Installing Prefinished Hardwood FloorsInstalling a prefinished hardwood floors is probably one of the easiest things to do compared to previous years. Most flooring companies offer professional installers to install their product. They also provide training to their customers if they plan to do the installation of the hardwood floor themselves. It might take you a bit longer. You will need some additional tools which you can rent or buy. However, you will have the pleasure of doing it yourself and the pride that goes along with it. In addition, you will also save some money as well. Originally installing a hardwood floor had multiple steps:

  • First, install the hardwood
  • Then sand and finish the hardwood to create the shiny look and feel
  • Add varnish or verathane to protect the wood and give it a finished look.

This was a great deal of work and there was dust from sanding everywhere in the home. Today, in fact, prefinished hardwood floors are by far the majority of flooring that is installed. There is still dust created from cutting the pieces to fit and from nailing onto the existing floor. However, the dust is much reduced compared to sanding a hardwood floor. Most installers who are refinishing hardwood floors will now use dustless sanders.

hardwood floor installationInstalling Prefinished Hardwood Floors

Whether you install the prefinished hardwood floor yourself or have a professional install it, you can start in the morning and have your furniture in place in the evening. That’s how quickly and efficiently the flooring is for consumers who want to install hardwood flooring. Add corner round to the walls to finished it off and paint the corner round to match your walls or furniture and you have a new floor that will last for many years.

If you are doing the installation yourself, chances are that you will be slower than a professional, so it may take a few days to finish the job. You will also have to purchase or rent a few tools including a hardwood floor nailer which makes the job much easier.

Customize Your Color and Wood

Another major advantage of prefinished hardwood floors is that there are multiple colors and stains that can be purchased. Choose something that matches your decor that will last the test of time with regard to interior design fashion and furniture selection. In addition, consumers can be confident of a consistent color or stain across their entire prefinished hardwood floor, however, be sure to select your wood from the same dye lot when you make your purchase and also purchase sufficient wood for the entire job. Different dye lots can have slightly different colors and stains.

The hardwood also comes in a variety of sizes as well as types of wood. Chose narrow planks or wider planks depending on the design you are trying to create.

Dealing with Dust

Although prefinished hardwood floor material can be purchased and installed ready to use quickly, there is one area that many people may not realize that they need to be prepared for.

Installing prefinished hardwood flooring in a new house is not a problem. All dust, shavings, etc will be cleaned up before you move in. Unfortunately, if you are installing flooring into an existing home, all of the dust from the time your home was constructed and also while you have been living in your home will be stirred up and find its way into everything. Even if you remove the carpet, sweep, vacuum several times there still seems to be a lot of dust that gets disturbed and lands on everything. Be prepared for a major dusting after you are finished.

Consumers should remove as much as possible beforehand. No matter how much you vacuum, there still will be dust clouds as the floor is being laid. Still, in the end, you will love your prefinished hardwood floor. When it is finished and the house is back to normal most consumers feel it was worth it!

We have had hardwood flooring in our home now for 10 years. It still looks as good as new and we could never go back to carpet! For more information on the Hardwood floor installation, click here.

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