If you’re going to install new hardwood floors, our attention to detail, craftsmanship, and timeliness will make you happy.
Plus, we have a ton of knowledge about hardwood floors!
Think of an unfinished hardwood floor like a blank canvas. You can make it look any way you want. Installing new wood flooring in a home or commercial project will give you the ultimate flexibility to make your floor unique and fit your exact specifications. These types of projects are when we put our consultant hats on, like – walking you through the species of hardwood floors to choose from, design and function considerations, installing a header or lace-in between room, to the final step of choosing the stain and finish.
Hardwood Flooring Species
- Red Oak
- White Oak
- Ash
- Australian Cypress
- Beech
- Birch
- Pine
- Douglas Fir
- Brazilian Walnut (Ipe)
- Brazilian Cherry (Jatoba)
- Inquire about other specialty and exotic species @ http://rippnfinish.com/contact/
Hardwood Flooring Widths
- Unfinished flooring comes in a few standard widths which most suppliers keep in stock. “Strip” widths are: 1-½” and 2-¼” and standard “Plank” widths are 3-¼”, 4” and 5”.
- Just about anything can be customized with unfinished wood flooring, including the width. The current trend is to see wider and broader widths being specified. A 6” or 8” White Oak is not that uncommon anymore. Typically, they will be custom ordered from a mill.
- Another trend is to combine multiple widths. This is typically done in a repeating row pattern (ex: 3-¼” – 4” – 5”), but can also be mixed randomly. There is no limit to how many widths you can combine, but typically three widths are the most popular. Our suppliers have a specific formula to determine how many square feet of each width you need.
Installing Headers or Lace-In?
There are a few options for installing new hardwoods. The cheaper option is to establish a header separating the two rooms. This is basically a border between the two hardwood floor rooms. This route is more affordable because there’s less labor time involved.
The second option is to lace in the new room. This is more expensive because of the time and tear out involved. We take out each board leading up to that new room getting installed. Then, we lace in those new boards, running them into the new hardwood room. This option is seamless and shows no separation between the two rooms.
Our Hardwood Flooring Installation Process:
Step 1
The first step is confirming the hardwood species. This process is simple if you have a new construction home. We will have you stop by our supplier’s warehouse to select the type of hardwoods that you would like in your new home. If you already have existing hardwoods, then we will sand a small spot to determine the correct species to order.
Step 2
We will check and document the amount of moisture in the home environment, the sub-floor, the existing hardwoods, and the newly delivered hardwoods. We will review the temperature during the duration of the project. Typically, it’s recommended to keep the home at 70 degrees. This temp will keep your home atmosphere equilibrium and prevent your hardwoods from moving. Keeping the home-moisture content at 40% is also recommended during the project’s duration. Finally, we provide installation for built-in humidification if needed.
Step 3
The new hardwood flooring will get delivered. After delivery, the new hardwood flooring will need to acclimate to the home for one week. After acclimation, the new hardwoods are ready for installation.
Step 4
Our team will tear out the existing carpet or tile. The base shoe will be removed beforehand to prevent any damages caused by the installation of the hardwood flooring. Tear-out debris will be hauled off the property that day. We will prep the sub-flooring if needed. Occasionally, it’s necessary to pull staples and nails out of the sub-floor. And on rarer occasions, we may even need to level the sub-floor in areas. This is also a great time to fix squeaks in the sub-floor.
Step 5
Next, is installing the new hardwood flooring. The water barrier underlayment is put down first. This helps keep moisture out of the hardwoods. We always border around fireplaces unless told otherwise. The installation is a quick process, generally one or two days, depending on the square footage size.
Step 6
After the installation is complete, we walk the entire floor with the client. During this walkthrough we look for imperfections in the wood. At this time, we will fix any flaws, splintered boards, gaps, etc. We then bring in our sand and finish team when the installation walkthrough is passed.
From the start, these folks were very professional. Returned calls quickly, explained estimate in detail, sent a revised estimate when I decided to use the “deal” on the Angie’s List website. We were on a time crunch, maneuvering between flooring, new appliance delivery, and countertop placement. These guys understood what we needed to have done, were attentive when we were asking questions about stain color, and gave us what we felt was an unbiased opinion on several different colors.
Our most common hardwood flooring species
The species that are most readily available are the North American domestic tree species of Red Oak, White Oak, Hickory, Maple and Walnut. Red Oak and White Oak are by far the most popular for wood flooring. Most suppliers keep all these species in stock.