Hardwood Floor Installation: Shedding Light on Various Factors Involved
- Nazha Bourass
- Jun 5, 2018
- 3 min read
Hardwood floors can transform a room with beauty, warmth and style. Following aresome important things to consider while installing a hardwood floor.
Engineered Vs. Solid Wood Flooring
There are usually two types of hardwood flooring- engineered and solid. Engineered wood flooring is often thinner than solid wood flooring. It is manufactured as a thin layer of wood and a core that is mostly plywood. If you want to install the floor yourself, engineered wood flooring is the best option because it is pre finished. It is more stable than solid wood and resistant to the extreme temperatures and humidity because engineered wood flooring is made from layers of wood sandwiched and bonded together.
Solid wood flooring is the best option traditionally. It is clearly cut from a single board of hardwood and usually thicker than engineered wood. Solid wood flooring has a tendency to twist, expand, warp and contract with changes in temperature and moisture.
Preparing for Hardwood Flooring Installation

Installing hardwood flooring is usually an expensive home improvement project; it should be qualitative that can give you a durable result. The key is to prepare properly. So, new wood flooring should be laid on a smooth, clean, level, and structurally sound base. The base may be previous flooring, a new plywood subfloor, an existing wood floor in a good condition or even a moisture-proof concrete slab.
Removing Door and Base Moldings
The first step in preparing floors for hardwood installation is to remove base and door moldings. Make sure that the conditions and use of the room won’t have a negative impact on the flooring during installation. Too much traffic on a new floor can ruin the wood flooring.
Preparing Subfloor for Hardwood Flooring
In a typical installation of hardwood flooring, wood framed subfloor is surfaced with plywood subflooring panels. The subfloor must be dry, flat, clean, structurally sound, squeak free and clear of any surface bumps or fasteners. You can cover the entire ground area with 6mm black polythene, overlapping the sheets and then taping them together.
Before Hardwood Flooring Is Delivered
Before the final delivery of hardwood material, the condition of your home must be ready for it. During a remodeling process, wood flooring is typically one of the last installations. To avoid any damage to the flooring, make sure hardwood is put in after the installation of all other fixtures and appliances.
Heat and Humidity Affecting Hardwood Flooring
Solid wood flooring is very susceptible to moisture. Before the installation, wood flooring must be allowed to adjust to the house’s normal temperature. This means the wood should be left in the room where it will be installed after removing its packaging. Normal humidity of the room where flooring will be installed must be artificially controlled. You may set up temporary heating and dehumidification that matches the condition of the room.
These are some points and steps to consider for hardwood floor installation. If you want to leave this task to specialists, then opt for the professional flooring contractors of Way Floors, located in Brandon, FL and serving the entire Tampa Bay Area and beyond. Among the trusted floor tile stores in the region, Way Floors also deals in a wide variety of wholesale floor tiles and kitchen and bathroom cabinets. They offer complete hardwood solutions, such as engineered hardwood, bamboo hardwood, American Classics wood, Exotics, Handcrafted, and moldings, in addition to traditional solid hardwood flooring. Have more details by visiting Wayfloors.com today!
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