A significant part of purchasing new hardwood flooring is choosing whether to hire a professional or simply do it yourself. When the time comes to choose, other contributing factors can affect your decision.

Here are a few tips for choosing between DIY versus professional hardwood installation and factors to consider before purchasing. Before you know it, you’ll have beautiful hardwood flooring that will last for years to come.

Professional Installation

Although professional hardwood installation can cost significantly more, it’s worth the cost in the long run. Professional installers tend to work quicker and understand the difficulties of laying hardwood flooring.

Unless you have prior experience laying hardwood, taking on this project yourself can become more costly than going with professionals. Lastly, professionals know how to minimize the cost of leftover flooring. While you may be able to use wastage in a future project, you may also just end up putting it in storage.

Doing It Yourself

There are three tools you’ll need to gather before doing your floor installation yourself: a floor stapler, a compressor, and a miter saw. You’ll likely need to rent these tools, and you must be sure to rent a miter saw with new combination blades between 80 to 100 teeth for precise cuts.

DIY hardwood flooring installation comes with several benefits. For one thing, you’ll save money on labor, shipping materials, and other additional service charges. Additionally, you can schedule the installation on your own time and ask for extra help later in the project if needed. However, a couple of drawbacks include a longer completion time, little room for error, and having to remove your previous flooring yourself.

Things To Consider

Before you consider DIY versus professional hardwood installation, you must go over the pros and cons of each option.

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Think about the size of your budget, each room you’ll work in, and the types of wood you’ll use for flooring. It’s also necessary to consider any potential hiccups that you may encounter along the way.

Your Budget

If you want to save as much money as possible, stick with DIY hardwood installation. However, hiring a professional would be an excellent choice if you have flexibility in your budget. Choosing between DIY work and professional services depends on your time frame, budget flexibility, and materials.

Room Size

You will also need to think about the number of rooms you plan on renovating and their sizes. If you’re working with a small, simple area, you could do the project yourself. However, if you’re working in a large, complex room with funky angles, going with a professional would make a better choice.

Type of Wood

The type of wood you choose for your project matters significantly. Along with understanding the different grades of wood, you also need to understand the installation process for various flooring options. The most common options include nail-down hardwood flooring, glue-down hardwood, and lock and fold installation.

Nail-down flooring offers the best-looking option but requires experienced professionals or experts. Meanwhile, you can attempt glue-down flooring yourself, but hiring a professional will guarantee a more beautiful result. The simplest and most cost-effective option is lock and fold installation, in which planks lie on the floor and snap together.

With so many options to choose from, going with either a professional or doing it yourself comes down to personal preference. Think the decision over, but don’t stress over it too much.