How to Install Pine Tongue & Groove Plank Flooring
Hardwood floors like oak and maple are considered the standard for formal rooms, while pine has always been the more homey flooring option. Tongue and groove pine flooring generally comes in much wider planks than hardwood, which shows off the classic pine grain patterns of the wood. It is installed in essentially the same way as oak or other hardwood floors. Since pine is a soft wood, it expands and contracts more than most types of flooring, so don't forget to leave expansion gaps by the walls. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Paper underlayment in rolls
- Utility knife
- Power stapler
- Tape measure
- Tongue and groove pine planks
- Medium nail gun
- Hammer
- Floor stapler
- Miter saw
- Table saw
Instructions
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1
Let the pine planks sit in the room for one to two weeks prior to installation so they can adjust to the environment.
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2
Cover the floor in overlapping rows of paper underlayment, cutting it to size with a utility knife and stapling it down with a power stapler.
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3
Put your starting course of pine planks down along the wall where you want to begin, with the grooved sides facing the wall and the planks linked end to end. Set them half an inch from the wall to allow room for the floor to move with climate changes. Secure them with nails through the surface, using your nail gun and putting two nails every 10 to 12 inches. Cut the last board on your miter saw as necessary.
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4
Set the second course of boards next to the first, knocking them tightly together by setting a small scrap of flooring again them and tapping the scrap with a hammer. The tongue and groove edges should lock completely.
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5
Secure the second and subsequent courses by shooting flooring staples at an angle through the sides of the boards, above the tongue. Continue across the floor, course by course, staggering the ends of the boards between courses and cutting them at the ends as needed.
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6
Length-cut the final course on a table saw to leave a half-inch gap by the wall. Top-nail the final course as you did the first one. Your floor trim will cover the gaps by the walls.
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