Its become very popular to have borders installed in the dining room.  Our team has noticed an increase in demand for this type of design over the last few years.  There’s a bit of challenge when doing this type of installation.

Wood Delivery

Its important to have all of the wood materials delivered one-week before the installation.  This allows the new hardwood to acclimate to the home environment.  The hardwood will soak in the same amount of moisture and temperature as the home.

Tear Out Carpet

When it was time for service, our team ripped up all the carpet first.  This is also a great time to get all of the squeaks out of the subfloor.  You can do this by screwing down the squeaky areas back down to the joist.  After the carpet is up and the squeaks are fixed, then we lay down the water barrier underlayment.  We like to use the thick tar paper similar to roofing paper.

45 Degree Install

The first board to install is in the corner of the room.  Just make sure that it’s square.  The next step is to trace onto the subfloor where your border is going to land.  Our walnut border was a 4 inch plank.  Therefore, each oak hardwood board that was butted up to the perimeter needed to overhang the border trace by a few inches.

Walnut Border Install

The borders are installed after the hardwood has been laid.  Trace the border back onto to oak.  Then take a skill saw or festool to cut the border out.  After to perimeter has been cut out, it’s ready for routing the tongue and groove.  You will need spline to connect the oak to the walnut.  This helps lock the two species together.  Lastly, install the walnut border.

Sand & Finish

Sanding this type of design can be a challenge.  You want to make sure that you sand with the grains of the 45 degree boards and sand with the grains of the perpendicular walnut border.  This process takes a bit more time but well worth it for the final outcome.  This will prevent the floor from having cross grain sanding marks.

General Care

Each of our clients are guided through our general care instructions.  This is important for maintaining your hardwoods and keeping them looking new.  Simply, dust every other day and clean them once every two weeks.  Our team recommends using the Bona hardwood floor cleaning kit.

Project Overview

  • Wood Delivery
  • Tear Out Carpet
  • 45 Degree Install
  • Walnut Border Install
  • Sand & Finish
  • General Care