How I installed new flooring in my Living Room and you can too!
Let's talk flooring! I have always been so intimidated by the idea of installing my own flooring. I thought it was a project that was definitely too big for my britches.
That is until I discovered Hewn Floor! Hewn floor offers a product called Stoneform that is uncomplicated, affordable, and best of all DIY friendly for your install. Stoneform has a click and lock install that allows anyone to navigate this installation on their own. The planks look just like traditional wood or tile floors and are waterproof, sustainable, and built for real life.
I began this process by first removing all of my old carpet, pad, and tack strip from the living room floors. I gathered the following tools for this task:
5.) Wonder Bar
Once the carpet was successfully removed, it was time for the hard part...removing most of the existing tiles and all of the mastic! This task was by far the hardest part of my flooring process! It was sweaty, tiring, back breaking work....but definitely doable! I suggest using a tarp to cover any openings as well as any furniture you may still have in the room. You also want to make sure to wear a respirator. This is also the messiest part of demo and extremely dusty!
For this task I used the following:
5) Respirator
Once the tile and mastic were up, it was time to fill in any voids and check my floors to make sure they are all level. It is imperative that your floors are level before you begin to lay your flooring.
Time for the best part! Flooring install! I'd say the hardest part of the flooring install process was definitely deciding on which color flooring to go with! A couple of really neat offerings that Hewn has are the Visualizer, which allows you to insert photos of your space and select different flooring to visualize what it would look like in your space AND Hewn also offers SAMPLES! If you need to see it, touch it, and visualize it in your space...in person...you can get 12" samples as well as full sized plank samples.
I decided to go with the Premium Cayenne planks! I love the warmth, texture, and vibe of these planks.
First things first, if you have baseboards, you will need to remove one side of the room...these floors have a click and lock system and you need to remove the back side of the room that your last boards will be installed at.
I started my first row with all full length pieces. Once I got to the end of the row, I took my Stoneform plank, measured, and cut so that the last piece would fit. Another bonus with this flooring is that the padding is already attached to the back of each plank, so as long as your subfloor is level, or concrete is cured...you can install the planks directly onto the surface without any additional steps.
I proceeded with the second row by starting with the remaining cut piece from the last board on the previous row. This way I could minimize waste and also have that staggered random pattern I wanted.
You can score and snap these planks, cut them with a jigsaw, or a miter saw. They are very easy to work with.
After I made it through the first few rows and got my groove, the project flew by!
Are you ready to lay your own floors now? I did these all by myself and just like you...had zero experience laying floors! I hope this helps you feel confident in your ability to accomplish this on your own. Definitely check out Hewn to learn more about their fantastic Stoneform selection.