You've decided to install a new hardwood floor, or to refinsh an existing hardwood floor, so you may be wondering what happens next.  You may have concerns about the disruption of your home while work is being done.  Please review the following information about what to expect before, during and after the work takes place. 

Before any work begins, the first step is to remove all furnishings from the room.  We often handle light furniture moving with our installation crews, however, if there is a substantial amount of furniture to be moved, a professional moving crew will be required.  You should consider removing paintings, decorations, breakables and other valuables from the walls so they aren't accidentally broken.  Our installation crews do not handle pianos, electronics, floor clocks, appliances, valuables, or plumbing/commodes.  Appliances such as dishwashers, refrigerators, stoves, ovens, etc. should be handled by an appliance professional. 

Where an existing wood floor is being sanded and finished, or refinished, you should thoroughly clean the wood after everything is removed, removing any debris - sweep and clean with a proper wood floor cleaner.  You will pick a stain, if one is being applied, and a gloss level for the finish.  During the staining and/or finishing process, you must remain off the floor during application and drying times.  Drying times for stain and/or finish phases will depend on the type of materials used, humidity levels and temperature.  Pets must be contained and all family members should be kept out of the rooms for the duration of this phase.  Any other work crews should also be kept out of the job site to minimize airborne particles which might land in and become trapped in the finish as it dries.  An appropriate amount of drying time must be allowed before the floor can be walked on, and additional drying (approximately one week) must occur prior to normal use of the floor or replacing furnishing, rugs, etc.

During the progress of the flooring job, you should be prepared for some noise and disruption.  There will be dust and debris during the job, so you should remove anything you need to keep dust-free.  Sometimes during a construction project, questions arise, so we will need a means to quickly contact you to discuss issues and consider a possible change order.

Once the job is complete, you should put felt pads on the bottom of any furniture that will come into contact with your floor.  This will help minimize scratches and dents.  Also, place scatter rugs at all entrances, avoiding those with rubber backs which could discolor your floor.  Usually, touch-up painting is needed along baseboards and dioor frames.  And, although our work crews will remove their debris and gernally clean up the job site, a thorough cleaning of the home would be desirable.

As your wood floor ages, you should expect some color change to occur.  Because wood is a natural product, is it prone to changes in appearance.  Certain woods will change color more than others.  Direct sunlight, furniture and rugs can cause color changes as well, so try to move your furnishings and rugs from time to time to help minimize color variations.

You should be prepared for spaces to appear and disappear between floor boards during seasons of high and low humidity.  Being a product of nature, wood breathes and reacts to changes in humidity and temperature, which can cause temporary spaces in your floor.  Generally, anything less than the width of a dime is considered normal and, in most cases, these spaces will correct themselves when conditions stabilize.  You can help minimize this situation by maintaining a constant humidity in you home, within 20 percent.

To keep your wood floors beautiful, you will need to care for and maintain them.  Ask your Nelson Floors representative to recommend a cleaning product designed specifically for your type of floor.

WOOD INSTALLATION - THE PROCESS 

This section is intended to help you understand the process of installing wood floors.  

Sub-Floor Condition.  Wood flooring must be installed over a clean and level sub-floor: 

A.  Concrete Sub-Floor:  1)  Strength:  Portland concrete is one type of adequate concrete (Gypsum concrete is not adequate).  2)  Cleanliness.  A concrete sub-floor must be sufficiently clean and dry to accept adhesives.  If there is residual paint or other material, the adhesives will fail.  3)  Dryness.  Moisture is always a concern, especially with a glue-down installation.  If the concrete is "below grade" or has other moisture problems, a spotty or complete adhesive failure may result.  4)  Smoothing and Leveling:  A concrete sub-floor must be smooth and level.  High spots may need to be sanded down, and low spots must be leveled.  Failure to properly level the floor may result in spotty adhesive failure and hollow spots in the floor.  Unless your home was built with wood flooring in mind, the builders probably did not concern themselves with the levelness of the concrete slab.  An uneven slab is easily hidden by carpet, or sometimes with ceramic tile.

B.  Wood Sub-Floor:  1)  Materials.  A wooden sub-floor must be constructed with materials like CDX grade 3/4" playwood, supported by adequate joists.  If not, the flooring may pull loose.  If the substrate and joists are not sufficient, the floor will bounce.  2)  Smoothing and Leveling.  Even a plywood sub-floor must be sufficiently smooth and level.  Although a nail down floor has more tolerance for high/low spots, high spots may need to be shaved and low spots may need to be raised.  Plywood and joist replacement may be necessary.

Job-Site Preparation and Pre-Installation. 

A.  Existing flooring materials must be thoroughly removed so a clean, dry and level sub-floor is present.  Failure to properly remove pre-existing adhesives or flooring materials may result in failure of adhesives or other installation problems.

B.  Furniture and Fixtures.  In order to properly clean and level a sub-floor, we must have unobstructed access.  This means that all furniture and fixtures must be removed form the work area.  Nelson Floors cannot handle electronics, computers, pianos, breakables, heavy furnishings, clothing, large appliances, etc.  Storage of the items which normally reside in the area where wood flooring is to be installed is the responsibility of the customer.

Job-Site Progress and Completion.

The job site is a construction project, complete with workers, dangerous tools and materials, sharp saws and nails, etc.  It is not a place for spectators of any age, particularly children.  During the day, all non-workers should remain clear of the job site.  Some job sites must be avoided during the evening, too, such as unfinished installations which require sanding and staining/finishing on-site.  Even a pre-finished installation should be treated with much caution and care during the evening hours until the entire installation is complete. 

The work crew does not entirely clean the job each day.  Final cleanup of materials, tools and flooring is done at the end of the job.  Glue down installation often find adhesive spots on the job site - these are cleaned as observed throughout the job, using proper cleaning agents and a thorough inspection and cleaning is undertaken at the conclusion of the job.  The customer should not attempt to remove adhesive spots except with the proper cleaning agent.

Installation of Flooring Materials.

Nelson Floors provides the following installation services:

• Glue Down Installations
• Nail Down Installation Pre-Finished
• Nail Down Installation Unfinished
• On-Site Sand and Finish
• On-Site Re-finish
• Floating Flooring Installation
• Stairs and Steps

Finish-out of the Flooring Job.

Transitional Points:  The number and size of transition points (where the wood floor meets other types of flooring or doorways) is different for each job.  The cost of each transitional piece is different from type to type, and from manufacturer to manufacturer.  We don't charge for installing transitional pieces, but there is a materials cost based on job site requirements.

External Trim or Moldings.  There must be a small gap between the wood floor and the walls.  This gap can be covered by your baseboards if installed after the wood floor.  If the baseboards are pre-existing and will not be removed and replaced, then the small gap can be covered by quarter-rounds or shoe molding.  These can be stained to match the floor, or painted (after installation) to match the baseboards.  We do not remove baseboards or do any painting!

If this information didn't answer all your questions, please contact Troy Nelson at 972.877.1257 and ask an expert!