Important Points To Know About Wood Floor Installation
Wood flooring is a very good choice for your home. It's beautiful and has a classic appearance that makes your home seem warm and welcoming. Installing wood flooring is more complicated than other types of flooring, so you'll probably want to hire a professional wood floor installation contractor to do the work. Here are points to know about wood floor installation.
The Boards Need To Acclimate
Your installer will have the flooring delivered to your home a few days before installation day. This allows the boards to acclimate to the climate in your home so the boards won't shrink or expand right after they're installed. The roofer will spread the flooring out in each room where it will be installed. Once installation begins, the roofer will probably alternate boards from different packages so slight color differences won't be noticeable.
Solid Wood Shouldn't Be Installed In Wet Areas
Wood flooring doesn't do well with moisture or water spills. If you install wood flooring in your bathroom or basement, you'll probably void the warranty. If you want a wood floor in your basement or kitchen, consider engineered wood rather than solid wood.
In addition, the roofer will probably start the wood floor installation process by putting down a vapor barrier over the subfloor. This keeps water vapor from wafting up and causing moisture damage to your solid wood flooring.
Wood Flooring Is Stapled Or Nailed
Solid wood flooring isn't floated. If you want floated flooring so you can leave the old floors intact, you'll need to choose engineered wood that clicks together. Solid wood boards have to be nailed or stapled to the subfloor.
The old flooring usually has to come off unless it's something thin such as vinyl sheet flooring. If you want to install solid wood flooring on a concrete slab, the flooring installer will probably build a subfloor from plywood first so the flooring boards can be nailed to the subfloor.
Prefinished Boards Are Available
When you buy your new wood floor, you can choose between raw boards and boards that are finished at the factory. If you have prefinished boards installed, your floors will be ready to use much quicker and you can avoid strong fumes in your home that come from finishing the flooring after it's installed.
Either way, you'll have your choice in finishes and the amount of gloss on your floor. Plus, both prefinished and raw wood floors are available in a wide range of wood types and widths so you can find the type of flooring you want whether you want the flooring prefinished or not. For more information, contact a company like Assured Quality Woodcraft.