Okay, here’s my take on installing laminate basketball hard maple assembled wooden flooring, written in the style of a personal blog post:

Alright, so I decided to tackle this project – laying down some laminate basketball hard maple assembled wooden flooring. I’ve done some smaller flooring jobs before, but this was definitely the biggest. And let me tell you, it was a learning experience!

Getting Started

First things first, I cleared out the entire room. I mean everything. Furniture, rugs, even the little rubber doorstop. I needed a completely blank canvas to work with. Then came the prep work. The existing floor was some old, nasty carpet, so I ripped that out. Underneath, I found some uneven concrete subfloor.

Leveling the Playing Field

This was a critical step. You can’t just slap flooring down on a bumpy surface. So, I got myself some self-leveling compound. I mixed it up according to the instructions – it was like making a giant batch of pancake batter, only way less tasty. Then I poured it onto the low spots and used a trowel to spread it around. It took a good day or two to fully dry and harden, but once it did, I had a nice, smooth surface.

Underlayment and Layout

Next up, I rolled out some underlayment. This stuff is basically a thin foam layer that provides a bit of cushioning and helps with sound insulation. It also helps to smooth out any tiny imperfections that might still be in the subfloor. Once the underlayment was down, I started planning the layout of the flooring.

Now, because of that “assembled” feature of flooring, the whole process gets easier.

Click, Lock, and Done (Almost!)

The actual installation was surprisingly straightforward. The planks have this click-lock system, so you basically just fit them together like puzzle pieces. I started in one corner and worked my way across the room, row by row. The key is to make sure each plank is securely locked into place before moving on to the next one. I used a tapping block and a rubber mallet to gently tap them together, making sure there were no gaps.

The Tricky Parts

Of course, it wasn’t all smooth sailing. Cutting the planks to fit around doorways and corners was a bit of a challenge. I used a jigsaw for most of the cuts, and I definitely made a few mistakes along the way. Luckily, I had ordered extra flooring, so I had some room for error.

Finishing Touches

Once all the flooring was down, I installed some baseboards to cover the expansion gap around the edges of the room. This gives it a nice, finished look. I also added some transition strips where the new flooring met the flooring in other rooms.

The Result

Finally completed! It was a lot of work, but totally worth it. The new floor looks amazing, and it’s so much easier to keep clean than the old carpet. Plus, I learned a ton about flooring installation in the process. Would I do it again? Maybe… after a long break!