What Do I Need To Install Hardwood Floors

These may be additional items you need to purchase as part of your flooring order.

What do i need to install hardwood floors.

If you ve decided to install engineered hardwoods there are four possible installation methods depending on the subfloor. Maintenance is easy for a pre finished hardwood floor keep grit off of the surface by sweeping regularly and use a flooring cleaning kit alcohol based and spray on and wipe off with a damp cloth. However you can look for a glue that also offers a moisture barrier in order to reap at least one benefit of an underlayment for this installation. For instance solid hardwood flooring is typically nailed down during installation while tongue and groove engineered flooring is usually clicked together or completely glued down.

Lastly install any transition or threshold pieces. Now you can install whatever baseboard or shoe moulding you choose and you are finished with this project. After removing the existing flooring baseboards and quarter moulding check that the subfloor is solid flat and clean. Finally if you want to glue down your hardwood floor do not use an underlayment.

Before you begin you need to ensure your sub floor is ready for install. Glue nail staple and float. If you were to install the floor by using all the planks from one box before opening the next you run the risk of installing the floor with large mismatched patches of flooring. Finish hardwood floor installation when you get to the last few rows switch back to nailing by hand.

When installing a new hardwood floor you want to make sure that your nails are flush or countersunk into the floor so you do not catch your socks on them or accidentally snag other items. The best way to do this is to use a nail set in conjunction with your hammer to get the nails where they need to be. The type of installation you choose will depend on your subfloor budget lifestyle and the type of wood flooring you select. On the last row cut the pieces to fit measuring the distance from the wall to the board not the tongue minus the expansion gap.

Carpet padding does not provide enough support for hardwood floors and is often too thick for nail installation. To prevent this open multiple boxes of flooring and intermix the planks among the boxes to ensure a better blend of color as you install the floor tiles. Made from layers of real wood compressed together engineered hardwood floors are better able to handle changes in moisture and humidity than solid hardwood.