Okay, so I decided to tackle a project I’ve been putting off for ages – installing some hard-assembled wooden flooring. It’s the “keel dancing” kind, which basically means it has this interlocking system that’s supposed to make it easier. Let me tell you, “easier” is a relative term.

Getting Started

First, I cleared out the room completely. I mean everything. I was not going to trip over anything during this. It will be annoy.

Next was prepping the subfloor. Mine was concrete, I checked to ensure everything was level. A few dips here and there, so I grabbed some self-leveling compound and fixed those spots. I want my floor will be perfect!

The Fun Begins (or not)

I unboxed the flooring and let it sit in the room for 48 hours. The instructions said this was important to let the wood acclimate to the room’s temperature and humidity. That is good.

Then came the actual laying of the planks. I started in one corner, following the instructions to leave a small expansion gap around the edges of the room.

The first few rows were okay, I click-clacked the planks together, and I felt pretty good. But * man! Then It will be hard.

The “Dancing”

This is where the “dancing” part of “keel dancing” comes in. I stuggled to fit them together *, I had to get a rubber mallet and a tapping block to persuade the planks to lock together. Let me tell you, that was a workout! There was a lot of tapping, wiggling, and some choice words involved,I want to give up,but I persisted.

• Tip 1: Don’t be afraid to use the mallet, but be gentle!
• Tip 2: Make sure the tongues and grooves are clean. Any debris in there, that is so bad.
• Tip 3: Take breaks! This is tiring work. I get my lovely coffee.

Almost There

After what felt like an eternity, I got the main part of the floor down. Then I was to cutting the planks to fit around the door frames and other tricky spots. I am not good at cutting,But I thinked I can do that.

Finally, I installed the baseboards to cover up those expansion gaps. That instantly made everything look so much more finished. I stood back and admired my handiwork. It wasn’t perfect, but it was done, and I did it myself!

I feel so good!