Okay, here’s my shot at a blog post, following all your instructions:

So, I tackled a pretty big project this weekend – installing batten volleyball hard maple assembling wooden flooring. Sounds fancy, right? It kinda was, but mostly it was just a lot of work. Let me tell you the whole story.

Getting Started

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First things first, I cleared out the entire room. Everything. Furniture, rugs, the whole nine yards. This gave me a nice, big, empty space to work with. Then, I checked the subfloor, make sure no screw head pop out, I swept the whole space one more time.

The Battens

Next up, the battens. Now, I chose the softwood batten strips, measured the room, and figured out the * key here is to leave a little gap around the edges of the room for expansion, you know, so the wood can breathe. I laid down the battens,making sure they were nice and level, using shims where I needed to.

Laying the Maple

This is where it got real. I started laying the maple planks. I used a rubber mallet to tap them together, making sure the tongue and groove fit snugly. Oh man, that sound of the wood clicking together is so satisfying. Row by row, I worked my way across the room. It was slow going, but seeing the floor take shape was awesome.

• Cut some planks to fit the edges, leaving that expansion gap, of course.
• Used a nailer to secure the boards to the battens. Thunk, thunk, thunk.
• Occasionally stood back to admire my handiwork (and give my knees a break).

The Finish Line

Finally, I got to the last row. A few more cuts, a few more nails, and boom! Done. The floor was in! Then I have to swept the whole are again,and cleared out my tools.

The next steps, will be sanding and finishing, but that’s a story for another day. For now, I’m just gonna sit back and enjoy the sight of my brand new, beautifully installed, solid maple floor. It was tough, but totally worth it.