Installing hardwood floors

Load the power flooring nailer with nails recommended for your type of floor. Experiment with depth settings; the nailheads should just barely sink below the wood surface. Fit the nailer to a tongue, make sure it rests flat, and hit it with the mallet. To keep the courses parallel, tap the boards together before nailing.

Use a wood scrap as a driving block to protect the flooring. Or use the neoprene head of the power-nailer mallet. Continue laying hardwood floors row by row, working your way across the room. If the nail isn't sunk to the desired depth, adjust the air pressure accordingly. Avoid using bowed planks if you can.

However, if you're running low on material and must use one, screw a piece of lumber to the subfloor about 1 inch from the plank. Use the lumber as a brace while you drive a wedge of lumber into the space between the lumber and the bowed board. Once the plank is straight and in position, nail it in place. When you need to apply flooring around an obstacle, such as a built-in cabinet or fireplace hearth, frame around the base.

You may need to miter the ends of the boards to get a snug fit. If the tongue will abut the cabinet or other obstacle, slice it off. Since you are working close to an obstacle, face-nail these planks. Where a plank will meet a corner, position the end of the board against the wall and mark where the corner meets the board. Lay all of the planks for the last row before nailing them into place.

Because these are too close for using the side nailer, you'll have to drill pilot holes and face-nail. You may need to rip-cut the last course. Protecting the wall with a wood scrap, push the last courses tight with a pry bar. Drill pilot holes and drive flooring nails through the face of the boards. Set the nails and fill with wood filler. Conceal the gap between the last row and the wall with baseboard and shoe molding. Align the bottom edge of the baseboard so it is flush with the top of the wood floor; secure the baseboard to the wall.

Secure the shoe or quarter-round molding to the baseboard slightly above the wood planks. Today's polyurethane finishes allow hardwood-floor installation in kitchens and half-baths, as long as you take precautions to minimize water spills. Engineered woods are considered more stable for kitchen and bath applications.

Unfinished wood flooring gives you almost unlimited color stain options. The drawback: Unfinished flooring must be sanded and finished after installation, which typically requires the expertise of a professional and puts the room out of service for several days. Prefinished flooring features a factory-applied finish that homeowners sometimes favor because it eliminates sawdust and finish vapors, and the room can be used within 24 hours after installation. The color options for prefinished flooring are not as varied as for unfinished flooring.

Most engineered wood flooring is prefinished. A factory finish -- usually four or more coats of ultraviolet-cured urethane resins -- is one that the manufacturer applies at the plant. Because the finish is applied under strict environmental controls, manufacturers say it is more consistent and durable. Factory-finished floors can be installed right out of the box, making them stress-free when you are living in a house as the floors are being replaced.

There are many different stain colors and finishes from which to choose. On-site finishing allows the builder to custom-fit and finish your floor to the space. If you decide to install your own hardwood or engineered hardwood floors , you will have a plethora of options to consider and decisions to reach. Never be concerned! Knowing what it is, why you need it, and what options are available makes selecting the best flooring for your home or business a breeze.

Underlayment, in its most basic definition, is a layer of material that sits between your subfloor and your floor. While some flooring comes with the underlayment already attached, others will require you to install a separate underlayment on top of your existing flooring. Underlayment is typically made of rubber, cork, foam, or felt, depending on the application.

Each choice has a unique set of characteristics that are tailored to the requirements of different levels and rooms. Even though your underlayment will be unseen beneath your floor, selecting the proper type will improve the performance of your flooring and assist it to last longer than it otherwise would. Why do you need an underlayment if your subfloor already provides a smooth and level surface for installing hardwood flooring in the first place?

Because underlayment materials act as a critical moisture barrier, they prevent the wood from warping or suffering other types of water damage when condensation rises from the underfloor.

They also provide varying degrees of soundproofing, which prevents each step you take from reverberating throughout the house, as well as thermal insulation, which makes the floor more comfortable to walk on when wearing bare feet in the winter.

Using underlayment to safeguard your hardwood floor from moisture damage is one of the most essential reasons you should do so. Underlayment that includes a vapor barrier is frequently available, and it can help to keep your wood floors safe from water damage. Floating f loors are frequently recommended for this purpose, but when it comes to keeping water and moisture away from your hardwood floors, any amount of protection is beneficial.

Any space between the boards, no matter how carefully they are put or maintained, can allow water to leak beneath your floor. It is possible that once the water has poured into the floors from beneath, you will be faced with costly repairs if the boards distort or break. For any hardwood flooring installation, having a level subfloor is one of the most important criteria. It is inevitable that when you nail or glue a wood floor to an uneven surface, the final wood floor will be uneven as well.

B ecause of this, not only does your lovely wood floor become a tripping hazard, but it also begins to seem less than pristine. Prior to installing hardwood flooring, major faults should always be corrected, but minor dips and cracks do not usually necessitate a complete renovation. The use of underlayment that is thick enough to compensate for small, uneven spots would be less expensive and faster than tearing up the flooring as a whole, assuming that you can obtain such an underlayment.

The sounds of children and pets running around and playing in the living room, as well as the background noise of voices, televisions, and general household atmosphere, can quickly accumulate in volume. Underlayment is available that helps to absorb sound from the air and prevents sound waves from bouncing about the room as aggressively as they would otherwise. The sound that is created on the floor itself is muffled by other types of underlayment, which is very useful for the upper stories of your home if you do not want to hear every tread from lower levels.

Another disadvantage of wood flooring is that it is solid, and at times, the cold, surface that is not particularly comfortable to walk or stand on for extended amounts of time. This may be even more evident if you have chosen a tougher wood floor that is recognized for its resilience and lengthy life expectancy. Consequently, in these situations, an underlayment will be an additional investment that you will be grateful for on chilly winter nights and any time you walk on sections that are not covered by rugs.

When you walk on a hardwood floor, underlayment provides cushioning for your feet and acts as an insulator against extreme temperature changes. If you have installed engineered hardwood as a floating floor, the underlayment will be extremely important to the overall appearance of the floor. Because floating floors are not attached to the subfloor, they can easily expand and contract in response to changes in humidity and temperature in the surrounding air.

Moisture can also collect in the space between the subfloor and the floating engineered hardwood flooring, causing damage or warping to even the best-engineered hardwood flooring over the course of time.

You can choose between four different varieties of underlayment, each having its unique set of characteristics and capabilities. Some choices work better for particular types of flooring than others, so make sure you look into the specifics before deciding which option to choose. When searching for the ideal underlayment for your home, take into consideration the sound ratings and density, as well as the type of material you intend to utilize.

By choosing I Accept , you consent to our use of cookies and other tracking technologies. How to Install Hardwood Floors. By Carol J. Pinterest Email Pocket Flipboard. Nat Rea Hardwood floors are beautiful, last a lifetime, and are easy to install.

Hardwood vs. Laminate Wood Flooring Hardwood flooring is solid wood, cut from the tree. Join the ends of the boards over a floor joist, where possible, avoiding joints that form an H.

Keep joints that line up at least two rows apart. Before starting, calculate the width the last row will be. If it will be less than an inch, cut the width of the first row in half. Steps for Installing Hardwood Floors: Ready to transform your space with new hardwood flooring?

Acclimate the Flooring Let flooring acclimate to the room temperature and humidity for three to five days prior to installation. Cases tend to be all the same shade. After the boards have acclimated, choose the straightest ones for the first 2 rows. Prepare Your Subfloor Remove old flooring and any residue.

Remove carpet strips and baseboards. Old flooring materials may be made of asbestos.