We recommend waiting 6 hours before walking on your new floors in socks. After 24 hours you can walk through with shoes on. Allow 48 hours before setting furniture and returning pets. Carpets and area rugs can be placed after 1 full week.

Figure out the square footage of each room in which you want to install laminate-wood floors. To do so, use a tape measure to determine the room’s length and width. Then multiply the length by the width to get your square footage. For instance, if the room is 12 feet wide and 12 feet long, you will need enough flooring for 144 square feet (12×12=144). Add 10% to the square footage to accommodate cuts and waste. (If you’re choosing a tile pattern, add 20%).

Moisture that comes in contact with the hardwood planks, whether at the time of installation or later on, can cause the edges to splinter as the wood swells. ... Excess moisture can also come from spills, water leaks and excess humidity in your home. Check the planks for any signs of water damage, mold or rot.

Many hardwood floors are installed in homes with pets, however, a pet's claws may scratch the finish of the wood flooring. Also, pet damage to the flooring is not warranted by the manufacturers in most situations. Keep the pet's claws trimmed and clean up any messes immediately.  It is best not to put the pet's food or water bowl directly on the wood flooring.

Most hardwood floors are treated with up to 10 coats of an aluminum oxide finish. While this certainly helps the durability of the floor, it is the hardness of the floor that will give the best indication of durability. Refer to the Janka Hardness rating for a true indication of hardness on selected species.

No. The thicker and better quality engineered woods will last for years and years and can be refinished once or twice. Also, the technology and factory applied, UV-cured urethane finishes with melamine that are used today by hardwood flooring manufacturers makes a really tough, durable finish and is available on both engineered and solid wood floors. Engineered wood floors are also much more dimensionally stable than solid hardwood flooring so they can be used in many situations where solid wood is not recommended..

Engineered wood floors can be glued down or floated over a dry, clean, fully-cured concrete slab that is on or below grade. If moisture or humidity is very high at times of the year, perhaps a non-wood flooring option would be a better choice.  There are installation methods used by some hardwood installers to install a 3/4" solid wood floor over a concrete slab, which includes a vapor barrier and building up a wood subfloor on top of the concrete slab. This is not recommended by most hardwood manufacturers--and it also adds considerable cost to the project. Installing an engineered wood floor over a concrete slab would be preferable.