the products, install them yourself and there is almost always a huge savings.
The main issue with taking on a home improvement project is that not everyone is a handyman. Installing hardwood floors in your home is a large project, no matter the size of your home. That is not to say it can’t be done, but there are many factors to consider when making the decision to do it yourself or hire a professional.
Here are some things to do before deciding how to install hardwood flooring:
- Be honest in assessing your handyman skills – Tackling a project like installing hardwood flooring is not easy. Carpentry skills are necessary in successfully completing this task. If you have never done any woodworking, you might not want to start with hardwood flooring installation. If, however, you are proficient with a saw, hammer and other cutting tools, installing your hardwood floors might just be right up your alley.
- Weigh the pros and cons of each installation option – Get pricing estimates from contractors on installing hardwood floors in your home. Then get estimates from your home improvement supplier on doing the job yourself. These estimates should include the wood, sub-flooring, tool rental (air nailer, saws, etc.). Also be sure to consider how much time it will take you to complete the job. Once you have the positives and negatives for each option, it will be easier to determine which is best for you and your budget. Get your flooring project organized by using our Hardwood Buying Guide every step of the way!
- Do your online research – In trying to determine which hardwood flooring installation option is best, hitting the internet is a good tactic. You can find step-by-step hardwood flooring installation instructions right here at FindAnyFloor.com. You can also find numerous installation contractors in your area with our Flooring Professionals Locator. Pricing estimates can also be obtained with our Hardwood Flooring Estimator Tools.
- Ask your friends, family and others – When considering whether to install hardwood floors or hire a professional, it is often beneficial to ask others who have faced a similar decision. Friends, family, co-workers and professionals at your local home improvement retailer can be good resources for determining the difficulty in installing hardwood flooring.
Talkback – Leave a commentThere are 5 comments
After watching a video on installing a hardwood floor, I decided it was not going to be a DIY project. There was way too much to do and I was afraid of ruining too many boards! I would probably do a click lock laminate floor, but no way am I attempting to install a wood floor on my own. I'll pay the money and enjoy my time on the golf course knowing a professional is handling my flooring installation.
We chose DIY installation and were very satisfied with the results. Many home improvement stores charge about $4.00 per square foot in installation costs which was a little too expensive for us!
Solid hardwood floors must be nailed down. If you have a concrete slab, you must seal the floor with roofing felt (glued down), nail 3/4" plywood down, then nail your flooring to the plywood.
Engineeded hardwood is a layer of real hardwood on other layers of filler wood run in opposing directions to give it stability, enough to be glued directly to on-grade concrete slabs. You can't do this with solid hardwood - it warps. Depending on the type, some engineered woods can be glued, nailed or floated.
Typically laminates are not real hardwood, are designed to be floating, over slabs or sub-floors. They click and lock together. If you want to float an engineered floor, you must glue the tounges.
Opinion:
As far as better? Solid 3/4" unfinished and three coats of waterborne finish, followed by 3/4" pre-finished (if you put one more coat of finish after it's installed to seal the joints) followed by engineered then the better laminates then lastly PERGO& 174; I hate PERGO& 174;
What is the difference in Engineered and Laminate. Is Engineered the same as Hardwood? Is engineered better than Laminate?
This article was helpful. After reading it, I feel comfortable that I have to skills to self install hardwood flooring.
