Hire a professional hardwood floor installer, and you’ll wind up with beautiful floors that improve your mood and increase the value of your home. Do it yourself? Well, the pros have plenty of DIY horror stories they had to correct.
Real wood flooring can be difficult and expensive to work with, but the results are worth it. Literally! According to the National Association of Realtors, over half of homebuyers are willing to pay more for a home with hardwood floors. Hardwood floors can last 100 years or more, so as long as you have it installed correctly, it’ll be a good investment. Unfortunately, it’s relatively easy to screw up!
Here are the top three reasons a professional hardwood installer cringes when homeowners install their own wood floors:
1. Subpar Subfloor: Not with a Professional Hardwood Floor Installer
Wood floor installation is over subflooring. That subflooring is often plywood or concrete. The subfloor provides cushioning and protection. It helps your wood floor look and feel as nice as possible for as long as possible.
Homeowners sometimes underestimate how important the subflooring is to the performance of a hardwood floor. They might cheap out and buy poor quality materials or fail to prepare it properly. Squeaky, warped or loose flooring can result.
2. Acclimation Oopsies
Wood is a natural material. It might not still be living and breathing, but thanks to moisture and temperature, it’s going to move. A professional hardwood floor installer will acclimate the subfloor and the wood flooring planks to a moderate temperature and moisture level before installation begins. Missing this step will wreak havoc on your wood flooring, from warping to large gaps appearing between planks.
3. Illogical Layouts
The way you “rack” the wood floor is just the beginning. Too many home improvement shows encourage you to lay out one room at a time, starting at one wall and moving to the other. What happens when you get to the hallway? What about common areas that are focal points in your home, like foyers or open areas in front of sliding glass doors?
While time intensive, it helps to lay out your hardwood panels before you nail anything down. Identify the focal points of your home and ensure you have your nicest boards in those areas. Make certain you don’t have all your short boards lumped together and that your boards natural color variations and patterns work across the whole floor of your home. Once nailed in place, those issues stand out.
Installing real wood flooring is one of the most complicated flooring and home DIY jobs you can attempt. It’s not for the novice, and most often, the cost of labor is well worth the quality of the final product.
Contact our team of experts at Atlanta Floors to hire a professional hardwood floor installer today.
