This was a unique project from the very start.  During our first consultation with the owners in Platte City MO, we had a vision to make these floors stand out from the rest.  This customer had one thing on their mind – to sell their house in the spring!   Therefore, these floors needed to be stunning for prospective buyers.

Travis, the owner of RippnFinish, thought this house would look great with a 45 degree installation of wide plank flooring.  Travis, suggested leaving the existing 1 inch hardwoods in the kitchen and entry way.  He said that this would add a unique element and give the floors a sense of depth.  The homeowner was excited and agreed to see his vision through.

45 Degree Hardwood Flooring Installation

The hardwood was delivered 10 days before installation services began.  We removed the furniture and appliances off of the service area.  The dinning room and living room had carpet, which we took out.  After thorough preparations, this floor was ready for installation.

The first row of install was installed at a 45 degree directly down the center of the area, running down through the dinning room and living room.  Spline was used to reverse the direction of install towards the opposite side of the rooms.  The existing hardwood areas where bordered with the 4 inch flooring.  This ensured that we had a clean transition between the two areas.  We also bordered the fireplace for a nice touch.

Rule-of-thumb:  When installing a 45 degree floor, make sure to account for more hardwood.  During normal install projects, you only need to cut one side which is your end wall.  Therefore, you wont have as much scrap pieces of wood as you would for a 45 degree pattern.  During installation for 45 degree’s you must cut both ends at a 45 degree on both end-walls.

Sand & Finish

Now it was time for sanding!  This was challenging for one reason in particular.  We had to be careful sanding with the grain because there were two floors now running in different directions.  We ran three passes on this floor, starting with 36 grit, then 60 grit, and finally 100 grit.  We buffed the floor with 120 grit before the staining process.

The stain color was espresso and  beautifully coated 3 times with a modified oil base finish.  Our team installed all new primed white base shoe.  New base shoe always compliments the new floor and allows for a clean transition.

Two days after the final coat we conducted a walk through with the client.  These floors looked fantastic!  However, there a few boards did “check”.  This is very common here in the midwest.  Checking is caused from weak spots in the hardwood.  Finish will go underneath the cracks of the hardwood and cause that area to splinter up.  We see this often, about 6 out of every 10 projects.  We repaired those boards and the customer was amazed!

Takeaway

If you are considering a 45 degree installation, make sure to account for more scrap when ordering materials.  Install the first board in the middle of the room.  Install borders around fireplace and around remaining flooring.  Sand with the grain for floors going different directions.   Watch out for checking!

Project Overview

  • Wood delivery & acclimation
  • Remove furniture
  • Tear out carpet
  • 45 degree hardwood installation
  • Sand & Finish
  • Install new base shoe