Okay, so I’ve been wanting to redo my floors for, like, forever. The old carpet was just gross, and I was dreaming of this beautiful, light-colored hardwood. After a ton of research (and I mean a ton), I decided on keel dancing hard maple. It just looked so clean and bright, and I figured it would make the whole place feel bigger.

First things first, I had to rip out that nasty old carpet. Let me tell you, that was a workout! It was dusty, and smelly, and I’m pretty sure I found things living under there that shouldn’t exist. Gloves and a mask are a MUST for this part, people. Seriously.

The Prep Work

Once the carpet was gone (and I had vacuumed, like, five times), I had to make sure the subfloor was level. This involved a lot of crawling around with a long level and a bunch of shims. It wasn’t glamorous, but it’s super important. You don’t want your new floor to be all wonky, right?

Because my floor are set on a keel, next I put down the moisture barrier. It’s basically this thick plastic sheeting that keeps any moisture from the keel from messing up the wood. I just rolled it out, overlapped the seams, and taped it all down. Easy peasy.

Laying the Floor

Now for the fun part! I started laying the maple planks. I rented a flooring nailer from the hardware store, which made things way easier. You just line up the plank, hit the nailer with a mallet, and boom – it’s in. I’d seen videos about how satisfying this part, and they totally were right, it’s addictive!

• Start with the longest, straightest wall. This helps keep everything square.
• Leave a gap around the edges. Wood expands and contracts, so you need to give it some room. I used spacers to make sure the gap was consistent.
• Stagger the joints. You don’t want all the end seams to line up. It looks weird, and it’s not as strong.

It took a couple of days, and my knees were definitely feeling it, but I got the whole floor laid down. I had to make a few tricky cuts around doorways and stuff, but I managed. YouTube is your friend for this kind of thing, seriously.

Finishing Touches

After all the planks were down, I installed the trim around the edges to cover up that expansion gap. Then came the sanding. I rented a big floor sander and went over the whole thing a few times, starting with a coarse grit and working my way up to a fine grit. This made the floor super smooth and even.

Finally, I applied a few coats of polyurethane finish. This protects the wood and gives it a nice sheen. I chose a satin finish because I didn’t want it to be too glossy. Each coat needed time to dry, so this part took a while, but the end result? Totally worth it.

My new keel dancing hard maple floor is AMAZING. It’s bright, it’s clean, and it makes the whole space feel so much bigger and more modern. It was a lot of work, but I’m so glad I did it myself. Plus, I saved a ton of money! If you’re thinking about doing your own floors, I say go for it! Just be prepared for some hard work, and don’t be afraid to ask for help (or watch a lot of YouTube videos).