So, I decided to tackle putting in some new flooring myself. Went with this rubber-backed soft maple stuff, the kind that clicks together. Sounded good, especially the rubber part, thought it might be better for my knees when I’m moving around, maybe even a bit of dancing practice in the living room, who knows?

Getting Started

First step, like always, was getting the room ready. Had to move all the furniture out, which was a pain. Then, cleaning the old floor. Seriously clean. Swept it, vacuumed it, then wiped it down. You don’t want any grit under the new stuff. Checked if it was level too. Found a couple of low spots, nothing major, just used a bit of leveling compound to smooth things out. Let that dry properly.

The flooring planks came in boxes, quite a few of them. Dragged them into the room and opened them up. They say you gotta let the wood get used to the room’s temperature and humidity for a day or two. So, I just spread the open boxes around and left them alone. Patience is key here, apparently.

Laying the Planks

Alright, installation day. Picked the longest wall to start, seemed logical. Used some spacers against the wall to leave a gap, wood expands and contracts, you see. The first row is always the trickiest, gotta get it straight.

These planks were the click-lock type. Lined them up, angled them in, pushed down. Click. Mostly. Some needed a bit more persuasion, a gentle tap with a rubber mallet did the job. The rubber backing was interesting. Didn’t need a separate underlayment, which saved a step. It felt kinda nice laying it down, quieter than just wood on subfloor.

• Lined up the tongue and groove.
• Clicked it into place.
• Used a tapping block sometimes for a tight fit.

Cutting was involved, of course. End of the rows, around the door frame. Measured carefully, used my jigsaw. Made some dust, obviously. Tried to keep the cuts clean. You always want to stagger the seams between rows so it doesn’t look weird, like brickwork kinda. Used the offcut from one row to start the next one, if it was long enough. Less waste that way.

It was pretty repetitive work. Row after row. Kneepads were a lifesaver, let me tell you. The soft maple looked nice as it went down, pretty light color. The rubber backing definitely made it feel different when walking on the installed sections, a bit softer maybe?

Finishing Up

Once all the main planks were down, I pulled out the spacers from the edges. Then came the trim. Put down quarter-round molding all along the baseboards to cover that expansion gap. Looks much neater. Had to cut angles for the corners, took a bit of fiddling.

Cleaned everything up again. Swept up the sawdust, wiped down the new floor. Moved the furniture back in, carefully this time.

Overall thoughts? It was a decent weekend project. Took time, got sweaty, back complained a bit. But doing it myself saved some cash. The floor looks good, feels solid. That rubber backing does give it a slightly softer feel, which I wanted. Seems like it’ll be good for what I intended. Happy with how it turned out, yeah. It’s done, and I did it.