What Challenges Does A New Construction/Remodel Flooring Project Like This Represent?
As mentioned above, this installation project covered the whole main area of the house. It included walls with different angles and shapes, such as hexagons and circles, a fireplace, columns, many rooms surrounding this open area, several small hallways between rooms, closets, a large staircase to the upstairs in the middle of the foyer, and a staircase down to the basement. Not only would Victor Mulbauer need to use his master craftsman hardwood installation skills but he would also need to visualize the challenges this area’s floor plan raises.
Determining Where to Start the Hardwood Installation
When doing a hardwood floor installation, the first thing you have to do is find a straight line in the house; this can be a wall or a straight line drawn with chalk in the middle of the house. From there, you can start the installation.
Understanding the Obstacles in the Way
Once you choose this starting point, you have to see what obstacles are in one direction and what are the obstacles in the other direction. Then, you must consider the options you have to get around these obstacles because the danger that arises when you install parquet in a large area that has different shapes and angles, is having deviations after you have gone around the obstacle.
At that point, you have to make sure that the rows on the left and right meet perfectly. Depending on which side you start, you can eliminate chances for mistakes.
Anticipating Hardwood Flooring Obstacles
Based on the house plans, it was easy to draw the starting line of the installation in the dining room, great room, breakfast area, and kitchen, because it was the longest part of the house and it was easy to go forward and backward with the installation.
However, a major group of obstacles was in the way of that straight line: a large staircase to the upstairs area in the middle of the foyer, the entrance to the basement, and a small hallway between the kitchen and dining room. Taking this option as the starting line meant having a deviation on the board in three areas:
- When meeting the row from the dining room to the foyer, or
- At the entrance to the hallway and
- In the foyer behind the stairs.
Finalizing the Wood Floor Starting Point
Considering all this, Victor decided to start the installation from the opposite direction, drawing a straight line through the living room, foyer, and dining room. Installation began in the direction of the great room, breakfast area, and kitchen because this option excluded any deviation.
Victor was asked why he did not go with the first option, preferring the second option. When the installation was done, it became obvious that this decision resulted in a spectacular and seamless hardwood flooring installation.
