How to install a hardwood floor
If you were wondering how to install a hardwood floor, then this is the best place to come. So lets start and see how you can install a hardwood floor in your home.
First thing to know when wondering how to install a hardwood floor is to know what hardwood floor design you like and want. So the best thing would be to measure the room that you will cover in hardwood. After you do this, you should go to any place near you, where you can order hardwood boards.
When you are ordering the hardwood you should order a bit more boards than you really like, especially if you do not know what kind of supplier the company you have ordered from is. Some boards may come with some irregularity or they can be cut in the wrong way. With this said if you order no more than 20% and no less than 10% more hardwood than you need, you are in the clear.
To know how to install a hardwood floor you will also need to know how to install plywood floor, or sub-floor in this case. It should be about ¾ inches in height at least. Now if you already set the plywood or already had it, you should walk all over it to check for the squeaky sounds. If there are any squeaky sounds you should take the screw (the long dry-wall) and screw down until the squeaking stops.
If you did not do this before, then now would be a good time to remove the shoe molding. After you have done this, you should clean the sub-floor as good as possible and you are ready for the next step in this how to install a hardwood floor guide.
Your next needed thing is the vapor barrier paper. You should position it to get more than 4 inches overlap before securing it to the floor with staples. There is one very useful tip, mark the places where you put screws and staples with anything that would make it clearly visible. Now you are ready to actually start progressing with something that will look like a floor and not as a mess.
Start at the wall that is the longest and has no obstructions in the way, a typical long wall. Here you should draw a line with a chalk about 3/8 inches from the baseboard to allow your hardwood to expand and contract as needed. If you do not do this you will only make yourself a lot more work later on. The reason for this is because the hardwood floor expands when it is warm and contracts when the weather is cold which would result in many undesired things.
Now, that first board should be as long as possible. Position it right next to the line you just drew at the baseboard and make it as stable as possible. To do this you should secure it down with the nails, but they should be hammered to the floor, otherwise if you use nail-gun, your floor will not be very strong nor good. Now, remember the places that you marked previously? Find them and take care not to hit them with the nails you are just about to get into the floor.
Now the rest of this how to install a hardwood floor manual is very easy. Since we have really nice and firm anchor board positioned all you need to do is to start placing and securing the rest of the boards. Now to have this done successfully, you need to watch and avoid board ends to form a straight line with the ends of the boards in the next rows. Have at least 6-7 inches space between. Now is the time for pneumatic gun to be used and to secure the boards through the tongue of the board.
Now when you have a space for the doors in the way of the floor, you should not need to think too much about them as you will have no problems to cut the extra board with the circular saw and make it look nice and clean later on. You should only think about ‘lego-ing’ the boards. This means that you have groove and tongue on the boards and that you should match them together. If you need to cut, always look to cut the groove part, as it is easy to make it with a saw and a bit of steady hand.