Okay, here’s my blog post about putting in that keel dancing hard maple assembly wooden flooring.

Alright, so I decided to tackle this project – laying down some new wooden flooring. I’d been looking at this messed-up old carpet in my living room for way too long, and finally, I was like, “Enough is enough!” I did a little digging and settled on this “keel dancing hard maple assembly” stuff. Sounded fancy, right?

Prepping the Space

First things first, I ripped out that nasty old carpet. Man, that was satisfying! Underneath, it was just the concrete subfloor, which was pretty level, thankfully. I swept the heck out of it, vacuumed it, and then scrubbed it down with some basic cleaner to get rid of any dust or grime. Gotta have a clean slate, you know?

Laying Down the Underlayment

Next up, I rolled out this foam underlayment. It’s supposed to help with sound dampening and make the floor feel a little softer underfoot. I taped the seams together with this special tape I got at the hardware store. Seemed pretty straightforward.

Getting Started with the Flooring

Now for the main event! I opened up the boxes of flooring and let them sit in the room for a couple of days. Apparently, this helps the wood get used to the humidity and temperature of the room, so it doesn’t warp later on. Who knew?

I started in one corner, laying down the first row of planks. This “keel” system is kinda like a tongue-and-groove thing. You fit the planks together, and they click into place. It wasn’t super difficult, but it did take a little wiggling to get them lined up perfectly.

• Used a tapping block: This little rubber block helped me tap the planks together without damaging the edges. Pretty handy.
• Spacers are key: I put these little plastic spacers between the flooring and the walls. This leaves room for the wood to expand and contract with changes in temperature.

The Long Haul

Honestly, the rest of it was just repeating the same process. Lay a row, click it together, tap it tight, add spacers. It took a while, and my knees were definitely feeling it by the end of the day. But seeing the floor come together was pretty cool.

Finishing Touches

Once all the flooring was down, I installed some baseboards around the edges of the room to cover up the expansion gap. I nailed those in, filled the nail holes with wood putty, and then gave them a quick coat of paint.

And that’s it! My new floor is in. It looks a million times better than that old carpet, and it feels pretty solid underfoot. I’m no expert, but I’m pretty proud of myself for tackling this project. If I can do it, anyone can! Just be prepared for some sore muscles.