What to Expect During Your Hardwood Floor Installation

Purchasing hardwood floors for your home is a wise decision. The unmistakable style and elegance of hardwood flooring will instantly and dramatically improve the look and feel of any room’s décor. You’ll also appreciate its durability and ease of upkeep — and how it can increase your home’s resale value.

Once you’ve completed your purchase, you’ll likely require the services of a professional installer to handle this challenging home improvement project. It’s good to know what to expect during the installation.

Installing Hardwood Floors: How to Prepare Your Home

You can reduce the time it takes to complete the project and make the job easier for the installers by getting your home ready before they arrive. Start by taking everything off the floor, like small and personal belongings. If possible, furniture should be put away and electronics disconnected. Hardwood floor removal as well as installations generate a lot of dust, so you should also remove items such as paintings and draperies. You might also want to cover the furniture and other objects in neighboring rooms to protect against dust infiltration.

If you are considering new baseboards, plan to have it installed after flooring installation. Depending on condition of your walls and sub-floor, you may save cost of installing shoe or quarter round molding.  Removing any baseboards or base molding to enable the installers to place the wood planks as close to the wall as possible.

The Hardwood Floor Installation Process

Installing hardwood floors can cause some short-term disruption to your family’s lifestyle. On average, a two-person crew can lay 800 to 1,000 square feet of flooring per day. Depending on the size of the planks and size of the room, the project can take one to three days to complete. However, you need to account for removal as well as any prep work that may be needed. During this time, you won’t be able to use the room or pass through it to get to other areas of your home.

You can also expect a good deal of noise from hammering, the use of power tools and other typical construction processes. The dust comes from removal and cutting. If you choose to install unfinished hardwood, it will need to be sanded after installation before applying stain or finish. While many professional installers now use advanced dustless sanding systems that significantly reduce dust production, they won’t completely eliminate it.

Applying the Finish

You may choose staining or another finishing process to add more personality to your hardwood floor and preserve its beauty. Depending on which type of finish you select and whether the installer used adhesives to bond the planks, you might have to wait a few days until you start placing furniture and other objects back onto the floor. Water based finishes will give you same durability of oil based and save you significant time in dry time. While some cure completely within three days, in most cases area rugs will need to be off of the floors for seven to ten days. However, you can usually begin walking across your new floor a couple of hours after the installation or finishing coat application. You should ask your installation crew to be sure.

District Floor Depot Offers Expert Hardwood Floor Installation Service

District Floor Depot can perform a fast, professional hardwood floor installation that will transform the look and feel of your home. Our crews have extensive experience working with various flooring types. We’ll do the job efficiently while making every effort to reduce the mess and minimize disruptions. We also specialize in hardwood sanding and refinishing process.

Contact us today to learn more about what to expect during a hardwood floor installation. We can also schedule a convenient in-home consultation to help you explore all your flooring options.