Installing wood flooring

But upgrading to hardwood floors is expensive, even if you do it yourself. And the final cost is usually much more than the square-foot price that’s advertised. If you’ve tried to calculate how much wood floors will cost based on the ads in the paper, you’re in for a shock.

Of course, prices vary by region, but if you take a few things into account, you should be able to make an educated guess about how much it will cost to upgrade to wood flooring. Once you have an idea, you’ll know whether it’s worth your time to start shopping or not.

Bear in mind that, unlike carpeting, wood floors will last for generations if properly cared for. So you’ll be amortizing the investment over many years. And many flooring companies offer interest-free financing for 12 months and other payment options. They realize that wood flooring is a big purchase that many customers may want help with.

The square-foot price of the wood is just the start. In addition to that, there are other supplies and labor, which will vary based on how the floor is installed.

Wood flooring supply costs.

If you’re lucky enough to have a wood sub floor, you won’t need anything more but some felt paper and some nails or staples. If you’re having your floor installed, these will usually be included in the price of labor. If you’re doing it yourself, figure around $50 for a box of 7,000 staples and ten cents per square foot for the felt paper.

The cost of renting a stapler or nail gun is usually pretty reasonable.

Those without a wood sub floor will incur some additional expense, especially if the floor is to be floated. An underlayment, which can run from 25 cents to $1.50 per square foot will be needed to cushion and insulate the new flooring.

Wood flooring installation

If you have concrete floors, you’ll probably want to use engineered wood flooring that can be glued down. The cost of glue runs from 50 cents to $1.00 per square foot. To be on the safe side, add $1.00 to the price of the wood. Gluing wood flooring often takes longer than nailing it down, so your labor costs may be higher too.

Moisture protection, which is often needed with concrete floors, can add another $1 to $2 per square foot to the cost.

In addition to the floor boards, you’ll need to buy some trim to finish off the floor. If you want quarter-round molding in the same wood and finish as the flooring, this can run as much as $5 a lineal foot. Because there’s waste, it takes more than you think. Your flooring company can help you calculate how much you’ll need.

Wood flooring labor costs.

The cost to install your floor can vary a lot depending on where you live, who installs the floor, and how difficult or easy your specific situation is. If you’re having a full-service dealer install your wood flooring, figure between $2 – $4 a square foot.

The price should include having the wood delivered to your home and stacked, removing the existing flooring, prepping the sub floor, installing the flooring, installing all the trim, cleaning up, and hauling away all the debris. Most installers will move your furniture out and back in once as part of the installation process.

All in, a good-quality, pre-finished wood floor will probably cost between $8 and $12 per square foot, or about $1,200 – $1,800 for a 12’ x 12’ room installed. Bamboo or laminate wood flooring will cost less. Premium hardwoods like cherry will cost more.

Before making a commitment, make sure everything is spelled out in writing so there are no unpleasant surprises.

Reducing the cost of wood flooring.

Buying the wood and getting it to your home yourself will bring down the price, and paying cash will sometimes save you another 2 or 3%. Using inexpensive pine molding and adhesive or staples from your local home store will bring the cost down even more. And installing it on your own will probably get the price to about $6 or $7 a square foot, depending on the flooring, where you live, and the competition in your area.

Learn how to install wood flooring here.

Installing wood flooring Image Flickr: j2davis2005
Wood flooring installation Image Flickr: Steve & Jan Cornwell

American cherry is sought after for its warm, rich color, which ranges from pinkish brown to deep red. As a fruit tree, it’s a member of the rose family, and it grows all over the United States and Canada. In colonial America, cherry was used for fine furniture, inlays, and paneling. Today, it’s a very popular choice for kitchen cabinets, and Shaker-style furniture.

One of the best things about American cherry is the way the color deepens with age. Over the years, it develops a gorgeous patina that polishes beautifully. It has a fine, straight grain.

With a hardness of 950 on the Janka hardness scale, American cherry is softer than many of the most popular woods used for flooring. Red oak, for example, has a hardness of 1290. Consequently, it’s a poor choice for high-traffic areas, commercial settings, or homes with dogs. It’s often used as an accent wood around the edges of a floor where there’s less wear and tear.

It’s also more expensive than other wood flooring options, so before you buy American cherry, make sure it’s an appropriate choice for your room.

Due to its reddish color, Jatoba is often called Brazilian cherry. It grows mostly in Brazil, Chile, the West Indies, and parts of Mexico. The principle difference between Jatoba and American cherry is the hardness. Jatoba measures 2350 on the Janka scale — more than 80% harder than red oak.

This makes Jatoba a better choice for wood flooring in rooms that will receive an average amount of traffic. Like American cherry, it will darken over time, especially if it’s exposed to direct sunlight. The finish that’s used will also affect this process.

Because of it extraordinary hardness, Jatoba is difficult to work with, so it’s a poor choice for do-it-yourselfers. Unless you’re a seasoned woodworker, you’ll likely get better results if you hire a professional to install jatoba wood flooring.

If you can afford it and plan to use it in a room that receives little traffic, real cherry wood will produce a look that’s unsurpassed in its elegance and sophistication. If you want the appearance of cherry with greater durability and affordability, choose jatoba.

Read about walnut wood flooring here.

Although many people assume that solid wood flooring is the best you can buy, that may or may not be true, depending on a number of factors.

First of all, let’s explain what engineered wood flooring is. It’s made by sandwiching together several layers, usually a veneer, a core, and a base. The veneer or top layer is the one you see and it can vary in thickness. Generally speaking, the thicker, the better.

One of the advantages of engineered wood flooring is that it’s easier to install than solid wood flooring. It can be glued down – which is essential if you have concrete sub floors – stapled, or floated. And it’s easier to saw and nail than many solid woods. If you want to install your floors yourself, they’re your best bet.

It can even be installed over tile or vinyl, as long as it’s clean and level. Check to make sure the moisture level is less than 4% first.

Because the grain of the core is perpendicular to the grain of the veneer, it’s actually more stable than solid hardwood. It warps less and is better suited to homes in high-humidity zones or for summer homes that are unheated in winter.

The best thing about solid wood is that if it gets worn, it can be sanded down and refinished. But people forget that even though the wood is ¾” thick, it can only be sanded down to the bottom of the tongue on the side of the plank. In most cases, that’s only about 5/16” thick.

An engineered wood floor with a veneer of 3/16” can usually be sanded three or four times. It should have a lifespan of 60 to 80 years.

Most engineered flooring comes pre-finished, which eliminates all the hassle of sanding and finishing your floors after they’re installed. With 3 -10 layers of urethane already applied, they’ll look good for years with proper care.

These days, you can find engineered wood flooring in virtually every wood, color, and finish. Even hand-scraped and distressed styles are available.

As a rule, engineered wood floors are less expensive than solid wood floors. But if you sell your home, prospective buyers will pay the same price. This is not true for laminate floors which don’t look like real wood.

Another benefit is that they’re environmentally responsible. The wood required to produce one square foot of solid wood flooring will yield approximately four times as much engineered product.

Read about other kinds of wood flooring.

Hardwood floors can last for decades, even centuries, under the right circumstances. Or they can need refinishing – or worse yet, replacing – in a relatively short period of time. So how can you make sure that the wood flooring you choose will provide beauty and utility for years to come?

Although virtually all wood will scratch, some wood is much more resistant to scratching and other wear. One of the most important aspects determining wear is the hardness of the wood.

Wood hardness is evaluated using a measurement called the Janka Scale. It measures how much force it takes to press a .444” steel ball into the wood until it reaches half its diameter.

This calculation translates into a number that represents the pounds per square inch of force required to embed the ball. Most often, the ball is pushed into the side of the plank, resulting in a measurement of the “side hardness.” But sometimes, the end of the wood is also tested. The result of this measurement would be “end hardness,” which is obviously less important for wood flooring.

The results are expressed differently in different countries, so if you’re comparing results, make sure they’re all stated the same way.

The higher the number, the greater the wood’s ability to resist dents and other wear. It also indicated how hard the wood will be to saw and nail. Some wood that would be great in terms of wear would be very difficult to install. So if you’ve chosen extremely hard wood for your floors, you may want to leave the installation to a professional.

There are several other factors that affect wear, especially if you’re using engineered wood flooring. The thickness of the top layer, the material used in the core, and the direction of the grain will all make a difference.

The more traffic you expect in a room, the higher the Janka rating you should consider. With a Janka score of 690, Southern Yellow Pine is not a great choice for high-wear areas. A high-heeled shoe, dog paw, or pebble stuck in a sole could easily damage a pine floor.

Red Oak, the most popular American wood flooring, has a Janka score of 1290. And it’s durable enough to work well in most situations. If you need something more wear resistant, hard maple scores 1450. It’s used for basketball courts and bowling alleys. Santos Mahogany scores 2200; Brazilian Cherry scores 2345; and Brazilian Walnut scores 3680.

Although there are exceptions, the harder woods are often more expensive.

Understanding the Janka Scale and the importance of hardness in wood flooring will help you select a floor that performs beautifully in your home.

Read more about hardwoods here.

How do you know when it’s time to refinish your oak flooring? The finish will start to lose its luster and you’ll see lots of superficial scratches on the surface. The next step is figuring out what kind of finish your floor has now. Because you’ll need to use the same kind when you refinish your oak floors.

Can I refinish my wood floors myself?

Refinishing hardwoods floor isn’t hard. But it is messy because it produces a lot of sawdust. And if you use an oil-based polyurethane, the fumes can be pretty noxious. So if you have respiratory problems, it’s probably best to hire professionals to refinish your floors.

Professionals usually charge between $1.50 and $3.00 per square foot. That price should include materials.

If you do tackle it yourself, you’ll need to rent a sander or two, buy sandpaper, miscellaneous supplies like tack cloth, and whatever stain or finishes you choose.

No special skills are required. But you will need to take care in order to get results that you’ll be happy with for years to come.

Sanding your oak flooring.

First, empty the room, removing all furniture, carpets, window treatments, etc. Remove the nails from any baseboards or quarter round, and take them off. To make them easier to reinstall, number them and put the corresponding number on the wall.

Go over the wood flooring and remove or countersink any nails, carpet tacks or staples. These can tear the paper you use to sand the floors – which is annoying, because you have to stop work, and expensive, because it wastes sandpaper.

Once your room is prepared, your next stop is the equipment rental store. There are several types of sanders you can rent. A drum sander is the choice of professionals, but they can be hard to control. And if you don’t keep them moving they can sand down one spot so quickly that it will leave a dip in your floor. Or worse, remove the entire veneer.

An orbital sander is easier for beginners to manage. Have the person you rent the sander from demostrate it for you and make sure you’re comfortable with it before you leave the shop. Most big sanders won’t reach all the way to the edge of the floor, so rent an edging machine or a palm sander for the hard-to-reach spots.

You’ll need several grades of sandpaper, usually 36-, 60-, 80-, 100-, and 120-. Start with the coarsest (36). Run the sander back and forth with the grain in smooth, even strokes. Always keep the sander moving when it’s turned on. Otherwise, you may sand one area too deeply. And be sure to use a respirator every time you sand.

When you finish sanding your wood floor, vacuum up all the sawdust with a shop vac, and go over the floor with a tack cloth to make sure all the dust has been removed. Then, repeat the process with every grade of sandpaper. By the time you get down to the 120-grade, your oak floor should be soft as a baby’s bottom.

Use the edger or palm sander to prepare the parts your couldn’t reach with the bigger sander. Then, clean the floor as thoroughly as you can, removing any remaining dust. The cleaner you get the wood, the better the finish will be.

Finishing your oak floors.

If you want a shade that’s darker than the natural color of your wood flooring, you’ll need to apply a stain. For subtle changes, apply the stain with a rag. For a more dramatic difference, use a brush and remove the excess with rags. Do a test in the back of a closet or some other inconspicuous place to make sure you like the color.

Let the stain dry completely. Then apply a second coat if you want more color.

Otherwise, you can start applying the polyurethane finish. There are two main types of polyurethane used for finishing hardwood floors: oil-based polyurethane and water-based polyurethane.

Oil-based is a little easier to work with because it takes longer to dry, so it’s easier to blend and go over any mistakes. It yellows a little with age. The downside is that the fumes can be quite strong. Water-based product dries very quickly, which can sometimes result in streaks where wet polyurethane was applied over partially dried finish.

Stir the polyurethane well, don’t shake it – that can cause bubbles that will end up in the finish. Then apply it evenly with a brush or roller. Go with the grain, working as quickly as you can.

When the first coat has dried thoroughly, sand lightly with the finest grade of sandpaper and then apply another coat. Wait at least three days before reattaching the baseboards and moving furniture and rugs back into the room. Then, sit back and enjoy the renewed beauty of your wood flooring.

Read about finishes for wood flooring here.

Because wood and water do not mix, wood is a poor choice for kitchens, bathrooms, laundry rooms, and other settings with a lot of moisture.  Wood floors will fade in direct sunlight.  And although the cost can be amortized over a lifetime of use, wood flooring is very expensive.

Vinyl flooring, on the other hand, is ideal for areas where spills are common.  It’s easy to install and care for.  Although it’s very durable, it’s kinder to your feet and your glassware than hardwood floors.  And best of all, compared to wood flooring, vinyl floors are really inexpensive.

Types of vinyl flooring.

There are two main kinds of vinyl flooring.  Inlaid vinyl floors are impregnated with color granules that are baked into the material.  This results in a richer color that resists fading.  Printed vinyl flooring applies ink to the top of a sheet of blank vinyl.  So over time, the pattern may wear and the color may fade.

Vinyl flooring comes in a variety of thicknesses with different backings.  Some vinyl flooring is backed with felt, and others are backed with another layer of vinyl.  The main difference is in how the flooring is installed.  

Sheet vinyl comes in rolls that are 6’ or 12’ wide.  The sheets are cut to length after the room is measured.  Vinyl tiles come in either 12” or 18” squares.  Self-adhesive vinyl tiles are a snap to install.  And if one if damaged, it’s easy to replace.   The squares can also be mixed and matched to create an interesting pattern.

Caring for vinyl floors.  

Most vinyl flooring has a no-wax surface, so all that’s required to keep them looking good is occasional dusting and going over them with a damp mop from time to time.  One of the key advantages to vinyl floors is that spills can simply be wiped up.  If you’ve ever dropped a plate of spaghetti, you know what a benefit this is.

If you’re installing vinyl floors in a high-traffic area, upgrade to a floor with a urethane surface coating.  This will reduce scuffs and scratches more than the basic no-wax finish.  For commercial settings, vinyl flooring with an enhanced-urethane wear layer will provide even more scuff resistance.

There are products made specifically for cleaning vinyl floors available in the cleaning aisle of your local grocery store.  In most cases, they are added to the mop water and don’t need to be rinsed.

A horizontal bamboo floor will show the knuckles or nodes that appear every foot or so in the bamboo stalk.   This gives the flooring a very distinctive look.  To make horizontal flooring, 1” strips are laid face up and then glued together.   The boards are then milled to size, usually around 3-½” wide. 

Because the knuckles are less apparent, vertical bamboo flooring has a more uniform, even grain and a more refined look.  It’s comprised of 19 strips of bamboo, placed side by side and then laminated together.  

Solid bamboo flooring.

While other solid wood flooring like oak or maple is made from a single piece of wood, solid bamboo flooring is actually made of pieces of bamboo that have been laminated together — either horizontally or vertically, as discussed above. 

Usually about 5/8” thick, solid bamboo flooring can either be nailed or glued down.   This is a key difference from solid wood flooring, which has to be nailed down.

Woven bamboo flooring.

For high-traffic areas where extra hardness is desirable, woven or strand-woven bamboo floors are a good option.  To make woven flooring, timber bamboo — stalks that are 50’ or taller — is shredded into fibers or strands, bonded together with resin, and then molded into blocks. 

When the resin has set, the blocks are milled into boards that are usually a little over ½“ thick.  It’s important to know the type of adhesive that was used to bond the strands together.  If it contained urea formaldehyde, it could emit harmful fumes. 

The final product has a hardness of 3000 on the Janka scale, making it more than twice as hard as red oak.  And the grain looks more like conventional wood flooring. 

Woven bamboo flooring can be nailed down or glued.  So you can use it if you have concrete sub floors.  But because of the hardness, it’s difficult to nail and may split if you don‘t pre-drill the holes. 

Engineered bamboo flooring.

Solid wood floors can’t be installed over concrete sub flooring, so engineered wood floors that can be glued down were developed.  Engineered floors are comprised of several layers or plys — a top layer or veneer that’s usually around 1/8” thick, a core, and a base of compressed particle board or plywood.  

To add stability, the grains of the core layer are laid in different directions.  This works fine when the veneer is wood, which can expand and contract with the core.  But because the veneer in engineered bamboo floors is a composite, it may not expand and contract along with the core.  Consequently, the top layer of engineered bamboo floors is more likely to crack than the face of engineered hardwood floors. 

For this reason, engineered bamboo floors are not recommended.   Solid bamboo or woven bamboo are more reliable. 

Bamboo floor color choices.

Bamboo is naturally a lovely, light blonde color.   But a darker color can be produced using a process called carbonization.  Bamboo strips are heated until the sugars in the stalks caramelize, which turns them a warm, amber color. 

The carbonization process softens the bamboos, so darker bamboo floors aren’t suitable for high-traffic areas or homes with big dogs. 

You can learn more about how bamboo flooring is manufactured here. 

Chances are that oak floors will cause you to love your home even more.  And they will increase the value of your home as well.  Unlike more distinctive woods like walnut or pecan, oak is liked by almost everyone – and it goes with virtually everything.  Light and dark furniture both look good with oak.  And it can be used in traditional, contemporary, or sophisticated settings. 

Oak flooring comes in a wide variety of finishes, so if you prefer a light or dark floor, you can still use oak.   You can choose from a glossy, satin, or matte finish.  You can get oak in varying widths, from 2-1/4” strips to foot-wide planks.   And you can buy oak flooring that’s hand scraped, quartersawn, or distressed.

No matter what kind of look or mood you want to create, chances are, you can do it with oak.  And since it’s  available as solid wood flooring and also as engineered wood flooring, it can be installed virtually anywhere. 

It doesn’t take much effort to maintain oak flooring.  When cared for properly, oak floors will last for generations. 

Unlike some tropical wood, Oak is naturally resistant to fungus, insects, and other pests.  And when finished correctly, it resists liquids.   But to prevent damage, any spills should be wiped up quickly. 

A few concerns to consider before buying oak flooring.

Although oak is quite hard, it does scratch.  High-heeled shoes, dog claws, and furniture can all leave visible marks.  Fortunately, these are fairly easy to prevent, except in the case of dogs.  Your best bet there is to use lots of area rugs.

Place pads under the feet of your furniture and pick it up to move it.  Sliding furniture across the floor is just asking for trouble.  Don’t wear high heels, cleats, or other athletic shoes on your oak floors.  And use door mats in front of entry ways and throw rugs inside. 

On the topic of rugs, be sure to rotate them occasionally. Oak flooring will fade in direct sunlight.  And many unsuspecting homeowners have rolled up their area rugs for cleaning and seen that that flooring under the rug is no longer the same color.
 
Oak flooring often darkens with time, but many people find this a positive characteristic.  If you’ve ever visited a 100-year-old home with oak floors, you know how beautiful the patina that comes with age can be. 

When you compare the advantages and disadvantages of oak flooring, you’ll likely conclude that the benefits outweigh the drawbacks.  Investing in oak floors will improve your home’s appearance and value, and give you decades of pleasure and use.

You can learn about other domestic hardwoods used in wood flooring here.

Typically, three coats — a sealer and two coats of finish — are used.

There are two main types of finishes for wood flooring — surface finishes and penetrating finishes.  And both have their advantages and disadvantages.  So before choosing one, figure out what best suits your needs.

Surface finishes for wood floors.

Today, most surface finishes are a blend of synthetic resins like urethane or polyurethane.  They form a protective coating that’s durable, water resistant and easy to maintain.

There are three varieties of urethane used to finish wood floors.  Water-based urethane is a relatively new product that’s sometimes mixed with a catalyst before it’s applied.  Water-based finishes dry more quickly than oil-modified urethane, which requires fewer coats.  And they’re less toxic than some other finishes.

But oil-modified urethane yellows with age and takes a while to dry.  Some people like the amber glow that older oil-modified urethane floors develop.

The third type of urethane, moisture-cured, dries quickly and is the most durable, but it‘s hard to apply.  Do-it-yourselfers should avoid moisture-cured urethane.

Polyurethane is extremely durable and stain resistant.  In fact, most basketball courts are finished with it.  It’s also less expensive than other finishes.

The other popular surface finish is conversion varnish.  Floors finished with conversion varnish are often referred to as Swedish finish hardwood floors.  Since it requires no waxing or buffing, a Swedish finish is very low maintenance.  And it’s almost as durable as polyurethane.

Because the varnish is flammable and contains formaldehyde, it’s restricted to professionals.  And you’ll probably need to vacate your home for a couple of days.  You may also need to air the house out once you move back in because the odor is quite strong.

A Swedish finish takes a long time to cure, so you should keep rugs off your floors for 60 days.  But once it’s cured, it’s one of the most attractive finishes for wood flooring.

Penetrating sealers for hardwood floors.

These solvent-based finished are applied to the wood flooring and then left on to penetrate the wood.  Then the excess is either buffed in or wiped off.  When color is added, penetrating finishes can also be used to stain the wood.

Many penetrating finishes contain tung or linseed oil and additives that promote hardness.   If there’s any damage to the floor, this finish is easy to repair.  Just rub on another coat.

Paste wax is one of the most popular choices because it’s easy to apply, inexpensive, and it lasts forever.  Thin coats of wax are applied to the wood floor, allowed to dry, and then buffed to a matte or satin sheen.

Choosing the right sheen for your wood flooring.

Most finishes are available in high gloss, semi gloss, satin, or matte.  Glossy finishes are harder to maintain and they show scratches and imperfections more.  Satin finishes are easier to keep looking good.

Wood flooring is easy to care for, and it holds its value over the years.  In fact, real estate agents say that homes with wood floors sell faster and sell for more.

It’s made from a renewable resource — in fact, some wood flooring is recycled from old ships and barns.  And it’s better for people with allergies than carpeting.

There are hundreds of kinds of wood available.   Most come in three grades:

1) Clear or First Grade.  This wood has no visible defects, such as knots, and no variations in color.

2) Select or Second Grade.  May have a few imperfections like some dark grains or knots, and some other minor variations.

3) Rustic or Third Grade.  Inconsistent.  Variations in color and grain, and lots of knots and other imperfections.

The most popular domestic hardwoods.

It may surprise you to know that the term hardwood doesn’t really have anything to do with the hardness of the wood.  In fact, one of the softest woods around, balsa, is a hardwood.  And yew, which is pretty hard, is actually a softwood.

Softwood comes from coniferous trees (those that bear cones).  And hardwood comes from broad-leafed, angiosperm trees.

Domestic hardwoods used for wood flooring are:

Red Oak.  With its strong open grain, neutral color, and solid durability, red oak is a great choice for many different environments.  The color blends well with lighter and darker woods — it looks great with mahogany furniture.  And it works well in casual or sophisticated settings.  More than 50% of all hardwood floors are red oak.

White Oak.  The tighter, less pronounced grain of white oak is extremely straight.  And it’s lovely enough for formal rooms.  The lighter color fades a little less than red oak, and it creates a light, airy room.

Maple.  Harder than oak, maple is extremely scratch and dent resistant.   That’s why it’s the first pick for bowling alleys, basketball courts, and Fender guitar necks.  The tight, even grain is lovely.  And First Grade Maple, which comes only from sapwood, has a beautiful, pale color.  It will make any room seem larger.

Black Walnut. If you want a dark floor with a lovely, curly grain, walnut is a good option.  It’s not as hard as oak, so it will scratch more easily.  Consequently, it isn’t a great choice if you have a dog over 50 pounds.  But it can help to create a very dramatic room.  Speaking of dogs, if your blonde dog sheds, the hair will be visible on Black Walnut.

Ash.  Similar in appearance to oak, ash is attractive and durable.  So much so that it’s the first choice for Louisville Sluggers.  The color ranges from white to brown.  And the bold grain is sometimes wavy.

Beech.  Very close to oak in hardness, beech has a straight, closed grain and a smooth finish.  The sapwood is very pale and the heartwood is a reddish brown.

American Cherry.  One of the most beautiful domestic hardwoods, American Cherry takes on a rich glow when finished properly.  The color, which ranges from pale to a warm, reddish brown, creates a rich, sophisticated look that says quality.

Any of these woods will give you beautiful wood floors that will enhance the appearance and value of your home, and last for generations.

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