What Happens Before a Hardwood Floor Is Installed
Kirill, Founder
Most hardwood problems don't start with the wood. They start under it.
Gaps, squeaks, boards that cup at the edges, a floor that feels soft in one spot. These usually trace back to a base that wasn't ready. Once the floor is down, you can't see the prep. But you feel it every time you walk across the room.
Here's what should happen before the first board goes in.
1. Check the subfloor
The subfloor is the base everything sits on. It needs to be solid. Loose or soft spots get fixed now, because they turn into squeaks and movement later.
2. Make it flat
Wood floors need a flat base. High spots and low spots make boards rock, flex or open up. Fixing flatness takes time, and it's the step most often rushed.
3. Test for moisture
Wood takes on water from the air and gives it back. If boards go in too wet, they shrink in a dry Sacramento summer and leave gaps. If they go in too dry, they swell and cup when it gets damp.
We test moisture before every wood install. A meter reads both the subfloor and the boards. The two numbers need to be close to each other and inside the range the wood maker lists. If they aren't, we wait.
4. Let the wood acclimate
New boards sit in the rooms where they'll live, with the heat or air running the way you normally use it. This lets the wood settle to your home before it's nailed down.
5. Lay the underlayment
A thin underlayment goes between the subfloor and the boards. It helps with moisture and noise.
6. Install the boards
Only now do the boards go in. Seams are staggered so the floor looks natural and stays strong. On a nail-down install, boards are nailed through the tongue, so the nails stay hidden.
Nailing each board tight
Why we don't skip steps
It can feel slow. But this is the difference between a floor that stays flat and tight through ten summers and one that needs work in two.
Kirill started Floor Monkeys because he saw too many jobs where this prep was skipped. His rule is simple: do the job properly the first time.
What you can expect from us
- We move your furniture and move it back
- Moisture testing before every wood install
- Kirill checks every job himself
- A 1-year workmanship warranty in writing
- CA License #1090151 and 16+ years in the trade
Thinking about new hardwood? Get a free in-home estimate and we'll walk your rooms, check the base and talk through your options.
