Installing Hardwood Floors Doesn't Have To Be Hard!

By: John Reynolds

The flooring product has been selected. The workmen have been scheduled. Congratulations! But before you take the plunge, here are some thoughts as to how best to prepare for your new hardwood flooring installation.

First things first - you want to sit down with your family right away and tell them of your decision. You need to tell them when it will be happening, as it will probably take more than one day - and especially if you have kids, they need to be prepared. There will be a lot of noise, dust and confusion, and your meeting will help the entire family to prepare, and give them an opportunity to ask questions.

Before those workmen arrive, you will need to get into the room(s) that they will be working on and remove EVERYTHING that is presently there. Not just the furniture - but even pictures on the wall, curtains, drapes, mini-blinds must be removed.

Why remove everything? Because you don't want the workmen to break something while they are working in the room. And make sure that everything that has been moved out, can STAY out - at least for several days. That's because the newly finished flooring will need time to dry and cure before anything can be placed on it, or you can walk on it.

Do you have pets? If so, you will need to take special precautions. The best solution is to allow a trusted neighbor, friend or family member to care for them for the interim. You don't want Fido or Princess getting their hairy paws on sticky floor finish, do you?

Speaking of floor finish, after your hardwood flooring has been installed and they have sanded and applied the finish, it will have to dry for a while - usually several days at a minimum. Don't even TRY to walk on the floor during this time. Your installer will tell you how long you will have to stay off of the floor.

But once your floor has dried and cured enough, THEN you can move your stuff back in. As you do so, take care to put some pads or floor protectors under the legs and bottoms of the furniture.

When walking on your new hardwood flooring, don't mark up the surface by wearing hard rubber soles. Ditto for using athletic shoes, as these have cleats and spikes that can damage it. As for spikes, ladies should not walk on hardwood floors in spiked high heels. If you have stairs and doorways that are bound to get lots of foot traffic, put down some rugs to protect those new hardwood floors that you have spent so much money on.

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The author of this article, John Reynolds writes about home improvement and Repairing Hardwood Floors Learn more about how toRefinish Hardwood Floors by visiting his website.
This and other unique content hardwood floors articles are available with free reprint rights.

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