How to Install Hardwood Floors 4 How to install wood flooring. When remodeling our cabin, we wanted to install hardwood flooring. We were excited to rip out the old, dirty carpet and replace it with a rustic, dark, wide plank. Flooring transitions are the key to a great looking DIY floor installation. This article shows you how to deal with the most common flooring transitions. How to Install Hardwood Floors . In this article, we’ll guide you through the step of installing a new wood floor. In short, to Install a Hardwood Floor: Estimate and order the materials you need. Prepare the subfloor and fasten asphalt- laminated kraft paper flooring underlayment to it. Deliver the materials to the site and allow them to acclimate to the room’s humidity. Layout and mark the placement of flooring. Attach the first flooring row to the subfloor. Cut and fasten successive flooring strips. Rip the final row of flooring and fasten it in place. Sand and finish the floor (unfinished solid flooring only). Engineered vs. Solid Wood Flooring. As discussed in the Wood Flooring Buying Guide, the two main types of hardwood flooring. A third type, laminate flooring, isn’t really wood. For more about this, see Laminate Flooring Buying Guide. Engineered wood flooring is often thinner than solid wood flooring. It is manufactured with a thin surface layer of hardwood and a core that’s more like plywood. If you intend to install the floor yourself, engineered- wood flooring is usually the best bet because it is pre- finished, eliminating the need for sanding and finishing the floor, which dramatically simplifies the job. Layout & Design Join in with the Joists. More modern homes have a floor joist system and a sub-floor. Experts have always been aware of the effect floor joist direction can have on the performance of solid 3/4 inch hardwood. In addition, because engineered- wood flooring is made from layers of wood sandwiched and bonded together, it is more stable than solid wood and resistant to changes caused by extreme temperatures and humidity. Engineered flooring, at best, can only be sanded and refinished once or twice because its finish layer is very thin (from 1/1. Engineered- wood flooring (or other flooring materials, such as tile or vinyl) may be installed above or below grade. Solid wood flooring is a traditional favorite. It usually is thicker than engineered flooring and is clearly cut from a single board of hardwood. Solid- wood flooring has a tendency to warp, twist, expand, and contract with changes in moisture and temperature. On the flip side, solid flooring can be sanded and refinished multiple times. You can install a solid- wood floor on a conventional raised plywood subfloor or on a properly prepared concrete slab (see Installing Hardwood Floors Over Concrete) but only if the surface is above grade (it must be no more than 3 inches lower than the ground level outside) because moisture, which is typically present beneath below- grade floors, can be very damaging to solid wood. Home. Tips Pro Tip: Floor sanding is incredibly dusty work, and a drum sander can leave visible marks and ridges on the floor. If you are not experienced at this job, strongly consider installing a prefinished engineered- wood floor. How to Install Hardwood Flooring Over a Sub. 1) INSPECT EACH PLANK (see fig. Hardwood flooring installation tips from the experts at The Floor Trader Mark, I noticed you are using Bruce solid hardwood flooring. I to am using the same Brand of flooring in 2 1/4 width gunstock solid flooring. On my boxes it requests a 3/4 inch expansion gap. I would assume your boxes had a. 13 Responses to Should You Lay Hardwood Floors Parallel or Perpendicular to Floor Joists? Syakoban, Could you direct me to where on those links it addresses the issue of flooring parallel to joists? I couldn't find anything and would like to understand the rationale. The floor had carpet on it for 35yr and we'll be. Bathrooms and kitchens are another story. Though moisture is present in both areas, you can protect the surface of a solid- wood floor with a sturdy, protective finish. For more comparisons, see Solid or Engineered Wood Flooring. Preparing for Hardwood Flooring. Because installing hardwood flooring is usually a major, expensive home improvement, it pays to ensure a quality, durable result. The key is proper preparation. This video is helpful for gathering the tools and materials you’ll need. It also shows how to prepare a carpeted, suspended wood floor. New wood flooring should be laid on a clean, smooth, level, structurally sound base. Depending on the particular flooring, this base may be a previous floor covering, an existing wood floor in good condition, a new plywood subfloor, or even a moisture- proofed concrete slab. By installing wood over an existing floor, you bypass the messy job of removing the old flooring, and you gain instant soundproofing and insulation from the old floor. A disadvantage to leaving old flooring in place is that you must correct any irregularities in it. Also, the new floor will raise the flooring level, making the transition to a hallway or an adjoining room awkward. Removing Doors and Base Molding. Whether or not you’re installing over old flooring, the first step in preparing floors for hardwood is to remove doors and base shoe molding (remove baseboards only if there is no shoe molding). Number the molding pieces so you can easily replace them when you’re finished. Make sure that the use and conditions of the room won. Too much foot traffic on a new floor or excessive temperature or humidity swings can diminish the quality of. Proper preparation techniques depend upon the type of flooring you. The subfloor must be clean, dry, flat, structurally sound, squeak- free, and clear of any surface bumps or fasteners. Use a long, straight board and a carpenter. Sand down bumps and fill dips with leveling compound. Reseat any raised fasteners and screw down any squeaky spots using 1 1/2- inch screws. To prevent ground moisture humidity from rising up into the room and negatively affecting the flooring, the crawlspace beneath a raised floor should be at least 1. Cover the entire ground area with 6- mil black polyethylene, overlapping the sheets and then taping them together. Extend the material 6 inches up the concrete foundation walls and tape it in place. Hardwood Flooring On a Concrete Slab. Wood flooring can be installed on an above- grade concrete slab if the slab is at least 6. The slab must be flat, without high or low spots. And it must have a trowel finish that is clean. In fact, wood flooring is typically one of the last installations during a remodel. To avoid physical damage to the surface, be sure it goes in after all construction and completed installation of any fixtures and appliances that will not sit on top of it. Heat and humidity can dramatically affect expansion and contraction of hardwood flooring. How Heat & Humidity Affect Hardwood Flooring. Wood flooring. Unless the manufacturer specifies otherwise, wood flooring must be allowed to adjust to the house. This means any packaging should be removed and the wood should be stacked for several days in the room where it will be installed. Do not store it in the garage or an exterior patio. Store hardwood flooring in the room so it can acclimate to the room’s humidity. Anything that might artificially alter the normal humidity level of the room where the flooring will be installed must be controlled, too. For example, the house must be fully enclosed and the heating and/or air- conditioning system should be operating at normal occupancy levels. All plastering, concrete work, drywall, texturing, and painting of primer coats should be finished and dry to avoid introducing excessive moisture into the air. Hardwood Floor Layout & Preparation. Mark placements of floor joists at the wall’s base and snap chalklines across the underlayment to identify their locations. Determine the direction of the floor joists that support the subfloor and plan to install the flooring perpendicular to them; this isn. Start installation at the longest, most visible straight wall (often an exterior wall). If you know the positions of the floor joists, mark them on the wall where the base molding will hide your marks later. Roll out 1. 5- pound asphalt- laminated kraft paper flooring underlayment to provide a vapor barrier and reduce floor noise. Overlap edges of the kraft paper by 3 inches. Use a utility knife to trim the paper around objects such as a fireplace hearth. Fasten the underlayment to the subfloor using a staple gun. At both ends of the long wall, measure 4. This line should be exactly parallel to the wall so you can make sure your floor boards are in alignment as you work your way across the floor installing them. From this mark, measure to the opposite wall to check for equal distance at both ends. If the measurements are the same, the opposite wall is parallel. If it isn’t parallel, the flooring won’t be either, so it may be necessary to slightly adjust your guideline. Then snap chalklines across the kraft paper at each floor joist location so that you will be able to identify where the best backing is for nailing when you get to that step. How to Cut & Fasten Hardwood Flooring. The instructions given here are generic for nailing solid- wood flooring to a plywood or OSB subfloor. Before beginning, read the manufacturer. For crosscuts, equip a power circular saw with a carbide- tipped 4. Cut the boards face down with a circular saw or face up with a job saw, table saw, or power miter saw. Be sure all end cuts are precisely square (at a 9. For making curved or irregular cuts, you can use a portable saber saw (jigsaw). The blade on this type of tool cuts on the upstroke, often splintering the top surface. So, if the cut will not be covered by molding, be sure to turn the flooring face down during cutting. Both can be done by hand with finishing nails and a hammer, but it is much faster, easier, and less likely to damage the flooring to use a power nailer for face nailing and a pneumatic flooring nailer for most of the blind nailing. You can rent these tools if you don. Set the head below the surface using a hammer and nailset and fill the hole with wood putty that matches the floor. To use a power nailer, just position the tool and pull the trigger. When the groove of the next board is fitted over the tongue, the nails are hidden. For this job, you absolutely need a flooring nailer. This tool is designed for easily driving a special ring- shank flooring nail at an angle through the flooring. You just strike the tool with a dead- blow hammer, one solid strike per nail. Laying the First Rows of a Wood Floor. For the first three rows of flooring, choose very straight boards. Then cut one starter board for each row. The boards should vary in length by at least 6 inches so the end joints will be staggered by at least 6 inches from row to row. Face- nail the first strip of flooring. Face the tongue of the first row of boards away from the wall and dry- fit the boards in place. Use 1/2- inch spacers along the base of the wall to provide an even expansion gap between the flooring and the wall (this gap will be hidden by the base molding after installation). Use a measuring tape to measure from the guideline to the board.
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