Okay, so the other day I decided to tackle laying down some new wooden flooring. It’s that rubber dancing pine stuff, you know, the kind that clicks together. I’ve done a bit of DIY before, but never a whole floor, so this was a new challenge. I grabbed all my tools and, uh, a lot of coffee, and got started.

First things first, I cleared out the room completely. Every last piece of furniture, rugs, everything. Then I gave the old floor a really good sweep and vacuum, making sure there was no dust or little bits of anything left. I even got down on my hands and knees with a damp cloth to get any stubborn dirt off.

Next, I rolled out the underlayment. It’s this foamy stuff that helps cushion the floor and, I guess, reduces noise. I made sure to overlap the edges a bit and taped them down with some strong packing tape so it wouldn’t move around while I was working.

Laying the First Plank

Right, time for the actual wood! I picked a corner to start in – supposedly the longest, straightest wall is best. I laid down the first plank, making sure to leave a little gap between it and the wall. They say you need to do this because the wood expands and contracts with the temperature. I used these little plastic spacers to make sure the gap was even all the way around.

The tricky part was connecting the planks. This stuff has a “click” system, so you have to angle one plank into the other and then kind of… snap it down. It took me a few tries to get the hang of it, and I definitely whacked my fingers a couple of times. I used a rubber mallet, hitting a tapping block, and that made things easier to get them to fit tightly, but man, it was loud!

• Grabbed the next board
• Angled the groove under the tongue of the installed board
• Pushed down firmly, listening for the “click” (which often didn’t happen first try!)
• Used the tapping block and mallet to seat the board in

I just kept going like that, row by row. Sometimes the planks would cooperate, and sometimes they’d fight me. I had to cut a few pieces to fit around doorways and stuff, and for that, I used a simple hand saw. Messy, but it worked.

It took me pretty much all day, but I finally got the whole floor done! I removed the spacers, put back the furniture, and stood back to admire my handiwork. It wasn’t perfect, but it was my floor, and I’d done it myself. Now, time for a beer!