new floor...

Since the day that I moved into my house, I wanted to rip the carpet out that instant!  It was old and gross.  Well...now is the time!  It all started with my dad finding some floor at a garage sale.  From there, we have taken the process room by room.  This section is definitely going to be my favorite because it includes the hallway!  


We started with our bedroom.  The next step was the back bedroom and the hallway at the same time, because they are connected.  I planned the installation of the floors in sections so that we could save up for each section instead of waiting to have it all done at once, especially since we put it in ourselves.


I, of course, would have loved to call some floor guys and install some dark wood floor of my dreams, but that is not in the cards since we are young and on a budget.  When my dad told me that he had found some engineered hardwood (laminate) for $2 a box, I knew it was what I needed to start my journey of ridding my home of old yucky carpet.


The floors that my dad found were Trafficmaster engineered hardwoods from Home Depot. They actually are a very close stain to the original hardwoods on the main floor of our house. Hooray.


What you need.....


- flathead screw driver
- hammer
- simple solutions kit (this is what you need to hammer the planks in without   hurting it)
- plyers
- circular saw (at least, a table saw was would be easier, but we got it done without any fancy equipment)
- jigsaw
- underlayment
- laminate flooring
- quarter round




Here a few tips for installing.....


The prep is the worst!

Taking out the previous floor is less than fun.  Staples, carpet pad, and carpet tacking galore was in store for us before we got to the fun part of installing the new pretty floor.


A side note:  I thought the carpet was bad, but I had no idea what I was in store for when I saw the carpet pad!  Gross does not describe my feeling toward this piece of material.


If you have had pets in your home (like I did, from the previous people that lived here), you can paint the sub floor with kilz to kill germs and smell. I also sprayed Lysol for good measure. :)


I also hate the idea of my house being under contruction for a period of time. Since I knew that we would not have 3 consecutive days to sacrifice I decided to pull up the carpet as we laid down the floor.


My favorite part was cutting in the wood for the doors with the jigsaw.  I had never used one before and I loved it!  It takes a little time and creative thinking on how to measure and cut exactly, but I love a challenge!


Oh!  I forgot to mention the most frustrating part of the whole situation!  The hallway was not the same width.  So annoying.  That means that every board that we cut had to be on a slant for the row closest the wall.

Overall, engineered hardwood is super easy to install.  I recommend it to anyone on a budget.  If you want any advice, you can certainly email me.








A little paint down the hallway and TADA...we are done and I could not be more excited to be carpet free!!!!!!!