Okay, so yesterday I finally tackled that flooring project I’ve been putting off. The goal? “Rubber dancing pine assembly wooden flooring.” Sounds fancy, right? It’s basically just interlocking pine floorboards, but the “rubber dancing” part refers to a thin rubber underlayment that’s supposed to make it feel a bit softer underfoot and maybe help with sound.

First things first, I cleared out the room. This involved a lot of grunting and groaning, moving furniture, and wondering why I own so much stuff. Once the room was empty, I gave the subfloor a good sweep and vacuum. You want that surface as clean as possible, no dust bunnies or stray screws that could mess things up later.

Laying Down the Underlayment

• Next up, the rubber underlayment. I unrolled it, and immediately the room smelled like a tire shop. The instructions, which were basically just pictures, showed that I should let it overlap a bit at the seams.
• So, I cut the underlayment with a utility knife, making sure to leave a little extra around the edges of the room too. I can always trim it later.

Putting the Floor Together

• Now for the actual floorboards. I’d picked out this pine that had a nice, light color. The fun (and slightly frustrating) part was getting them to click together.
• I started in one corner, laying down the first row. It was a bit of a puzzle, figuring out which way the tongues and grooves went. After a few false starts, I got the hang of it.
• It’s all about lining up the edges, giving them a little tap with a rubber mallet, and click. Sometimes it went smoothly, other times I had to wrestle with them a bit. Let me tell you, my knees were not happy by the end of this.
• As I went along, I made sure to stagger the seams, like you would with bricks. This is supposed to make the floor stronger and look better. Plus, it meant I could use up some of the shorter pieces I ended up with after cutting around doorways and weird corners.

Speaking of cutting, that was another adventure. I used a jigsaw for most of it, which worked okay, but it definitely wasn’t the cleanest cut. I probably should have invested in a better saw, but hey, live and learn, right?

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, I placed the last board. I stood back, admired my handiwork, and immediately noticed a few spots where the boards weren’t perfectly aligned. But you know what? It’s good enough. It’s a floor, it’s solid, and it looks a heck of a lot better than the old carpet that was there before. Plus, that rubber underlayment does make a difference. It feels pretty nice to walk on.

So, that’s my “rubber dancing pine assembly wooden flooring” adventure. Would I do it again? Maybe. But next time, I’m definitely getting some better knee pads and maybe a friend to help. Or at least a pizza delivery guy on standby.