Hardwoof floors. Self install or get a pro?

BuddyLeo

BuddyLeo

Member
Looking to install engineered hard wood floors after ripping out carpet & tiles in the kitchen.  I'm gonna assume the space is about 1300-1400 sq. ft.  I'm pretty handy and hear the ones that snap together are pretty easy to install - the toughest part is making the cuts to make them fit into the areas.  Or should I just have a pro do it & how much would the difference be?  I'm looking at flooring costing about $4/sq. ft. 
 
Pro.  They do it for a living and they'll do it way faster.  Laying down flooring isn't like changing your oil in your car.  It takes some skill and the correct tools.
 
I guess on a couple of things

1)  How handy you are.
2)  How picky you are.
3)  How picky your significant other is
4)  What level of flooring you are looking to get
5)  How big of a project is it.

Nos. 1-3 are self evident.  The level of flooring matters if you are getting expensive flooring.  Cheaper flooring are pretty straightforward and does not require as much skill.  More expensive flooring requires a good eye and experience on mixing and matching the panels. 
 
OCgasman said:
Pro.  They do it for a living and they'll do it way faster.  Laying down flooring isn't like changing your oil in your car.  It takes some skill and the correct tools.
Click to expand...

+1.  There are some things you should get a pro.  If you are investing in hardwood, go pro.  This is not like laminate which I did on my own (not fun either).  They do it better and faster.
 
I think it also depends on how much time do you have and how much do you value it.

If it's like a project thing and you're doing a small area or a room, you might want to do it yourself as a learning experience. But if you are doing a large area and it's where there is going to be high traffic, I would hire someone.

I also hear the tongue/groove click ones are easier to install (and the ones like that I see are usually engineered wood, some type of MDF or whatever with a real wood layer on top).
 
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