How to Lay 3/8 Engineered Flooring

Lay a 3/8-inch engineered floor for a quick and easy way of getting a hardwood floor look. Unlike 3/4-inch solid hardwood tongue-and-groove floors, engineered floors comprise a wood composite topped with wood veneer. Thinner and lighter than hardwood, the planks are also easier to cut and nail. Cut on a miter saw just like hardwood, engineered flooring requires no sanding or finishing after installation. As with hardwood, leave an expansion gap next to the walls.

Things You'll Need

• Prybar
• Hammer
• Flooring felt
• Stapler
• Razor knife
• Nail gun
• 3/8-inch engineered tongue-and-groove flooring
• Miter saw
• Floor nailer
• Trim nailer

Instructions

1. Using your hammer and prybar, carefully remove the floor trim from the room. Don't break it. Extract the nails, and set it aside.

2. Roll out your flooring felt along the longest wall in the room, stapling it down. Roll it out in slightly overlapping rows, and cover the whole floor.

3. Set your first course of floorboards along the long wall, with the "tongue'' side of the tongue-and-groove boards facing the wall and the "groove'' side facing into the room. Leave about 1/4 inch of space between the edge of the board and the wall to allow for expansion of the floor.

4. Top-nail the first course with your nail gun, installing pairs of nails every foot. Cut the end pieces to fit, keeping the 1/4-inch space at the walls.

5. Lay subsequent courses of flooring using your floor nailer, setting it on the grooved edge of each board and shooting in the flooring nails at a downward angle. Sink a nail every foot. Cut the ends as needed. Work your way across the room.

6. Lay the final course by top-nailing the boards as you did at the start. Using your trim nailer, reinstall your trim to cover the gap.

Tips & Warnings

• Wear eye protection when cutting your boards.

References

• 5min.com: How to Install Engineered Wood Flooring.