Hardwood Floor Installation
In an effort to shave a few dollars off the cost per metre of hardwood floor installation in the home, many people opt to go down the DIY route but is this really such a good idea? Whilst we don’t want to discourage skilled home improvement enthusiasts from tackling such a task on their own, below are a few reasons why you might want to leave it to the professionals.
Hardwood Floor Installation Issues You Should Consider
- Limiting Your Options – Unless you are a highly skilled finisher, you will almost certainly have to stick to prefinished floors if you decide to install your own. Whilst there is nothing wrong with prefinished surfaces, they can only be refinished a couple of times before they need to be replaced. Wide plank hardwood surfaces that are finished on site, on the other hand, could last for many decades if treated with a little care and refinished by professionals whenever necessary.
- Difficult Room Layouts – If all the rooms in your home are perfectly square, this may not be a factor that you need to consider. On the other hand, if they are irregular in any way, it will make the task of hardwood floor installation that much harder for a DIYer. If you are going to go to the expense of buying good quality timber for your home flooring, it makes sense to have the job done professionally if you think that it would be difficult for you to achieve a perfect finish.
- Timeframe – If you need to get the job done in a hurry, to minimise the disruption that it will cause you and your family, hiring a team of professionals is definitely the most sensible choice. Although it is difficult to come up with precise estimates as it all depends on the skills of the individual in question and the nature of the work involved, you can expect a team of pros to complete your average hardwood floor installation job in roughly half the time it will take you.
- Installation Method – If you need to install a subfloor and nail or glue the timber, the job is best left to a pro as it is very difficult for all but the most experienced DIY enthusiasts to successfully complete a hardwood floor installation using these methods. Uneven concrete floors may require a subfloor and if this is the case in your home, it is worth getting a quote from the local experts. The easiest application for DIYier is the floating one which is offered in click system and does not require major subfloor preparation.
