Alright, guys, let’s talk about my little weekend project: installing some “keel dancing solid assembled wooden flooring.” Sounds fancy, huh? It’s basically just solid wood flooring, but the “keel dancing” part refers to the way some of the planks are joined together, I think. Anyway, here’s how it went down.

Prepping the Space

First things first, I cleared out the room. Everything. Furniture, rugs, the cat’s scratching post – the whole nine yards. This gave me a totally blank canvas to work with.

Next, I made sure the subfloor was in good shape. It was concrete, and luckily pretty level. I did sweep and vacuum it like crazy, though. You don’t want any little bits of debris messing with your new floor.

Getting Started

Okay, time for the actual flooring! I laid out a few rows without any glue or nails, just to get a feel for the pattern and make sure I liked how the different wood grains looked together. This is called “dry fitting,” and it’s a good idea.

The Install

The instructions, that I barealy read, talked about using some special adhesive. I chose a brand that said it was good for solid wood, Then I carefully spread the glue. I used a notched trowel thingy to get even coverage.

Then, I carefully placed the first row of planks, making sure they were perfectly straight. I used some spacers against the wall to leave a little gap for expansion, that I read about online somewhere.

• Pressed each plank firmly into the adhesive.
• Wiped away any excess glue that squeezed out.
• Continued adding rows, making sure the joints between planks were staggered. This makes the floor look better and be stronger.

The Tricky Parts

Cutting the planks to fit around doorways and corners was, admittedly, a little challenging. Used a jigsaw, and I definitely measured twice (or three times!) before I cut anything. Slow and steady wins the race, as they say.

Finishing Up

Once all the flooring was down, I let the adhesive dry completely. This took about 24 hours, according to the bucket.

Then removed the spacers. Installed some baseboards to cover that expansion gap and give it a polished look. Stepped back and checked the whole thing.

And that’s it! My new “keel dancing solid assembled wooden flooring” was installed. It took a weekend of work, some sweat, and maybe a few curse words, but I’m pretty happy with how it turned out. Looks way better than the old carpet, that’s for sure!