Instructions to Install Laminated Hardwood Floors

Laminated hardwood flooring will enhance the beauty of your home.

Laminated hardwood, usually referred to as "engineered" hardwood, is not to be confused with laminate flooring. Engineered hardwood flooring is made up of layers of hardwood and plywood or high density fiber (HDF). Laminate flooring is made of similar layers, but its top layer is a fabricated man-made hardwood look-alike. True hardwood flooring is solid hardwood with no layers. Solid hardwood floors sometimes buckle or twist when subjected to high humidity or intense heat, whereas the plywood and high density fiber board do not, and engineered hardwood is less expensive. Engineered hardwood can be glued, nailed, floated or stapled.

Things You'll Need

• Engineered hardwood flooring
• Builders felt
• Brad nailer and brads
• Flooring mastic
• Putty or silicone
• Broom
• Sander
• Vacuum cleaner
• Straightedge
• Pull bar
• Concrete patching compound
• Jigsaw
• Circular saw
• Hammer
• Nails
• Trim
• Trowel
• Rubber mallet

Instructions

1. Prepare the subfloor. Remove all existing trim and smooth the surface. Hammer in any loose nails on an existing wood floor. Test if the floor is level with a straightedge. Sand wood floors down to level or trowel on patching compound to fill hollows in concrete flooring. Sand to smooth when dry. Trim door casing so the new flooring will fit underneath. Sweep the floor and make sure it is clean and smooth.

2. Lay 15-pound builder's felt on the floor. Tack it to the floor with staples and butt joins together but do not overlap. Trim to 1/2 inch from walls. Cut the felt with a utility knife to fit around vents or protuberances.

3. Place 1/2-inch spacers along the wall to allow for expansion and start in a corner . Start laying the planks parallel to the walls on the long side of the room. If you are using mastic, lay it on the subfloor with a trowel and smooth it. Use a rubber mallet to make sure the boards are snugly fit into the tongue and grooves.

4. Use a brad nailer with 1 1/2-inch brads if you are nailing the boards down. Once the first layer of boards has been installed, push the boards to the wall with a straightedge. Set the brad nailer slightly below the surface and "facenail" each board every eight inches. "Toenail" the boards by driving the brads at a 45-degree angle through the tongue and into the subfloor every four inches but no closer than two inches from the ends of the boards.

5. Choose different length boards for each row and continue to install the floor. Use a jigsaw to cut around pipes and ducts. Cover exposed edges with the mitered trim using a brad nailer. Force the last row into place using a pull bar if necessary. Remove the spacers and re-install the trim. Sweep or vacuum the floor. Fill facenail holes with putty in a color to match the flooring.

Tips & Warnings

• Place the boxes of flooring in the room and allow them to stand for three days prior to installation to absorb the room's moisture and expand.

References

• Build Direct: Engineered Hardwood Flooring F.A.Q.
• This Old House: How to Lay Engineered Wood Floors