What should you know and expect for a wood floor installation?
Jan 10, 2021 by SHAUN BEZUIDENHOUT
Floor Crafters is committed to providing a world class service and has strict operating procedures to guarantee the highest quality outcome for your project and achieving the increased value and beautification of your home, office or development. Here is what you can expect and should expect from us and any other flooring company before, during and after your project has been scheduled.
This is also required to maintain the warranty.
Floor Crafters is very concerned about the long term performance of your wood floor.
The wood floor needs to acclimate in your home, in the area that it will be installed.
Solid wood floors take longer to acclimate compared to their engineered counterparts.
See our blog on the differences and benefits of choosing between a solid wood floors and engineered hardwood floors
See our blog on the differences and benefits of choosing between a unfinished wood product and a prefinished hardwood product
General rule of thumb is a minimum of 7 days for solid hardwood, 2 days for engineered hardwood and the longer the better.
A Floor Crafters team member will stop by after delivery, arranged by our office to check wood quality, quantity and specifications of the wood. This is to maintain a timorous and high quality installation. Your time is precious and we do everything to make this an easy and enjoyable experience.
The Floor Crafters office will phone you to set up access and confirm the arrival window of the installation team.
Our Floor Crafters install team will arrive within a window of time clearly setup the day before. This could be a morning or midday install start.
A Floor Crafters project manager will arrive with the team to kick start the project and run through the installation and project requirements.
Once the prologue has been completed the installation team will begin with dust containment installation if you have opted for this.
Next we will remove the baseboard and demo the existing floor, if any. We will then prepare the subfloor for installation. This is our first look at the sub-floor and it may require some extra labor to prepare it for the installation.
The project manager will discuss layout options and requirements, timing of the project and leave his contact details for any questions you may have.
You will receive an update from our project manager via text if you haven’t seen and spoken to him/her on site.
You may stay at home during the installation.
Teams will clean the trash and leave the front yard presentable
Homes will be locked and secured at the end of each day
We will require access to a restroom and water.
All pets need to be contained outside of the project area or put up in a pet hotel.
The floor and project area will be swept clean and be free of all construction debris
We suggest a cleaning company come after us to clean the area of any remaining dust particles.
All dust containment will be taken down and removed
Furniture and appliances will be returned to each space, if you opted for this.
A project manager will do a final walkthrough to assess the install and final installed product.
If needed, the project manager will set up a day and time for the project team to return to fix any issues.
The Floor Crafters office will provide care and maintenance instructions via email for your chosen product.
Furniture: Floor Crafters has an option to move furniture, this will happen the morning of the project or the day before. Please make sure all knick knacks, ornaments and precious items are already moved and stored out of the project area.
Appliances: We can also disconnect and move appliances out and back in
Dust Containment: This is where we hang plastic to contain dust within the project area. Can include but not limited to, closing off doorways, arches and entries. Covering blinds, kitchen cabinets, curtains and open closets. If you require access, zipper doors can be installed as well.
Lock-Box: How will we get access? Will you be there each morning to let us in or can we install a lockbox for our guys to let themselves in?
Sub-Floor moisture barrier: All wood floor installations require a moisture barrier to be installed/laid down before the install can begin. This improves the performance of your floor.
Floating Floors: Some floors can be floating instead of being glued or nailed down. They still require glue for the tongue and groove to attach and operate as a single floor. Floating floors require an underlayment for sound and softness. Some underayments are attached and some are laid down independently.
Glue Assist: All wood floors with a width of 5” and above require glue assist for the installation. This means a bead of glue will assist the staple down process in order to secure and increase the performance and stability of your floor. (reduce chances of gapping)
Staple or Glue Install: OSB, concrete and subfloors with underfloor heating cannot be stapled. We then use the trowel adhesive method. Glue only.
Baseboards: Your existing baseboards will need to be removed and reinstalled for the installation of your new wood floor. This is a great opportunity to upgrade the look of your home by installing new baseboards. Some touch ups may be needed after the install as baseboards are usually painted and caulked in place.
Lace-in: If we are extending or adding on to an existing hardwood floor we will need to lace-in to the existing to create a seamless transition. This can only be done with the exact same pre-finished floor or a sand-on-site wood floor.
Carpet Tucks: If we are removing some carpet and leaving other carpeted rooms in place, we’ll need to do a carpet tuck to close out the transition between old carpet and new wood flooring.
Trim Pieces: Depending on the wood floor that has been chosen, your existing/remaining flooring and overall structure of your home, trim pieces may be needed at room or door transitions.
The Floor Crafters Team wishes you all the success for your project and please let us know if you need anything.
Picture below: A recently installed, Hallmark True Collection - Gardenia Oak
