Selection to Installation: Your Complete Guide to Hardwood Floor Projects

What Should I Expect During The Flooring Installation Process? 

Ever stood in a showroom staring at countless wood samples wondering what happens next? Hunter Ross, owner of Wood Floors of Dallas with over two decades of industry expertise, pulls back the curtain on the entire hardwood flooring installation journey.

The podcast begins by outlining what happens after you make that first call. From the initial in-home measurement to product selection and scheduling, Hunter explains how his team typically gets projects on the calendar within just two weeks—significantly faster than industry averages. He then dives deep into the differences between solid hardwood (nail-down), engineered (glue-down), and click-lock installations.

For solid hardwood enthusiasts, Hunter reveals the meticulous process that many contractors gloss over. Did you know your new floors need to acclimate twice? First for a week before installation, then for another 4-7 days after installation before sanding and finishing can begin. This careful approach ensures your hardwood floors remain stable and beautiful for decades. 

The conversation shifts to why someone might choose engineered over solid hardwood. Beyond the faster installation timeline, Hunter highlights the superior stability of engineered products, which eliminates the creaking that can develop in solid floors over time. 

Ready to make an informed decision about your next flooring project? Call 972-525-0026 for a free in-home consultation and work with professionals who believe in educating their clients every step of the way.

To learn more about Wood Floors of Dallas visit:
https://www.WoodFloorDallas.com
Wood Floors of Dallas
159 W. Main St., Suite 200
Lewisville, Texas 75057
972-525-0026

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:07):
Welcome to the Wood Floors of Dallas podcast, where
we bring expert insights onhardwood flooring design and
craftsmanship, hosted by HunterRoss, owner of Wood Floors of
Dallas, with over 20 years inthe building product industry.
Whether you're a homeowner or ageneral contractor, we're here

(00:27):
to help you create amazingspaces with honor, quality and
expertise.
Let's get started.

Speaker 2 (00:44):
Thinking about new floors.
Whether it's your first time oryour fifth renovation, knowing
what to expect can make theprocess smoother and even
enjoyable.
Hunter breaks down each phaseso you walk in informed and out
with incredible hardwood floors.
Welcome back everyone.
I'm Sofia Yvette, co-host slashproducer, back in the studio

(01:04):
with Hunter Ross, owner of WoodFloors of Dallas.
Hunter.
How's it going?

Speaker 3 (01:09):
Hey, sophia, going good, how are you?

Speaker 2 (01:11):
I'm also doing good, and that's great to hear.
Hunter, can you inform ourlisteners about what they should
expect during the flooringinstallation process?

Speaker 3 (01:22):
Sure, absolutely so.
There's a few different typesof flooring installation so I'll
hit those real fast.
There's solid hardwood, whichis also called nail down
hardwood.
There is also glue downengineered hardwood, and then
there's also a click lockinstallation.
So the first thing is customergives us a call.
We will go out to their homeand do a measurement for them

(01:44):
and then they will either cometo the showroom where we bring
samples and things to their hometo look at.
The first step is justunderstanding the scope of the
project and what needs to bedone, and then the product
selection process and then thescheduling process.
Normally, just a good point foreverybody to know is that as
soon as you kind of confirm andunderstand what the details are

(02:09):
and the scope of the project is,as soon as all that's agreed
upon, the job is put onto theschedule and it usually averages
around two weeks out from thetime that that decision is made
pretty fast on getting to things.
A lot of other companies willput you out way in the future,

(02:30):
but we have a really good staffand lots of good people that
work for us.
We're able to get them donequickly.
Moving on into the start of theproject, we'll cover the
hardwood solid hardwood, naildown floors first.
The first step would be webring the material into the home
to acclimate and that's justgetting the relative humidity
balanced to the inside of thehome.
During that process the homeenvelope needs to be closed and
the air conditioning needs to berunning as normal, so that way

(02:51):
the material equals out to howit's going to live in the house.
Basically, After that week ofacclimation, the next thing that
we do is we install theflooring, the solid hardwood
that's plywood, as well as theunderlayments that are necessary
, and then the solid hardwood onthat's plywood as well as the
underlayments that are necessary, and then the solid hardwood on
top.
We install that.
That usually takes one or twodays, depending on the size of
the project.
Then it sits in place again forroughly another week to

(03:15):
acclimate in place.
It really just needs to sitthere and breathe, do a little
bit of expansion and contractionbefore we sand it and actually
seal the floor.
So you're looking at, bring thematerials in, it sits in the
home for a week for acclimation,it's installed and then it sits
for roughly about anywhere fromfour to seven days.
These are actually measured.

(03:35):
We actually measure themoisture content in the material
.
So sometimes it can go a littlebit faster.
Sometimes it might take alittle bit longer to get all
that acclimation equal.
But after that secondacclimation period, when the
flooring has been installed, westart the sand and finish
process, and that processusually takes like about four
days, maybe five.
That's your sanding and yourstaining and your multiple coats

(03:58):
of polyurethane that go on top,and then after that we're done
with it, and so the movers orwhoever got all the things out
of the home ahead of time willthen come and bring everything
back.
So that's the process for solidhardwood and then for
engineered hardwoods.
It's way faster from start tofinish.

(04:18):
You decide on what you want.
We order the product as soon asthe product's in, you know,
here in the warehouse ordelivered to the job site, one
of the two.
All of these products aretypically kiln dried
specifically for our regions.
That way there's not a need fora lot of acclimation.
Sometimes we'll acclimate themfor a day or two just for safety

(04:38):
, but most of the time they'reready to go.
So we would then install thatfloor, the glue down engineered
hardwood.
It usually takes about four orfive days total for all the
things that need to be done, andso from the very start of it
let's just say we start onMonday, all your floors will be
in by the end of the week and itwill be done all wrapped up in
one week, which is really nice,and then the click lock process

(05:02):
is almost the same.
So, as far as the way that thetimetable of installation goes,
it usually is about a week fromMonday to Friday pretty much.
Sometimes we can get it donefaster, but setting expectations
for customers is a good idea.
So, have a little bit of cushionthere in case they need other
things done.
So that's the basics.

Speaker 2 (05:22):
So, hunter, visibly speaking, why would someone go
with the engineered hardwoodover the customized?

Speaker 3 (05:29):
Well, there is a lot more options in engineered
hardwood when it comes toreadily available product.
The stability of engineeredhardwoods is one of the main
regions that anybody choosesthat over solid hardwood.
It's obviously a shorter timeframe from beginning to end, but
also engineered hardwoods arebuilt specifically to cut down

(05:50):
on expansion and contraction,which is what happens to solid
wood so much.
An engineered floor will neverstart creaking over time like a
solid wood can over many, manyyears.
The finishes are also really,really good.
They're factory controlled andapplied, so those finishes, when
they're done in that perfectenvironment, they're very, very
durable and so they last a verylong time.

(06:13):
And most people like to doengineered hardwoods for the
speed, the durability and theuniqueness of the colors.
Add on to that that you can getreally really wide boards in
engineered hardwoods, and thoseare really becoming the most
popular.
For example, most of the newEuropean oak white oak
engineered hardwood that's themost popular is like seven and a

(06:34):
half inches or wider, and yourrecommendation for solid
hardwood in North Texasspecifically goes up to about
four inches in width.
If you go above that, there'sother things that you have to do
to make sure the installationis done the right way, which is
called a glue assist, and so itadds a significant amount of

(06:55):
cost to getting it all done withthose wider planks.
When you go up to four inchwide, there's going to be some
expansion and contraction inthat board which, when you start
going larger, you know, eachinch as you get larger, the
strength of that solid hardwood.
It's like three quarter inchesthick, so the strength of it is
so strong that you have to doway more to keep it in place and

(07:18):
keep it from moving.
And so that's why engineeredhardwood is so good, because
it's using quality adhesiveattached to the plywood base.
It really stops all thatexpansion and contraction from
the beginning.
Wow, so there's a lot that goesinto it, oh yeah definitely, and
you know, the fun thing aboutthis is we like to educate

(07:39):
people on all these facets sothat way they really are
prepared.
We get a lot of people thatcome in that have been told that
oh yeah, no problem, we can do,we can put in, you know, seven
inch solid hardwood, no problem,it's all good, we just throw it
in there, no big deal.
And they don't go into all thedetails about how it's been done
, because most of them don'tknow all those extra steps that

(08:01):
has to be done.
Yeah, so the education and thethorough explanation of all
those things is really important, and we want our clients to be
very well educated, so theirexpectations are good when we
start.

Speaker 2 (08:13):
Most definitely Love it, Hunter.
We'll catch you in the nextepisode.
Have a fantastic rest of yourday.

Speaker 3 (08:20):
You too.
Thanks, sophia, have a good one.

Speaker 1 (08:29):
Thanks for tuning in to Wood Floors of Dallas podcast
.
Ready to transform your space?
Call 972-525-0026 for a freein-home consultation or visit
woodfloordallascom to learn more.
Work with honor, build withexcellence.

(08:49):
See you next time.