The timeless appearance of wood adds a lot to your house. If you’re considering putting wood floors in, you might ask, “how long to install wood floors?” The answer depends on different things.
From the size of your project to the type of wood flooring, there are a lot of variables. This guide will show you everything you need about installation timelines for wood floors.
1. Typical Installation Timeline
Now that we’ve got all the factors out of the way, let’s get into what a typical timeline looks like for installation:
1.1. Small to Medium-Sized Rooms: Expect 1-3 days for installation in smaller rooms like bedrooms or offices.
1.2. Larger Rooms or Open Floor Plans: Plan for 3-5 days for installation in larger areas of new flooring with more square footage.
1.3. Whole House Installation: If you’re installing wood floors throughout your entire house, the timeline for installing hardwood floors can range from 1-3 weeks, depending on the size and complexity of the project.
It’s important to remember that these are general estimates, and the actual timeline may vary based on your specific circumstances.
2. Factors Affecting Installation Time
Before we try to figure out an exact time frame, we need to look at a few things:
2.1. Size of the project
The size of the job is significant when figuring out how long the installation process will take. If you have small rooms like bedrooms or offices, you’ll only need a day or two tops.
Larger areas like living rooms will need more time because they’re more significant and challenging to work with. It takes longer for precise measurements, alignment, and craftsmanship. When making plans, just make sure you think about how much space needs covering.
2.2 Type of wood flooring
Most people don’t know this, but the type of wood used also significantly impacts installation time. Solid or hardwood floor installation needs some time to acclimate to the environment. This takes a few days.
On the other hand, engineered wood is much more stable and doesn’t need as much time to acclimate. Knowing which type install hardwood you choose will help your future self make better plans.
2.3 Preparation work
Getting ready for the flooring installation of new floors isn’t all about just laying down some new planks. You have to remove the old floor, ensure it’s clean, level and so on.
Depending on the installation of hardwood flooring and state of your current flooring, this could take longer than expected. But it’s important because these new floors are supposed to last a long time.
2.4 Complexity of installation
Installing floors isn’t always easy.. Sometimes, rooms with stairs or weird layouts make things tricky.
It’s especially hardwood flooring tough with stairs because you have to measure everything right and cut perfectly fitting pieces every time. Even if we look past that, intricate patterns like herringbone mean careful planning and even more work.
The level of complexity in your specific situation will determine how fast or slow you’ll get it done.
2.5 Experience of installers
The skill of the installers is what will make or break how fast you’ll get your hardwood floors installed. Experienced professionals are experts at their craft and have all the knowledge to do a quick job with good results. They know what materials work best with each other and the best way to use them.
If you don’t hire experienced installers, it will likely take them longer, and they’ll face obstacles pushing back the finish date.
Knowing every aspect of it can help you make better decisions for when you want your project done.
3. Steps in Wood Floor Installation
Understanding the steps involved in wood floor installation can also give you insight into the overall timeline:
- Preparation: This includes removing old flooring, addressing subfloor issues, and ensuring the space is clean and level.
- Acclimation: Allowing the wood to acclimate to its environment typically takes a few days.
- Installation: Laying and securing the wood flooring according to your chosen method.
- Finishing: Sanding the floors to create a smooth surface and applying finish for protection and aesthetics.
- Drying and Curing: Allowing time for the finish to dry and cure properly.
- Clean-up and Final Touches: Removing debris and performing necessary touch-ups to ensure a polished finish.
4. Prefinished vs. Unfinished Wood
Depending on which type of wood flooring you choose can affect how long it’ll really take to install hardwood:
Prefinished Wood: 1-5 days for installation plus 2-4 weeks, including prep work finishing
Unfinished Wood: 4-9 days for installation plus 1-2 weeks, including prep work finishing
5. Considerations for Installation
Besides the things mentioned before, there are a few more things to consider for your installation:
5.1 Condition of the subfloor
Your subfloor must be in good condition for your installation to go well. Things like moisture, dust, rotting, or unevenness can all make it easier for your floors to get damaged.
Before you start, make sure that your subfloor is fine, and if it isn’t, then fix it up so you have hardwood floor and a solid foundation.
5.2 Size and complexity of the project
The bigger the project is, the longer it’ll take. If you’re planning on doing anything significant with lots of space or lots of patterns, plan accordingly because it can take a while.
Make sure you accurately assess the scope of your project so you have an idea of how long this will take.
5.3 Type of flooring
Different types of wood need other care, meaning they’ll also need different amounts of time spent on them.
Some woods come prefinished, and that makes them easier and faster. Other woods come unfinished, which are more challenging but give more leeway in customization.
Knowing these differences matters because otherwise, you could wait too long for no reason.
5.4 Acclimation
Wood needs time to adjust to its environment before being put down as a solid hardwood flooring. If this adjustment period isn’t observed, your floors risk expanding or contracting after they’re installed.
Acclimation can last anywhere between a couple of days to over a week, depending on where you got your wood and what kind it is.
If you don’t follow this step, expect problems shortly after everything is set up.
By keeping these extra factors along with those previously mentioned in mind, the whole experience becomes way better than if they were ignored. Taking additional steps may be annoying right now, but they’re for everyone’s benefit.
Closing Thoughts
The time it’d take to install wood floors ranges by a lot. There isn’t a straightforward answer that will cover everyone’s situation. However, understanding how various things can affect how long it takes would give you an estimate of what yours could be.
Are you installing it in a room? Or do you have to put it in an entire home? Either way, you’ll need experience if you want it done quickly. Not only that but also plan accordingly and set everything up for success from the beginning.
The worst mistake you could make is rushing into this process because all your efforts would go to waste if not done correctly or slowly enough.
Last Updated on by Icy Tales Team
