Install hardwood floor yourself

Place the second row so the tongue of the first row fits in the groove. Make sure points where plank ends butt together occur at least six or more inches from endpoints on the first row. If necessary, cut the planks. Tap plank edges with a mallet to tighten. That edge will be held down by the tongue-and-groove attachment to the first row. As before, drive nails at an angle and countersink.

The flooring nailer will speed things up once you have room. When space gets tight again near the opposite wall, go back to using the hammer. Once you have all the planks nailed down, install the transition pieces to adjacent flooring types. Re-install the baseboard and shoe molding pieces and nail them to the wall. Fill any nail holes that show. Nailing through the tongue so nails are covered up by the next plank is called blind nailing.

Using the blind nailing method means all nail holes in the planks will be invisible except for the ones along the edges. Hardwood flooring is durable and attractive and a great way to spruce up a room.

You can likely install the flooring yourself. Click lock flooring is easiest to install, followed by glue-down flooring. Nailing down flooring is the most durable way to attach planks. But it requires a wooden subfloor and some time, tools, and expertise.

Having been more familiar with the other adhesives which are now banned by the EPA that weren't as gooey, I had the stuff everywhere and considered myself a pretty clean worker. At that time, few if any of us, knew how difficult urethane adhesives were to remove once cured on the surface of the floor.

Often a warning comes with these types, clearly visible on the top of each container. With prefinished wood flooirng that is not thoroughly cleaned at the end of each day, the cleanup chore can be another nightmare. I've even heard of a few cases where cleanup was next to impossible. Replacement of the brand new floor was the only option. Expect aching knees and fingers with gluedowns.

Once again, if the product is not milled well, you're likely to be fighting it all day long. Hence the reason for sore fingers trying to pull the planks together. We have many tips on keeping that installation tight on our gluedown tips pages. It is as simple as it sounds! I really don't think it can get any easier. The lock and fold idea simply goes as easy as placing a board on the subfloor, grabbing another piece, engage the tongue and groove and move to the next board.

The locking takes place when additional boards are in reality folded over the other. Floating floor glued types will require more time than lock and fold if they're wide plank. You'll be on your hands and knees all day long and always reaching in dozens of different positions for that hammer and tapping block. With a glued type floating floor you'll probably do just as I do and leave the glue bottle and cleanup rag more than an arms reach away. Good exercise yes, but this type goes much quicker than naildowns or direct gluedowns.

At one time manufacturers rarely had products under seven inches in width designated for floating. The DIY explosion and competition seemingly forced many into allowing more common three and five inch boards to be installed via the glue and tap method. Why the sudden switch when these same products would not be warranted previously with the glue method is beyond anyone's guess. Now that many common three inch wide engineered planks can be floated, time involved will increase dramatically opposed to the wide plank.

The fundamental reason is you'll be dealing with random sized lengths, and in some cases product lines that have many shorter pieces. Older style floating types are still around but often utilize much longer set lengths; some up to 96 inches. Click type installations were advertised as a breeze, but I feel otherwise with lower quality brands.

Sure the advertising makes it sound simple, but the thicker the product, the harder it becomes to actually make it click. Easy click products can also be found with thinner laminate floors.

In this case, we settled on a dark distressed bamboo hardwood. Measure the length and width of the room and multiply them together. Measure the Flooring in Adjoining Rooms: Also, keep in mind the flooring in the adjoining rooms. The humidity of your home can affect the flooring so you never want to install it the same day you purchase it. Next you need to prepare the subfloor that the hardwood is being installed over. In this case I removed some old carpet and found old tongue and groove subfloor underneath.

Go around and knock down any old nail heads, or remove any staples or things sticking up from the floor, and then thoroughly clean the area with a shop vac.

Also, remove any existing baseboard moldings in the room. Regardless of your hardwood installation method, ready yourself with these tools:. If you elect to float your flooring, keep these things in mind:. Hardwood floors move — they expand and contract with temperature and humidity changes. A floating floor moves as a unit so be careful not to weigh the floor down to allow for that movement.

Glue minimizes squeaks, plus adhesives can act as a moisture barrier. Mechanically fastened, stapled or nailed floors deliver a stronger, tighter hold. Owing to a tighter hold, however, just be aware your hardwood flooring may be more prone to cracking, especially if placed in a high-moisture environment. This hardwood installation method requires these additional items:. These steps provide an overview of the installation process. For greater details refer to our complete hardwood installation instruction guide.

Measure the width and length of the room and multiply for square footage. In short, arrange the flooring the way you intend to install to visualize lengths, wood grain, and board colors. For the best results, you should keep your lengths random and end joint at least six inches long. It is recommended that you allow three to five days for the acclimation process. Remove old flooring and any residue.

Then, clean the subfloor. If you find any squeaks, screw a long drywall screw into the subfloor and joist where it occurs. Your subfloor must be clean, dry, flat, structurally sound and free of any surface bumps or left-over fasteners.