How to Lay Wood Floors on the Diagonal
Normally, wood floors are installed in a straight pattern from the longest wall in the room. But for something unique, consider installing it at a diagonal angle. This makes the room appear larger, and it hides the discrepancies between very out-of-square walls--discrepancies which would be highlighted against straight-laid floor boards. It's complicated to lay out and install a diagonal floor--you have to reverse the tongue-and-groove positioning in the center--so don't attempt it yourself unless you've had some experience. Does this Spark an idea?
Things You'll Need
- Hammer
- Prybar
- Flooring felt
- Staple gun
- Razor knife
- Tape measure
- Chalk snapline
- Square
- Level
- Tongue-and-groove floor system
- Miter saw
- Nail gun
- Pneumatic floor staper with air tank and mallet
- Trim nailer
Instructions
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1
Remove the floor trim, using your hammer and prybar. Don't break it because you'll be re-installing it later. Roll out your flooring felt in overlapping rows, stapling it down with your stapler and cutting the ends as needed with your razor knife.
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2
Use your chalk snapline to divide the room into four even squares, with their corners meeting in the middle of the floor. Use your square to ensure the lines are exactly 90-degree perpendicular to each other, adjusting the snapline as needed. Measure out 3 feet from the intersection along each of your four lines, then use your square and pencil to connect those four marks, so you have a diamond shape superimposed over the center of your four squares. Measure and mark the center of each of the four sides of the diamond.
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3
Decide which direction you want the diagonal floorboards to run--toward the entrance, instead of perpendicular to it, is usually best. Lay a chalkline in that direction, making it cut through the intersection of the four squares and the marked center lines on the two sides of the diamond that the chalkline is crossing. Snap the line. It should cut across the room diagonally.
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4
Lay your first course of flooring alongside the diagonal line, securing it by using your power nailer to drive pairs of nails through the face of the board about every foot. Cut the ends at a 45-degree angle on your miter so, so they fit along the wall but leave a 1/4 inch gap there, at the wall, to allow the floor to expand.
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5
Lay your next courses of floorboards on the tongue side of the first, locking them together at the sides by their tongue-and-groove connectors and securing them with your pneumatic stapler. To use the stapler, set it so the nose hangs over the tongue side of each new board, then hit the firing pad with a mallet, which will drive the boards tightly together while driving in the staple. Work your way all the way across the floor, cutting the end pieces at 45 degrees to fit against the walls and leaving a 1/4-inch gap at the floor's edge on all sides.
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6
To use the floor stapler going in the other direction from the center board, you need to reverse the tongue-and-groove positioning of the boards, so you'll still be working with the tongue side. The stapler won't work on the grooved side. This means the first course on the other side of the center piece will have its grooved side butted up against the grooved side of the center board, instead connecting the tongue and groove. Secure it with your power nailer.
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7
Proceed to use your pneumatic stapler on the rest of the floor in the same manner as Step 5. Once all the flooring is in, re-install your floor trim, covering up the expansion gaps at the walls.
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Tips & Warnings
Wear eye protection when cutting your floorboards on your miter saw.
References
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Comments
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Why do you have to reverse the tongue and groove in the middle?
