How To Install Hardwood Flooring Straight

At the bottom we provide links to posts on the tools we use and frequently recommend for hardwood.

How to install hardwood flooring straight.

Pry off with a prybar any baseboard or molding from the longest wall in the room that runs perpendicular to the floor. Lay it out in the room and overlap it by 4 6 with every row. It chronicles tutorials for each step of the process derived from our installation of 3 4 inch solid tongue and groove brazilian walnut hardwoods in our own home. It provides detailed instructions for installing hardwood flooring over a wood substructure.

Place at least two nails in every board the rule of thumb is to nail every 10 to 12 inches. On your first rows you may need to face nail the rows in place with a finish nailer to hold them in place. Hardwood floors are durable beautiful and a great diy project. Vary board lengths as you install so you will have staggered end joints in a random pattern image 6.

Flooring is typically bundled in random lengths. Store the wood in the space you will be installing at least 2 weeks prior to actually starting the install. Make sure you leave an expansion gap around the edges of the flooring at each wall. Face nail each board at the point of every joist and set the nail with a nail set.

Install one complete row at a time from end wall to end wall. Begin by selecting a long board to start the first row. Now you re ready to start installing your flooring. Drive 6d or 8d flooring nails through the pilot holes and then drill additional pilot holes through the tongue at a.

From there measure the width of the plank plus 1 inch into the. We first ran this article in 2010. Due to the large amount of different types of. Seat the end tongue and groove flooring into each other and.

When we questioned our installer he claimed it wasn t his fault the problem is our walls are not straight. How to find a straight line when installing wood flooring 1. Measure 12 inches in from one end of the wall. Align the edge of the board with the chalk line and drill pilot holes down through the hardwood plank and into the sub floor and joist.

Pick one that is straight. Purchase some wood that will give you the right look for your space. Learn how to install solid hardwood flooring with a few simple tools. Remove the old floor down to the sub floor.

Put a 3 4 inch spacer against the.