What to Expect:  Installation

Having hardwood floors installed in your home is a major purchase and chances are this could be the first time you have experienced hardwood floors installed in your home.  Let me explain some of the process to help put your mind at ease.

First, at the estimate phase, we determine what type of wood floor you would like.  If we are matching up to existing we try to find the exact mill the wood came from so you have a perfect match.  If we are not able to determine where exactly the wood came from we match it with a high quality product that is very similar.  We have a very high success rate in matching up new floors to old so that you cannot tell where the old ends and the new begins.

We then determine which direction we should lay the floor.  Most homes in this area are built with a plywood subfloor, which dictates that we lay the floor perpendicular to the floor joists for strength and stability.  You may opt to lay the floor at a diagonal which gives the room a different look and feel.  This is a very nice look and works well in small areas as well as large.

We check and document the floors moisture content, humidity and temperature of the room.  We only install the flooring when the wood flooring meets the parameters as set forth by the NWFA.  Which is no difference than 4 percentage points between wood flooring and sub floor for strip flooring and no more than 2 percentage points for plank flooring.

We ask that before we arrive you have the floor cleared of your furniture and household items.  When we get to nailing it causes vibration in your floor which could knock things off of adjacent shelves or walls so we ask that you would remove any of those items that could have a potential to fall and break.

When we arrive at your home we show up on time, clean, and with a positive attitude ready for a hard days work.

We like to set up our saws outside close to an access point to the floor.  We do this because we do a lot of cutting and we want to keep your home as clean as possible.  Living through major remodeling is tough enough without having to do extra cleaning and we try to be respectful of that fact. 

We love pets and kids, I have both myself, but we ask that you keep them out of the work area.  We are running power saws and swinging hammers and would hate to see someone get hurt.

If there is any subfloor prep or carpet tear out, we can take care of that and dispose of it properly for you.  Some homeowners like to save some money and do this part themselves since tearing up stuff is a great stress reliever.  Whichever works out best for your situation. 

Once the sub floor is prepped we lay down a moisture retarder.  On wood subfloors we use “Aquabar B” which consists of two layers of kraft paper laminated with asphalt, Aquabar "B" is a non-reinforced 30/30/30 duplex type Grade "B" paper.  Some companies use just red rosin paper which doesn’t retard moisture at all.  Some still use 30 or 15 lb felt, which doesn’t meet updated codes for moisture transfer.  

We lay out the floor, called “racking” and make sure our board joints are spaced out a minimum of 6 inches, usually 9 inches or more.  This provides a nicer appearance to the overall look of the floor and adds structurally soundness as well.

We blind nail the floor down with hardwood flooring cleats.  We prefer to use these over staples because studies have shown that over time a cleat has more holding power than staples.  We try to minimize the amount of nails we put through the face of the board.  We only nail through the top at the last full row of the board up against a wall where it is easily filled with a color putty.  You don’t want to see face nails down a middle of the room or three rows back from a wall, that doesn’t show professionalism.  We also won’t face nail the vent frames of flush mount vents.

We like to router our header boards so they remain tongue and grooved.  Some companies don’t do this and either do nothing or just glue it.  Keeping it tongued and grooved keeps the floor together better and longer, there is less chance of the header board moving separately from the floor this way.

When we are done we sweep up both the inside and outside of the work area, go over any precautions you have to take, and look over the floor with you to make sure it meets both our high standards and yours.