Hardwood Flooring Installation Tips

Hardwood Floor Installation Guides

With some carpentry skills, patience and the right tips, you can install a hardwood floor.

Hardwood flooring is increasing in popularity and is one of the most durable choices, especially when choosing a pre-finished hardwood floor to install. Some pre-finished hardwood flooring comes with a 50-year manufacturer's warranty. With some basic carpentry skills and a few tips, installing a hardwood floor is a relatively easy do-it-yourself project.

Hardwood floors can be used in any room. Kitchens are very popular now. Here in this example, 3/4" Rhodesian Teak is being installed over 3/4" plywood. If you are installing hardwood floors on a concrete slab or have a height problem, you may want to use 3/8" materials. They're thinner.

Most of the time when you think of hardwood floors, you think of unfinished floors that you have to sand and finish. We are installing a pre-finished flooring. There is a laminate that has a paper-thin wear layer of wood glued to press board. It is relatively inexpensive, but, in the long run, you are better off using solid wood with a 3/4" wear layer (figure A) that can be sanded down and refinished later on if you have damage.

There are different options as far as width and grades go. There are basically three grades:

1. Rhodesian teak which is a top grade hardwood. This piece (figure B) is 2-3/4" wide. It usually has fine even texture, straight, red- brown heartwood, often with black flecks and much paler sapwood. There are wide choices of different species and widths and a number of choices other than Rhodesian teak. The cost of the flooring is usually calculated on per square foot basis.
   
   
2. Next, there is natural maple and it has more color variation (figure C) and small knots here and there. The piece here is 3-1/4" wide and you can purchase it in 4", 5" or 6" wide. It is harder than teak and people use in on gym floors or bowling alleys, etc.
   
   
3. Last, there's the rustic ash (figure D), which has larger knots and, again, color variation. It still makes a good floor and is lower in price. This is a less formal wood and would be good in a family room, etc.
   The pre-finished floor saves a lot of labor and is a better finish. They have to be applied in a factory setting and are sanded three times and usually have eight coats of finish with aluminum oxide on it. The finish is baked on. It is UV cured and as it goes through each layer it is built up and has actual pieces of metal in the finish that give it a very high Taber Test, which is a test done in a laboratory where they test the finish by taking an abrasive wheel and testing to see how many rotations it takes to wear through into the wood.
   We are installing a Rhodesian Teak floor. It is a solid 3/4" tongue and groove material. With a tongue and groove you nail through the tongue and then just slide the next piece right over it (figure E).

Materials and Tools Needed:

• Hardwood flooring
• Staple gun
• Vapor barrier paper
• Variable speed drill and assorted drill bits
• Hammer
• Chalk line
• Tape measure
• Pry bar
• Pneumatic Flooring Package (air compressor and hose, nail gun, mallet and staples)

Note: The pneumatic flooring package can be rented from a rental center for a reasonable rate. Make sure you get the staples and nails that fit the particular gun you are using because they are all different. The reason for renting this is because Rhodesian Teak is generally hard and you will have a hard time getting the nails through the tongue, and you also risk missing and damaging the flooring. The pneumatic gets the staples in at a precise 50-degree angle through the tongue and the staples will be covered up by the next piece that comes in. This is the precision way to do it and will save you a lot of headaches.

• Chop saw
• Table saw
• Nail set
• Hardwood flooring wood putty
• Earplugs and safety goggles

1. Choose the hardwood species and board widths for the room installation.
   
   
2. Measure the width and length of the room and multiply for the square footage. When ordering hardwood flooring, allow 10-15 percent extra for irregular boards and any cutting mistake.
   
   
3. Check the sub-floor. Minimum requirements are a 3/4" plywood sub-floor. Make sure there are no squeaks in the floor. If you find a squeak, screw a long drywall screw into the sub-floor and joist where the squeak occurs. Remove shoe-molding from the room and sweep and clean thoroughly.
   
   
4. Roll out strips of vapor barrier paper, allowing at least a 4" overlap and staple securely to the sub-floor. We used a 15 pound tar paper or felt. It is relatively. Mark with a pencil along the baseboards where the joints are located.
   
   
5. Start the installation at the longest unobstructed wall. Remove the shoe molding and snap a chalk line 3/8" out from the baseboard (this allows for expansion in the hot, humid weather and contraction in the colder, drier weather of the hardwood flooring).
   
   
6. Begin by selecting a long board to start the first row. Pick one that is straight. Align the edge of the board with the chalk line and drill pilot holes down through the hardwood plank and into the sub-floor and joist. Face-nail each board at the point of every joist and set the nail with a nail-set (figure F). Face-nail the entire first row and remember to keep the board lengths random. It is important to face-nail the first row because you can't get the pneumatic nail down in there, it will hit the wall and the force would push the wood against the baseboard and you would lose your 3/8" expansion and contraction.
   
   
7. It is important the lay the first boards perpendicular to the joist which are underneath. That is important because you want to get a nice solid anchor. You can look at the sub floor to see which way the nails and seams ran. You might be able to go underneath your crawl space to see how they run.
   
   
8. After the first few rows have been installed, drill pilot holes down into the tongue of each board and hand-nail the rolls until there is enough clearance for the pneumatic nail gun.
   
   Tip: Lay out a box of hardwood boards ahead of the installation to visualize lengths, wood grain, and colors of the boards (figure G). When laying out the boards, keep in mind that you never want to have the ends of boards in adjacent rows line up with each other. Keep the lengths random and at least 6" in length.
   
   
9. Using the pneumatic nail gun, place the gun lip over the edge of the board and strike firmly with the mallet (figure H), driving the staple into the tongue of the hardwood plank.
   
   
10. When installing up to a threshold, it is not critical to make cuts exact (figure I). Come back later after the floor has been installed and use a circular saw to cut across for a precise cut.
    
    
11. When cutting along the baseboards, select a piece that will fit in there and leave yourself 10 or 12 inches more (figure J) and you can cut it off and use the other piece on the beginning of your next row. You don't always have to get it in there real close and throw out the end piece. That will save you some time and waste.
    
    
12. You have to be sensitive to the way the ends fit together. One end has a tongue and the other end has a groove -- this is called end matched. You need to make sure that you always cut the wall end of the wood so that you do not cut off the groove that fits to the tongue. If you do that, you would end up with a pretty big gap (figure K). You find a piece and lay it along side the hole you have and then flip it over. Make sure when you make your mark, you are going to cut off the wall side, not the room side. When you make your mark, you can butt it up against the baseboard and then mark at the end of that tongue (figure L). That will leave your 3/8" gap for expansion and contraction when you install the piece.
    
    Note: When you go to nail, you need to make sure you put at least 2 nails in every board. The rule of thumb is to place a nail every 10" to 12".
    
    
13. As you near the opposite wall, clearance for the pneumatic nail gun again becomes an issue. Drill pilot holes and hand-nail the boards until there is no longer clearance for the drill and hammer. At that point, drill pilot holes down into the top of the boards and face-nail the boards, remembering to set the nails with a nail-set.
    
    Tip: Use a pry bar and a few extra scraps of flooring to firmly seat the hardwood plank as you nail.
    
    
14. If you are left with a narrow gap for the last board, take a measurement and rip (cut length-wise) the last board to fit into place. Remember to leave a 3/8" gap at the end wall for expansion and contraction space.
    
    
15. Replace shoe molding in room and putty all of the nail holes that have been face-nailed. Be sure and get wood putty that matches your floor. Fill the hole and wipe off the excess.
    
    
16. Maintenance is easy for a pre-finished hardwood floor -- keep grit off of the surface by sweeping regularly and use a flooring cleaning kit (alcohol-based) and spray on and wipe off with a damp cloth. Hardwood floors also help cut down on dust mites.