There is much to learn about hardwood flooring, especially
if you are planning to have it installed in your home. You
don’t even need a professional to get the job done for you, you
can do it all yourself, but there are a few steps that you are
going to need to follow in order to ensure that the job gets
done right.
Start With The Subfloor
The subfloor is the first thing that you are going to need
to be concerned with when it comes to installing hardwood
flooring. You want to cover the subfloor with a layer of
15-pound asphalt felt and overlap the seams by about 3 inches.
Make sure that you tack this down with a staple gun, so that
the wood flooring will have an
even base.
Now you need to measure the room’s width at two or more
points in order to establish an accurate centerline. The best
idea, if you want the best results with your hardwood flooring,
is to measure twice, or even three times, to ensure that you
have the most accurate measurements.
Laying The Flooring
The next step in the process of installing your hardwood
flooring is to indicate the edge of the first row of flooring.
This will help you keep track and ensure that the boards are
going in straight. You want to choose the longest boards or
widest planks for the first row, and then near the wall you
want to drill pilot holes for 1 ½-inch finishing nails.
Next you want to put the nails in, and start installing the
second row of hardwood flooring, and then continue on after
this.
Remember that end joints in two adjacent rows should never
be closer than 6 inches. Also, the larger area you are working
with the more difficult the process is going to be, and so you
may want to ask one of your friends or family members to join
in with you and help you do the work.
One of the most important tips to remember is that if you
can see that your new floor is going to be causing a change of
level to a hallway or adjoining room because it is lower or
higher than the adjoining floor, you are going to want to make
a change to this. The last thing you want is to have someone
walking through your home end up tripping or losing step
because of the change of level of the floor.
