If you have an older house, you may already have solid flooring underneath any carpet or tiling that is in the room, but if not, you’re going to have to strip the floors and then start planning a hardwood oak flooring installation project. These projects can be completed over the course of a weekend, as long as you have the patience and persistence to push through, as well as some basic handyman skills. You’ll need to know how to operate a saw, as well as make angled and beveled cuts, so if any of this is foreign to you, either grab a book and start reading, or consider calling a contractor to have the job finished for you.
Solid oak wood flooring can be installed like most other floor systems, but you’re going to have to understand, first, that the price is substantially higher than laminate, and other engineered wood flooring. You can save yourself some money by purchasing unfinished solid oak flooring, but it will increase the amount of time you spend on the overall project, as opposed to have it stained and protected when you receive it. This decision will ultimately come down to how much you have to spend on the project, as well as how much time you want to devote to it.
Once you’ve determined your budget, and the amount of work you’re going to put in, you’ll have to determine the style of wood you want, as well as what type of padding and underfloor you’ll need. Different climates may call for different types of underflooring, as well as thicknesses, depending on the level of your home that you’re installing them into. The basement floors may need a thicker padding to help with any underfloor heating you have installed, for instance.
You’ll also need to consider any molding that you’re going to use. When it comes to the base boards, you’re going to want to remove them during the installation of your flooring, and reinstall them when the job is finished. This does present a problem, however, because the base boards for the solid oak flooring will be higher than the boards and molding for other types.
You’ll notice this most when you’re lining up your wood floors to linoleum or carpets that don’t have a lot of thickness to them. You can either shave the difference off the bottom of the base boards, or you can leave them down while you are installing the flooring, and use quarter round shoe molding next to the base boards once the flooring is down.
This shoe molding will allow for a gap between your base boards and the flooring for expansion, while still preventing it from being easily noticed. As long as you take your time during the project, you’ll have a much better look and feel to the room, rather than rushing through it to get it done quickly. Plan out your steps before you take them, and always remember, to measure twice, and cut once. Solid oak flooring isn’t that hard to install, and most manufacturers will send an installation video for home owners who are the ‘do it yourself’ type.
