How to Put Down Hardwood Flooring

Want to lay down a hardwood floor but not sure where to start, it is not as hard as it may seem however it is time consuming.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Floor Nailer + 2" Nails
• Finish Nailer + 2"Nails (Not Brad)
• Table saw
• Air compressor
• Knee Pads
• Rubber Mallet
• Circular Saw
• Crow Bar
• Hammer

1. 

   The first and probably the most dirty part of the job is to get the old floor up, in most cases linoleum floor is put into a backer board and will come up easily, use a circular saw and set the blade for however deep the floor is that you want to come up. For other types of flooring such as tile a hammer and the crow bar are the best option. Once you have pulled up the old floor nail down any staples that are sticking up and prep the floor so that it is as smooth as possible, no uneven surfaces such as 1/2 inch plywood running into 3/4 inch plywood.

2. 

   Now that the floor is prepared the next step is to lay out the floor configuration, where you are going to start. Should be the center of the room if at all possible and running against the floor joice, not with. You can use a chalk line however if you line up a few pieces going down on the first run you will be able to see that it is straight, do not measure off of the walls as they are not plum. Once you have the first run set, use your finish nailer to secure the first row, after that you can start to use your floor nailer making sure that there is at least a three inch space between piece seems, that is why a box of hardwood flooring comes with different sizes.

3. 

   Now that you are running your pieces and things are looking good you may want to take into account a few things, if you are running flooring one way with the groove sticking out there is a joiner that will allow you to make the groove face the opposite direction and thus you can start nailing from the other side, this is especially handy for hallways that have a door. Also, when you run into tight spots that the floor nailer will not get to, use your finish nailer at a 45 in the groove unit you have to nail it through the top. Half rounds around floor cabinets will hide spaces and if need be get a thicker floor trim so that any gaps would be hidden. When all is said and done you should be happy, I was, I was just exhausted.

Tips & Warnings

• When choosing your hardwood, if at all possible go with a lighter color, it will hide a lot more.
• Leave at least a 1/4 inch gap across two sides for expansion, do not want any buckling.

[eac913]

on 10/6/2009 This sounds more than moderately difficult; but your details are great. Thanks for the article on how to put down hardwood flooring.