Why You Should Avoid Trying to Install Home Flooring Yourself
New home flooring can be an expensive investment, but you want to avoid thinking you can trim this cost by installing your chosen flooring material yourself. While there are some simple peel-and-stick tiles that might be a DIY installation job, installing carpeting, tile that needs added adhesive, or timber floor slats is often more complicated than you might realize. Note why that is, and why it's good to leave flooring installation to the professionals for each of these materials.
Carpeting
Carpeting isn't simply unrolled onto a pad and then stapled into place, but it needs to be properly stretched along the length of the floor before being attached to the subfloor. This is because the material may shrink and shift over time, and failing to stretch the carpeting properly can allow it to "bunch up" in various areas. This is very unsightly and may even cause tripping hazards!
Carpeting is also more difficult to cut and trim than you realize, and it can shift out of place while it's being unrolled and installed. For these reasons, it's best to have carpeting installed by a professional, who has the skills as well as the tools and assistance needed.
Tile
Tile that needs adhesive also needs a bit of professional knowhow to install! Too much adhesive and the tile may seem to float on top of the subfloor, but if you don't add enough adhesive, the tile may quickly shift out of place. Installing floor tiles even just slightly out of line will result in a very unsightly job, as a long row of uneven tiles becomes very noticeable on a home's floor. Unless you're opting for peel-and-stick tiles that you can place right over existing tiles, allowing you to keep them in a straight line, have a professional install this flooring for you.
Timber slats
Real hardwood floors require quite a bit of skill to install; these boards need to be individually glued to the subfloor and properly aligned so that there are no large gaps between them. As with tile, installing these slats unevenly can mean a very unattractive floor, and lack of proper adhesion can also allow the slats to shift out of place, or allow moisture to collect on the underside of the wood. Timber slats also need to be sealed properly so that they don't absorb moisture or get damaged over time. To ensure your timber floors are installed properly and also protected throughout the years, have a professional install and then seal or coat them as needed.
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