This DIY project was life changing.
Within the span of a month we… redid our downstairs floor, put a window in, put a wall up, and had a home tour visit! I’m not sure if we’ve ever taken on a project as big as this one along with all the other projects we had going on. However, Lumber Liquidators made it so easy for us to get our floor done! Don’t get me wrong, it’s still time consuming.. but so worth it.
If you’re looking to get your floor done and you’re not so into the whole DIY thing, Lumber Liquidators DOES offer installation. We just like to save money and it’s a great feeling after you accomplish a project like this 🙂
If you ARE into the whole DIY thing, I’m going to hopefully answer any questions or concerns you may have. As always you can always comment on my most recent Instagram photo, DM, or e-mail any questions you may have after reading this.
MATERIALS FOR REMOVAL (wood & tile)
Our old wood floor was tongue and groove that was glued together and floating above a concrete slab. We had a tile floor in our kitchen which we also took up.
WOOD
- Skill saw
- Crow bar
- Claw hammer
TILE
- Chipping gun
- Grinder with diamond grinding wheel
TIP: hang plastic, wear mask, use fan (or you’ll find dust for 10 years)
MATERIALS FOR INSTALLATION
- Miter saw
- Table saw or skill saw
- Multi tool
- Pull bar
- Tape measure
- Speed square
- Dead blow hammer
- Floor spacers
STEPS.
1. REMOVE OLD FLOOR
In our case we did this first because our molding was tucked behind the flooring instead of resting on top. We cut 4 foot sections wall to wall with a skill saw. You have to set the skill saw at whichever depth your existing flooring is.
REMOVE MOLDING
CHIP AWAY IF NEEDED (kitchen)
SWEEP UP DEBRIS (use shop vac if necessary)
LAY DOWN PLASTIC FOR MOISTURE PROTECTION ON CONCRETE
LAY UNDERLAYMENT ON TOP OF PLASTIC
You can use tape to keep the seems in line and uniform while also helping the underlayment from curling during installation.
AFTER you lay down your first section of plastic and underlayment measure the width of your boards and add a 1/4 inch to the total. Snap a chalk line to get a straight line for the first row of boards. (below)
START LAYING FLOOR
TIPS FOR LAYING FLOOR:
The first row of boards consists of all full length boards until you get to the last one, which you will have to cut to size. You will use the remainder of the cut board to begin the second row… and so on and so on.
Click boards in, use pull bar to tap boards over to interlock.
Use you spacers on all wall edges to keep an even amount of space around the perimeter.
ATTACH MOLDING
BEFORE & AFTER
That is sadly what our flooring looked like! It was extremely hard to photograph this room because of this awkward tiled area near the front door. Awkward floor no more!
Roux approves!
Above is the flooring we used.
I hope you all found this informational and are comfortable putting down your own flooring. Please comment if you have any questions at all!
xo
Cara
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