Okay, so I’ve been wanting to redo the floors in my spare room for, like, ever. I finally decided to go for it and picked out this LVL dancing soft maple – I just loved the light, airy look of it. Plus, it’s supposed to be pretty durable, which is a must with my clumsy self.

First things first, I cleared out the entire room. That meant hauling furniture, taking down curtains, the whole nine yards. Then came the fun part – ripping up the old, nasty carpet. Let me tell you, that was a workout! Underneath, I found some pretty beat-up plywood subfloor.

I spent a good chunk of time inspecting the subfloor. I checked for any loose boards, squeaks, or uneven spots. I found a few problem areas and nailed down any loose spots. I also used some floor leveler to smooth out a couple of dips. It’s super important to have a nice, flat surface for the new flooring, or else you’ll end up with all sorts of problems down the road.

Once the subfloor was prepped, I let the maple flooring acclimate in the room for a few days. This is crucial because wood expands and contracts with changes in humidity. If you don’t let it adjust, you might end up with gaps or buckling later on.

Next up, laying down the underlayment. I chose a foam underlayment because it helps with sound dampening and provides a little extra cushioning. I simply rolled it out across the subfloor, making sure to overlap the seams and tape them down.

Finally, it was time to start installing the actual flooring! I started along the longest wall, leaving a small expansion gap between the flooring and the wall (using spacers helps with this). The LVL planks had this click-lock system, so they basically just snapped together. It was surprisingly easy, although my knees definitely felt it after a while!

I worked my way across the room, row by row, making sure to stagger the joints for a more natural look. I used a tapping block and a rubber mallet to gently tap the planks together and make sure they were snug. For the last row, I had to rip some of the planks lengthwise to fit. Thankfully, I had a circular saw that made that part manageable.

• Clear the room completely.
• Inspect and prep subfloor.
• Acclimate the flooring.
• Roll out underlayment.
• Install the flooring, row by row.

After all the planks were down, I installed the baseboards and quarter-round molding to cover the expansion gaps and give it a finished look. It took a couple of weekends, but seeing the finished product was totally worth it. The room looks so much brighter and more modern now, and I did it all myself! Super proud of this DIY project.