Home Improvement: Installing Hardwood Floor

To install a hardwood floor,  first you have to prepare the subfloor. The materials you would need for our flooring are 3/4 inch solid hardwood floor planks, transitions and moldings, matching wood putty, a flooring nailer, drill with drill bits, a hammer, nail set and nails, a circular saw or Miter saw, a table saw is an option for cutting lengthwise, pry bar, spacers, a pencil, tape measure, dead ball hammer, nylon tapping block, a utility knife, finished nails for the base boards, safety glasses, a dust mask and knee pads.

A solid hardwood floor should be nailed down.  Bring the flooring planks into the room so that the floor planks can acclimate to the room temperature and the humidity for at least 72 hours before installation. A very important step is to check the boards for warping and defects. Boards with defects are unusable and should be discarded.

To set up the first row, using the straightest board, place the board along the guide line with the tongue side facing the room. This will serve as a guide to the rest of the room. Place spacers between the floor and all walls with expansion gap. The first two rows should be faced nailed.  You start by pre-drilling nail holes with the recommended bit about one to three inches from the ends of the planks and half an inch from the grove side. Then pre-drill holes every 6 inches along this side. Hammer the nails into the pre-drilled holes and use the nail set to counter sink the nails.  Come back later and fill the holes with putty that matches the color of your floor.

For the second row lock the grove onto the tongue of the first row use a tapping block to ensure a tight fit.  You will position the planks in the second row so that the ends are six inches apart from the ends of the first row and to help strengthen the floor.  It also gives the floor a staggering look so you need to cut the first plank. To cut the flooring lay the plank and cut it with a saw.  Make sure you use the right blade for the flooring then face nail the second row. Repeat this process until you can use the blind flooring Nailer. Now this Nailer takes some room to operate, typically between two and 4 rows from the walls. To blind nail, hold the nailer against the tongue and then hit it with a hammer.

When installing to the rest of the floor mix planks from different boxes so that you don’t  have patches of similar color or grains.  Continue laying across the rooms, staggering the ends at least 6 inches and maintaining the expansion gaps around the perimeter of the floor.  If you have obstructions like vents or columns, cut the planks to fit. For the last 2 rows, the blind nailer won’t fit anymore because you do not have enough room to swing your hammer with the wall there. So from here to the wall face nail the board as you did when you installed the first couple of rows.

For the last row you might have the pieces to fit.  Measure the distance to the wall from the last layed row.  Do not measure from the tongue of the last plank, subtract the manufacturers expansion gap and cut the planks. To fit the last row  place a piece of scrap wood against the finished wall fit the boards together using a pry bar and face nail the last row just like you did on the first row. If the fit is less than one inch put glue on the tongue of the previous board and attach it. Once you are finished with the flooring install the transitions according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Then remove the spacers, cut the under alignment and install the baseboards and shoe molding.  Attach the shoe molding to the wall not the floor and that’s it you are finished with your hardwood flooring.

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