How To Install Hardwood
Adding hardwood to your kitchen is a great remodel. Modular hardwood flooring products are marketed as being easy to install for homeowners looking to update their kitchen. Compared to the installation of many other flooring materials, modular products are relatively easy to work with. But, it is still quite a large project. While it is simple to actually lay down the hardwood planks, the project is still very involved in many ways.
This article doesn't go into great details about how the actual installation process works, but it does explain the work and tools that are necessary. It should be useful in helping you decide if you will have the skills, patience, physical ability, and time to actually install your own hardwood.
Remove Your Old Flooring
On many floors, the hardest part of the entire project is removing the existing material and preparing the sub-floor before the hardwood can be installed. For example, removing linoleum, along with all of the adhesive, can be very difficult. Tile is also very hard to remove and requires heavy power tools and a lot of lifting. Some pros will even use a jackhammer to remove all of the adhesive, mortar, or mastic from the sub-floor. The removal of carpet is usually the easiest. Many people will stop right here when they realize how difficult is going to be too not just remove their existing floor, but also to prepare the sub-floor.
Prepping the Sub-Floor
The sub-floor, whether it is wooden or concrete, needs to be as flat, smooth, and clean as possible. This obviously doesn't require skilled labor, but it is very exhausting work. It involves scraping, scrubbing, heavy lifting, and the usage of heavy duty cleaners.
Using Power Tools
The next hardest part about installing hardwood product is using heavy duty power tools like a table saws, miter saws, and circular saws. You will also need to use a nail gun and air compressor system, not to mention all of the simple handheld tools. None of these tools are necessarily difficult to figure out, but most people don't already own them. So, you might need to rent the tools for the project.
In the end, while the installation of hardwood floors might not be the most technically demanding work, it is still no walk in the park. It is not something you should start if you are fully prepared and know what needs to be done. Instead, talk to a kitchen remodeling professional.