Hardwood Stairs

A lot of homeowners are upgrading their old carpet or linoleum floors to hardwood, and it's certainly a great investment that really pays off in many ways. A related project is to replace an outdated or

worn out stairway with a sharp new set of hardwood stairs.

Here's a hardwood stairway job Mark recently did. He took off the old plywood treads and risers and put in clear oak treads and white risers. As always, he used solid oak for the treads, an inch thick. He hand-finished them with a minimum of three coats of polyurethane.

 

 

(The unpainted trim is at the customer's request.)

Thanks,
New Hampshire Construction

Hardwood Flooring

Hardwood flooring is a very popular choice with homeowners right now. It improves the value of your home both financially and in terms of quality of life, and with a little care, it lasts and lasts.

Mark recently installed hardwood flooring in place of carpet in a customer's living room, front hall and stairway:

First he removed the old carpet, exposing the plywood subfloor.

He installed 2 1/2" floorboards, 3/4" thick.

Apparent color variations are caused by changes in lighting conditions.

The finished living room floor. Minimal care will keep this floor beautiful for quite some time.

The front entry

The stairs looked like this when Mark got to them.

He started by removing the carpeting.

He used one-inch-thick premium oak for the treads.

Applying the finish really brings out the beauty of the grain.

The stair stringer is exposed here.

The treads are in place. New balusters will be next.

White risers are popular now.

The finished stairway

--New Hampshire Construction

How to Install Click-Lock Flooring

If you're a homeowner wondering how to install click-lock flooring, here's a quick overview of the process:

Tools You Will Need:

• Table saw
• Compound miter saw
  
• Tape measure
• Pencil
• Hammer
• Flat pry bar 
• Pneumatic nailer for installing trim at the end of the job (Optional. If you don't have one, you'll need a nail set.)

Materials You Will Need:

• Click-lock flooring
• Underlayment
• Trim (baseboards or quarter-round, see below)
• Transitions for the doorways
• Finish nails for the trim, and screws and/or glue for the transitions

You will also need a small piece of wood to cushion the flooring pieces when you tap them into place with the hammer. You can use a scrap of your flooring material for this.

How to Do the Prep Work:

1. Decide whether you want to remove any old baseboards and then put them back after installing the floor, or whether you want to leave the baseboards in place and add quarter-round trim.
2. Measure the room and compute the square feet, then order the flooring and underlayment. Measure the perimeter of the room and order the trim and transitions.
3. Prepare the surface by removing any loose or uneven parts of the old flooring. Check the joists and subfloor and make any necessary repairs.
4. Set up your workspace, including both saws. Make sure you have enough space to stay organized and make accurate cuts.

How to Install Click-Lock Flooring:

1. Decide which direction you want your flooring to go. Don't forget to take any closets, entryways and other unusual shapes into consideration.
2. Put down the first piece of underlayment. It does matter which side is up, so read and follow the labeling.
3. Lay the first piece of flooring near the wall at the edge of the room. Make sure there's a small gap (about a 1/4 inch or half a centimeter) between the floor and the wall to allow for expansion. You will cover this gap later with trim.
4. Lay the second piece end-to-end next to the first piece. Hold the first piece down with your foot and tap the second one into place with the hammer. But don't let the hammer touch the flooring: put your block of wood in between to protect it from dents. Once you've done a few, you'll get used to the sound and feel of how they click into place. When installed correctly, the pieces are so close that the real seams look just like the printed ones. Sometimes you will need to use the pry bar to maintain the gap next to the wall.
5.  Measure, cut and install each row before going on to the next one. Remember that the two sides of the flooring pieces are not the same, so if one of them gets turned around, it will not lock into place. Don't forget the underlayment.
6. Paint or stain your trim pieces as necessary to match the decor of your room. Then measure, cut and install the trim and the transitions.

If you have the tools, the time and some finish carpentry experience, it shouldn't be hard to learn how to install click-lock flooring.

Thanks,

New Hampshire Construction