Downstairs Flooring

May 5, 2023

Over the last couple of weeks I got the hardwood flooring down in the live room.

First I had to grind some rough spots in the floor leveler, making what I hope is the last dusty mess in this project.

Grinding floor leveler is pretty easy, as it’s much softer than concrete, but it creates ultra-fine dust that gets everywhere if you aren’t careful.

I then stacked the flooring on a dolly, as I’ll need to keep moving it out of the way as I work.

The flooring is the same material as what went into the loft. I had to use engineered hardwood as solid tends to cup and warp when installed directly over concrete.

I was very careful to get the first several rows in extremely straight and square, as even minor errors can project into major ones on the other side of the floor.

I had to start with a slightly narrower first row to avoid ending up with very narrow pieces on the other side.

Ryan helped me by laying boards as I handed them to him, and we started to get the hang of it.

Being natural wood, each board is unique. However they are random lengths, so you must still be careful to stack them in a way that avoids adjacent seams.

The troweling is by far the hardest part, as the glue is very messy if you aren’t extremely careful.

The polyurethane glue is troweled on in a way that ensures a waterproof barrier, effectively sealing the concrete and preventing the wood from absorbing any moisture from below.

I took a break to install a 60 in. TV in the lounge. I ended up upgrading the one in the house, so this was a hand-me-down.

A 60″ TV is about as big as I can go without bumping into the light switch or the center-channel speaker above.

With the live room complete, things were starting to slow down, as the angled walls of the lounge made cutting more complex.

Leaving scrap boards at each joint overnight helps ensure when you come back the next day, the boards line up perfectly.

Next I had to work around the staircase, which of course is attached directly to the concrete.

I ensured a seam landed exactly at the center of the railing and center column of the staircase were, allowing a board to be added to either side, creating a perfect hole.

And finally the flooring is complete. I really love the color, which adds a lot of warmth to the otherwise very cold color palette.

I have quite a bit of material left over. I’ll be returning all the full boxes, but hang on to the remaining scraps.

I got a used sofa for the lounge, which I stacked in the live room until the trim is complete.

Stage Lighting
Downstairs Trim