Table of Contents
Where do you start laying a wood floor?
How do you find the straight line when installing hardwood floors?
Tie one end of a chalk line to one of the nails. Stretch the line across the room and loop the other side of it around the other nail. You should now have a chalk line running parallel to your starting wall. Snap the chalk line, leaving a straight chalk mark on the subfloor.
How do you start hardwood in the middle of a room?
Often, the starting point is the longest, unbroken wall, however, using a spline allows you to start wherever you choose. We recommend starting in the centre of the room because this will reduce the pressure of the floor, as it won’t all be pushing in one direction.
What side of wood floor do you nail?
Begin your nailing from the left side of the room and always do your nailing from left to right across the floor. Use a rubber mallet to tap the boards tightly into place. To nail your flooring, strike the plunger at the top of the nailer with the rubber mallet.
Does it matter which way you lay hardwood flooring?
Wood floors should always be laid perpendicular to floor joists—across rather that in between them. This will make the floors structurally sound and will help prevent the planks from separating, sagging or buckling. So, there is no right or wrong way to lay your wood flooring.
Does the tongue or groove go against the wall?
Which to Install First. Which side is the tongue, which the groove, and which goes first during installation? The tongue is the side that you will want to place against the wall as you start your laminate-flooring installation.
Can you reuse tongue and groove flooring?
Tongue-and-groove hardwood floors have been popular in North America since the mid-1800s, and recycling flooring from old warehouses, offices and homes is a smart move. You can install reused flooring in the same way you install new flooring, but a careful inspection of each board is an important precursor.
Can you remove hardwood flooring and reuse?
So is it possible to pull up hardwood floors and reinstall them? Yes, this is definitely possible. Since they are environment-friendly and extremely durable, hardwood floors are often reused when remodeling or building a home. They also offer better aesthetics and lower costs than buying new materials.
Should I remove hardwood floors?
In most cases, it’s recommended that you refinish them every seven to ten years. When your floors have gone through a lot and the damage is extensive, you should consider replacing them. Another reason you might want to replace hardwood floors is to install a different style or color.
How do you know if a room is square?
Take a tape measure and measure the distance from one corner to its diagonal, and then measure the diagonal between the remaining two corners. If you were to string lines across the corners you measured, they would form an “X”. Know that if the measurements equal one another, your room is square.
Can you lay hardwood flooring on joists?
The joists must be sufficiently flat to accept the timber floor and to provide a finished floor appearance that also appears flat. The allowable span of timber flooring is dependent on the timber species, density, grade, thickness and whether or not the flooring is end matched.
Can you install hardwood over joists?
The hardwood flooring must be installed crossing the floor joists (at a 90 degree angle). If there is any deflection in the subfloor when walked on it would be advisable to add an additional layer of 3/8″ or 1/2″ thick plywood underlayment glued and screwed down over the OSB subfloor to add stability.
What do you put under hardwood flooring?
Simply put, underlayment is a layer of material between your subfloor and your floor. While some flooring comes with the underlayment attached, others will require you to install a separate underlayment. Most of the time, underlayment consists of rubber, cork, foam, or felt.
Can you use a regular nail gun for hardwood floors?
If you’re handy with a finish nail gun, you can use it to install a hardwood floor. A finish nail gun, designed for trim work, shoots a near-headless nail that does not mar the surface look of the wood, which makes a finish nailer effective for installing hardwood floors as well.
Which direction should hardwood floors be laid in a hallway?
Whenever you are placing wood flooring in a hallway or any long and narrow area, it should run in the direction away from the doorway.
Should flooring be the same throughout the house?
Using the same flooring in every room of the home creates a look with clean lines. However, there’s no rule that says you can’t use different flooring. The only real problem with two different floorings is if you use two that are almost, but not quite the same. It will have a jarring effect.
Should tongue and groove be glued?
The recommended glue for floating installation is Tongue and Groove engineered flooring glue. Glue placement is very important. The glue must be placed along the topside of the groove the full length of the grooved side and end.
Do you have to nail tongue and groove flooring?
Although tongue and groove solid hardwood flooring does fit together, it must still be nailed to a subfloor. Engineered tongue and groove planks, however, snap together to create a “floating” floor that is not physically attached to the floor below.
How tight should tongue and groove be?
All it takes is 1⁄8″. The joint should be a firm press fit: If you have to knock the pieces together, then struggle to pull them apart, the joint’s too tight. A tongue that’s a hair too fat for the groove may actually seat, but it will stress the groove sidewalls and may, in time, prompt them to split.
