The One Secret to Installing a Wood Floor in a Finished Basement

It is no wonder since basements house a great deal of unused space which may be turned into a wide variety of alternatives to fit your lifestyle. With a basement renovation, it is possible to add a family room, an extra bedroom, a bath, recreation room, home gym, home office, toy room, family room, or just about anything you would like.

A key part of your basement renovation is picking a excellent flooring alternative -- something which will look good, be comfortable, and work on a concrete foundation, where moisture can sometimes be an issue.

If you believed hardwood floors were not an option, due to extra moisture, then we've got great news for you! For homeowners who adore solid hardwood flooring, we have a remedy -- engineered wood floors.

What Are Engineered Wood Floors?

Engineered wood floors are made for use in areas where moisture can't be controlled, like on a concrete slab. As opposed to a good piece of timber, which will warp when exposed to moisture, engineered wood planks are composed of multiple layers of wood that are glued, pressed, heated, then coated with a thin veneer of wood on top. This process makes the flooring less susceptible to warping. An engineered hardwood floor appears every bit as beautiful as a good hardwood floor and is usually pre-finished and ready to use immediately after installation is finished.

Engineered Wood Floors Cost Less Than Strong Wood Floors

Another benefit is that engineered timber is less expensive than solid wood since less costly woods are used for the lower layers. Some engineered floors using a thin veneer generally cannot be refinished, nevertheless, many modern engineered wood flooring are made out of a thinner veneer which makes refinishing possible. If you are seeking to bring the warmth of wood floors to your basement, without risking rust damage, then engineered hardwood flooring are a terrific alternative.

Why Install a Moisture Barrier into Wood Floors?

Engineered wood floors should be set up within a moisture barrier and underlayment. Humidity levels below ground are too inconsistent to danger skipping the extra protection given by a moisture barrier. You will find glue-down options that are designed to protect the finished floor from fluctuating moisture levels below the finished floor. A much better option is to get them professionally installed.

With all of the beautifully engineered hardwood flooring options on the market today and skilled installation methods which include a moisture barrier and underlayment, there's no reason you can not delight in the beauty of a hardwood floor in your new basement living space!

Parquet floor fitting from start to finish

Parquet floors provides you the chance of an experience into rare and exotic species.

Below is a montage of a reclaimed parquet block being fitted in a house in London. As you will see from the photographs, a lot of work goes into laying a reclaimed parquet floor. It certainly requires a great deal of religion from the customer! When the cubes arrive, it may be a bit disconcerting, to see a stack of blocks, unsanded and grubby. However there is a procedure and the results are well worth it.

Before:
Before placing the ground, the recovered substance stacked to one side ready for the fitting. It has already been prepped by scratching the sides to get a nice fit. This helps to protect against the herringbone pattern heading from line.

Fitting:
Laying the centre line. This can be set by measuring the space between the walls. Dry put a row of blocks across and attempt to be certain they seem even when they hit the walls. That way it will look as straightforward as possible with the room. You can work out the nearest herringbone summit to your centre line and use that as your starting point.

Filling in the distance, working in the middle out. First to a side and then another. In case you have a border then you want to stop before the wall and then use a track-saw the cut on the herringbone blocks. You must allow for at least a double guaranteed row.

Sanding:
Sanding. Ensure you are masked up and have ear-defenders on because this is stuffy and dusty. Sand with a rather coarse grit paper 24 if you're able to get it. Allow it to do all the hard work.

After 1st sanding. More 24 grit newspaper or go around 40 grit to find the last of their old material away.

And much more! Go up through the grit papers to 80 grit, then 120. Do not stand still, keep the machine going and attempt to go in each direction (think Union flag) to protect against sanding marks.

More fine trimming, this time using a 180 grit to get a gorgeous smooth surface.

Beautiful clean parquet. After sanding hoover very thoroughly so that your top-coats is going to be smooth too.

Top-coat on parquet
Polishing on the parquet starts. You are able to use a primer on tropical hardwood or even a hardwax oil. If utilizing hardwax oil, go for narrow layers rubbed in with a cloth, do not lather the ground with lots because it becomes difficult to buff. For the best outcomes with hardwax oil make sure you buff involving coats, the same as a piece of furniture.

Halfway using all the priming coat on the parquet. Watch how the colour deepens.

First coat of lacquer going about the parquet.

Topcoat of lacquer moving onto the parquet floor.