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

So, I’ve been wanting to redo the flooring in my basement for, like, forever. It was this nasty old carpet that the previous owners put in, and it smelled kinda funky. I finally decided to tackle it, and I wanted something that looked good, was durable, and, well, I could do myself. That’s when I landed on this batten volleyball pine assembly wooden flooring. Sounds fancy, huh? It’s basically just pine planks that you put together over these wooden battens.

Getting Started

First things first, I had to rip out that old carpet. Let me tell you, that was a workout! And dusty. Seriously, wear a mask if you ever do this. Underneath, it was just the concrete slab, which was in pretty decent shape, thankfully. No major cracks or anything.

Next, I went and got all the materials. I’m not gonna lie, I spent a good chunk of time at the home improvement store just staring at wood. But I finally picked out the pine flooring I liked – it had this nice, light color. And then I got the battens, which are basically just strips of wood that create a frame for the flooring.

The Batten Battle

Laying down the battens was the first real step. I measured out the basement and figured out how far apart the battens needed to be. The instructions that came with the flooring had some guidelines, which was super helpful. Then, I used this construction adhesive to glue the battens down to the concrete. I also used some concrete screws, just to be extra sure they wouldn’t go anywhere. It’s like building a little wooden grid on the floor.

• Measure and mark the locations for the batten.
• Apply construction adhesive on the battens.
• Put the battens on the floor.
• Secure the batten with Concrete screws.

Plank Time!

Once the adhesive was dry (I gave it a full day, just to be safe), it was time for the fun part – putting down the actual flooring! These pine planks had this tongue-and-groove thing going on, so they basically just clicked together. It was surprisingly easy, once I got the hang of it.

I started in one corner and just worked my way across the room. I used a rubber mallet to tap the planks together and make sure they were nice and snug. And, of course, I had to cut some of the planks to fit around the edges of the room. I borrowed a circular saw from my neighbor for that – lifesaver!

Finishing Touches

After all the planks were down, I put up some baseboards around the edges to cover up the gaps. I just nailed those into the wall studs. Then, I gave the whole floor a good sanding with some fine-grit sandpaper, just to make sure everything was smooth. The floor is done. I can enjoy my new floor now!

And that’s it! My new basement floor. It took a few weekends of work, but honestly, it wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be. And it looks so much better than that old carpet. Plus, I saved a bunch of money by doing it myself. Win-win!