Installing Wood Flooring
Installing wood floors is a good way to enhance the beauty and value of your home. When wood floors are installed properly they can last for generations. There are several different types of wood that can be used; this allows you to completely customize the look. This is a challenging job, but one that has great rewards for those who care to take the time to finish.
Installing wood floors is a project that most homeowners can do without assistance. It does require some tools that may need to be rented, but the rewards are great. You'll improve the look and feel of your home instantly and increase the homes value exponentially.
What You'll Need:
- Wood flooring
- Felt underlayment
- Floor stapler
- Mallet
- Nail gun
- Circular saw
- Goggles
- Pull up the existing flooring so that the subfloor is exposed. You want a smooth surface to work with, so be sure you take out any staples or finishing nails left behind from the previous flooring.
- Take the baseboard off the wall. Many people choose to replace this entirely when they update the floors. If you want to reuse it just place it in a room where it won't get damaged.
- Staple the felt underlayment to the subfloor. You only need to use enough staples to attach the felt securely.
- Locate and mark the area where the floor joists are. You can simply knock on the floor to find these. The sound of the knock will change and sound more solid when you hit the joist. This needs to be marked because this is where you're going to attach the flooring.
- Lay out the new wood flooring. You want to start with the longest wall in the room and run the first board perpendicular to the location of the joist. Place a nail on the tongue over each joist. Use caution with this to make sure you're doing to correctly. The nail should be placed at a 45 degree angle underneath the plank in the floor joist.
- Start laying the rest of the flooring. Staggering your starting points for each board will give you a more natural look.
- Allow room for expansion for each board that comes up to the wall. A quarter inch is plenty of room, and can be easily hidden by the baseboards.
- Install the baseboards once the floor is completed.