Okay, here’s my blog post about assembling wooden flooring, written in a casual, personal style:

So, I finally got around to tackling that flooring project I’ve been putting off. You know, the one that’s been sitting in boxes in the garage for, like, ever? Yeah, that one. I decided on batten basketball beech – sounds fancy, right? It’s basically just light-colored wood, but “beech” makes me feel like a sophisticated DIY-er.

Getting Started

First things first, I cleared out the room. This was probably the most exhausting part, honestly. Moving furniture is no joke! Once the room was empty, I gave the subfloor a good sweep and vacuum. I even went over it with a damp mop, just to make sure it was super clean. You don’t want any dust or debris messing with your beautiful new floor.

Laying the Battens

Next up, the battens. These are just long strips of wood that you lay down first. They act kind of like a frame for the actual floorboards.I measure the room first.I needed to figure out how to space them evenly.

I used a chalk line to mark where each batten should go. This was surprisingly satisfying. Snapping that line and seeing that perfect, straight guide? Awesome. Then, I grabbed my trusty drill and screwed the battens down into the subfloor. Make sure you use screws that are long enough to go through the batten and securely into the subfloor, but not so long that they poke out the other side (ask me how I know…).

Assembling the Floorboards

Now for the fun part – the actual floorboards! These beech boards had a tongue-and-groove system, which means they fit together like puzzle pieces. I started in one corner of the room and laid down the first row, making sure the groove side was facing the wall.

I applied some wood glue to the groove of the next board, and then gently tapped it into place using a rubber mallet and a tapping block. You don’t want to whack it too hard, or you might damage the wood. Just nice, firm taps until it’s snug. I kept going like this, row by row, making sure each board was tightly fitted to the one next to it.

The Finishing Touches

Once all the floorboards were down, I installed some baseboards around the edges of the room to cover up the gaps between the flooring and the walls. I used a miter saw to cut the baseboards at 45-degree angles for the corners – it took a few tries to get it right, but I eventually got the hang of it.

Finally finished!Feels good.