Easy Kitchen Floor Remodel with Dogwood® by Bruce Flooring®!

Is there a project in your home that you have put off? Maybe for years? Maybe it’s such a big project that even just the thought of it has made you tired and so you put it off for another year? Well that was me with my kitchen floors. They were ATROCIOUS. Ask my daughter. No matter what I did, they looked dirty. I could clean them for hours, and they would still look the same. I was always having to orient my pictures just right to where you couldn’t see the spots that wouldn’t come up and was always trying to find new rugs to cover as much area as possible. All of this work and stress because I was so sure that getting new floors was going to be expensive and just ssssoooooo much work. Boy, was I wrong.

Dogwood® by Bruce Flooring® have completely changed what I now count as a “big and expensive” project! I got their Collie floor, and let me tell you, getting AND installing this floor was the easiest renovation project I’ve done in a while. If I had known that this project was so easy, I would have done it YEARS ago!!!!! I could have saved myself so much stress and so much money on rugs!!!

Some of you may be thinking, “That’s great for you, Jenn, but I seriously don’t have the time. Partly because I have small children and/or dogs running around, and they scratch everything up anyway!” Again I say, get you some Dogwood® floors. These floors were made for you. Dogwood by Bruce flooring® are a revolutionary floor that is made with “densified” hardwood that makes them incredibly scratch and water (or pee) resistant!!! So if you’ve got one dog or six….or two kids or six…these floors can take it! They are also coated with a special antimicrobial protective coating called Cleantivity that makes them germ resistant! Again, I WISH this would have been around when my kiddos were little and bringing all the farm animals in the house!!!! A beautiful REAL HARDWOOD floor that’s truly pet, kid AND germ resistant?! Sign me up!!!

Now, that I’ve got you super interested, you may be wondering how easy they actually are to install. Well, here is the step-by-step, and I promise, it actually is THIS easy!!!

How To Install Dogwood® by Bruce Hardwood Flooring®

Materials needed:

• Dogwood® by Bruce Flooring® (I chose the Collie color, but all of them are beautiful)
• Rubber Mallet
• Tapping Block
• Oscillating Saw
• Oscillating Blade
• Jigsaw
• Jigsaw Blade
• Miter Saw
• Miter Saw blade for wood
• 1/4″ spacer blocks
• Table saw for fine toothed blade
• Quarter Round

Step 1

Lay first plank in a corner making sure it’s positioned next to a 1/4″ spacer block

Step 2

Attach second plank to butt end of first plank by overlapping exposed locking edge of first plank with the second plank edge

Step 3

Gently tap butt seam with a mallet to lock the planks together

Step 4

Continue until the full length plank must be trimmed to fit at the end of the first row

Step 5

Cut last plank to length with a miter saw making sure to calculate in the 1/4″ gap

Step 6

Use the excess length cut from last plank as the first plank in the second row, starting from same wall as the first row. (Rows always will start form left to right). Slightly angle the piece so the long edge locks into long edge of plank from first row. Seams should always stagger from previous row. Attach next plank in same fashion. Lay plank down flat and use tapping block and mallet to engage locking edge into butt end of previous plank.

Step 7

If any trimming is needed (around AC vents or cabinet angles for instance) use a jigsaw to make cuts

Step 8

Once a doorway is approached, the door casing will have to be cut to the thickness of the plank so the plank may slide under it. Position a waste piece of plank and cut away door casing. Rest the oscillating blade on the plank and cut away the door casing. Now the section of flooring will be able to slide under casing.

Step 9

If a transition piece is needed at a doorway (if two different types of flooring will meet or if flooring changes direction as in purchase) you will need to leave a gap for the transition track. Attach transition track using manufacturer’s instruction.

*Final Tip*

If the last row in the room is more narrow than a full width of a plank, use a table saw to “rip” the flooring to needed width. Remember too account for the 1/4″ gap. 1/4″ gap will be covered by baseboard and quarter round.

And that’s that! Easy as promised! If my husband and I can still do it (we’ve both had back surgeries over the last two years), then ANYBODY can do it!

I am ssssooooo relieved!!!!

I cannot tell you how good it feels to FINALLY have this DONE!! After 20 years, my kitchen can now FINALLY look clean! Plus this flooring is much brighter and just better all around for photos. I can keep my rugs or show off my floor:) Up to me now. I am no longer embarrassed when company shows up and trying to explain that “yes, I actually did mop my floor this morning”. I’m so grateful that Dogwood reached out and finally fixed this 20 year headache!!! If you have been putting off any flooring in our house, look into Dogwood® by Bruce Flooring ®. Seriously. I am not exaggerating about how easy this process was. I WISH I had known about this 20 years ago. Believe me, you’ll thank me later;)

I would love to hear about any projects that you’ve been putting off and how you hope to remedy them in 2022!!!:)