Getting your home installation-ready can make a big difference for the professionals coming in, the completion date for your floors, and the quality of the execution. Our flooring experts will, of course, handle the heavy lifting and see your installation through to its most successful finish. However, you can implement a few small but essential pre-installation best practices to ensure this process is smooth, efficient and promises a good, long life for your floors.
Acclimation
This is an important step that many homeowners might not know about. We went into greater detail in a previous post, but if you have the planks of wood waiting in your garage or at home, you’ll want to open them up from their packaging so they can adjust to the moisture content of your home. You’ll want to do this a few days before installers come; otherwise, you might inadvertently delay the process.
Fragile Furniture
Installers will often handle moving couches, tables, and the like, but homeowners should handle clearing away decorative items or chotchkies that sit atop these surfaces. Additionally, each flooring company will handle this pre-flooring stage differently; some won’t move delicate items like grandfather clocks or antiques for safety. Get in touch with your team in advance, so you know what to expect.
Cables and Wires
New flooring will possibly affect pre-existing cable routes, outlet locations, wiring, and more. A walk-through with your flooring professionals will certify that they know what they need to keep in mind. So then — poof — like magic, your floors are replaced without any of your networks disrupted in the process.
Painting
People often handle home renovations all at once. But if you are also taking on a new paint job, do so after the flooring installation is completed. Just in case walls get nicked, you will be able to paint them fresh after the installers are out of the way.
Air Conditioning
After the acclimation period, AC is typically required to give your wood or laminate a humid-free and cool location to set in. As with many of these steps, check in with the flooring installers for their thoughts and recommendations on this.
Doors
If the floors you are installing are thicker or taller than the ones you had before, your doors might be affected. Doors are built with some give, meaning there is a crack between them and the floor so they can swing open and close freely. If your new floors happen to be thicker, you may want to have a part of the door shaved off at the bottom.
Parking
The subject of parking may seem minor, but it is essential. If you live in an apartment or condo complex, visitors are most likely required to have a guest pass to park. Do yourself and everyone involved a favor by planning for parking in advance and make arrangements with the building management.
Are you looking to install new floors? ACS can help you plan ahead. Call us for more tips and for a selection of flooring options customized to your home that our staff can professionally install.