Top Reno Tips -Flooring (Part 1)

This is our fourth house renovation and we’re undertaking it whilst living here with our four kids and two dogs. We’re doing the renovation in stages. I’ve found that taking our time with each stage has been great. It’s given us time to really think about how we use the house and the outdoor spaces and how we could make better use of the house.

This week I’ll go through the initial stages from 1-5 but today let’s start with Stage 1.

Stage 1 - Floors

We started with the floors and removed the old pink carpet and shiny tiles. Both upstairs and downstairs, we replaced all the floors with engineered timber from Choices Flooring. (The only exception is the bathrooms which we tiled.)

We chose the Quick-Step Majestic Desert Oak Brushed in Dark Brown. It’s a really wide plank (24cm x 2m).

And boy did that make a massive difference to the feel of the house. It’s also super durable - the kids and the pets are pretty rough on the floors and there’s no scratches or marks.

Tip 1: Before the timber planks are laid, there is a preparation phase. During the prep, a light concrete or slurry is applied to the existing slab to even up the floors. This took about two weeks.

Tip 2: Remove the old skirting boards before the timber is laid. New skirts are then added after the boards are laid.

Tip 3: Ask the floor retailer to create “stair nosing” so that your stairs have a finished edge (see last photo above).

Stick around for the next stages, the best is yet to come.

Amber x

PS. Want more tips on transforming your home from an ugly duckling to a swan? Become a Studio V insider here.