Okay, so I’ve been wanting to redo my floors for, like, forever. I finally decided to tackle it, and let me tell you, it was a journey. I went with this “batten dancing hard assembled wooden flooring” thing. Sounds fancy, right? It’s basically just pre-assembled wooden floor panels, but the “batten” part means they’re attached to these strips of wood underneath.

Getting Started

First, I ripped up all the old, nasty carpet. That was a workout in itself! Underneath, I found some pretty uneven subfloor. Ugh.

Leveling the Subfloor

So, next step: leveling. I used some self-leveling compound – messy stuff, but it did the trick. I poured it on, spread it around with a trowel, and let it dry. It took a whole day to fully dry, and I kept checking it with a level to make sure it was, well, level.

Laying the Battens

Once the subfloor was all smooth and dry, I got to work on the battens. These are just strips of wood that the flooring panels attach to. I measured the room, did some quick math (which I’m not great at, to be honest), and cut the battens to size. I used a circular saw for this – gotta love power tools!

Then, I laid out the battens across the floor, making sure they were evenly spaced. I used a chalk line to mark where they should go. This part was crucial – get this wrong, and the whole floor is messed up.

I secured the battens to the subfloor with construction adhesive and screws. I used a drill for the screws, and made sure they were countersunk so they wouldn’t stick up.

Assembling the Floor Panels

Now for the fun part! The floor panels themselves were pretty easy to put together. They just clicked into place. It was like a giant, wooden jigsaw puzzle. I started in one corner and worked my way across the room, row by row.

I had to make some cuts around the doorways and other weird corners. For this, I used a jigsaw. It’s a bit slower than the circular saw, but it lets you make more precise cuts.

Finishing Touches

Once all the panels were down, I installed some baseboards around the edges of the room to cover up the gaps. I used a miter saw to cut the baseboards at the corners – 45-degree angles, you know. Then, I nailed them in place with a finish nailer.

Finally, I gave the whole floor a good cleaning. There was sawdust everywhere!

• Ripped up old carpet.
• Leveled the subfloor.
• Cut and laid the battens.
• Assembled the floor panels.
• Installed baseboards.
• Cleaned up the mess!

It was a lot of work, but I’m super happy with how it turned out. My new floor looks amazing! And I did it all myself! It was tough, but totally worth it.