Alright, so I decided to tackle a new project – laying down some batten dancing beech wooden flooring. Let me tell you, it was a bit of a journey, but I’m pretty stoked with how it turned out. I’m gonna walk you through the whole thing, from start to finish, so maybe you can learn from my mistakes and triumphs.

Getting Started

First things first, I gathered all my materials. I’d already picked out the beech flooring – loved the light color and the tight grain. Besides the wood, I also grabbed:

• Battens (of course)
• Underlayment (went with a nice, thick foam one for sound dampening)
• Screws (lots of ’em)
• Wood glue
• Spacers (to keep things even)

And for tools, I used my trusty:

• Circular saw
• Drill
• Hammer
• Measuring tape
• Level
• Chisel (just in case)

Prepping the Subfloor

The subfloor was just bare concrete, so I made sure it was super clean. I swept it like a madman, then I vacuumed it, and then I even mopped it. Any little bit of debris can mess with the level of the floor, so I was pretty obsessive about this part. Then I inspect and fix them, if there are cracks, repair them with the apporiate product.

Laying the Battens

Next up, I laid out the battens. The key here is to make sure they’re evenly spaced and perfectly level. I used my measuring tape and level like they were going out of style. I placed the battens perpendicular to the direction I wanted the flooring to run. This is supposed to help with stability, or something like that.

Once I was happy with the placement, I screwed the battens down into the concrete. I made sure the screws were countersunk, so they wouldn’t interfere with the flooring.

Rolling Out the Underlayment

With the battens secure, I rolled out the underlayment. I overlapped the seams a bit and taped them down. This stuff is supposed to help with sound and moisture, so I didn’t skimp on it.

Laying the Flooring

Now for the fun part! I started laying the beech planks. I applied a bead of wood glue to the groove of each plank before tapping it into place with a hammer and a tapping block (to protect the edges). Oh, and I used those spacers between the planks and the walls to leave an expansion gap. Apparently, wood expands and contracts with changes in humidity, so you gotta give it some room to breathe.

I worked my way across the room, row by row, cutting planks to fit at the ends with my circular saw. It took some time, and there were a few tricky cuts around doorways, but I managed to get it all done.

Finishing Touches

Once all the planks were down, I removed the spacers and installed baseboards to cover the expansion gap. This really cleaned up the look and made it feel like a finished room.

And that’s it! My batten dancing beech wooden flooring project was complete. It was a lot of work, but totally worth it. The floor looks amazing, and it feels great underfoot. Plus, I learned a ton along the way. If you’re thinking about tackling a similar project, I say go for it! Just be prepared to put in some elbow grease, and don’t be afraid to ask for help if you need it. I sure did!