How to Install Wood Floors

There is nothing as beautiful as a wood floor when it is polished to perfection, yet many homeowners fear that installing one is too big a project to tackle. With a few tricks-of-the-trade under your belt, you can have a wood floor underfoot in no time. Most of the tools you will need can be rented from your local do-it-yourself center.

Things You'll Need

• Tongue and groove wood flooring
• Rubber mallet
• Floor nail gun
• Underlayment (15 lb. felt)
• Chalk box
• Floor stapler
• Circular or table saw
• Protective eyewear

Instructions

Floor Preparation

1. Remove the existing floor down to the subfloor. Make sure you smooth the subfloor surface by pulling out any remaining staples, nails or glue. Fill in any large holes or gaps.

2. Remove the existing baseboard in the room where you will be installing the wood floor and save it to reinstall unless you have purchased new baseboard.

3. Look to be sure that there is no debris on the felt underlayment that will cause your flooring to fit poorly.

Floor Installation

1. Cut the felt underlayment and staple it to the subfloor. Use as few staples as needed to hold the felt in place.

2. Determine the location of the floor joists by knocking on the floor until you hear a "solid" sound. Floor joists usually run on either 16 or 24-inch centers. After you determine where the joists are, run a chalk line directly over each one. This is where you will need to nail your flooring.

3. Start by laying the first piece of flooring on the longest wall that is perpendicular to the joists. This is very important. Use the floor nail gun with the rubber mallet to insert a nail into the "tongue of the plank" over every joist. The nails will be shot at a 45-degree angle under the plank and into the joist. Be careful not to shoot the nail into the surface of your wood flooring. Do the entire length of the wall this way and cut the last board to fit leaving a ¼-inch space at the end to allow for expansion and contraction.

4. Begin the next row of wood flooring by measuring and placing the groove side against the tongue of the just-installed piece. Stagger your starting point by a foot or more. Holding the board at a slight angle to the installed one, press the groove under the installed plank's tongue while gently pushing the new plank into position. When fitted correctly, the planks will lie flat with no uneven gaps. Use the rubber mallet sparingly if you need to tap the new planks into position.

5. Continue this method all the way across the room, remembering to offset the starting plank in each row the same distance from the last to create a uniform appearance.

6. Cut the last board widthwise to fit in the space at the end of the room, again leaving a ¼-inch space to allow for movement.

7. Replace the baseboard you took off to complete the installation of your new wood floor.

Tips & Warnings

• Read the installation instructions that came with your flooring carefully. Sometimes the manufacturer will stipulate a slight difference. If in doubt, contact the store where you purchased the flooring or the manufacturer for further instructions.

• Floors that are uneven should be leveled before applying any new flooring. If a room is not perfectly square the lines of a wood floor may magnify the discrepancy.