How to Install Hardwood Flooring Without Headaches

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How to Install Hardwood Flooring Without Headaches

by Christine Julianne

Before learning how to install hardwood flooring, you need to choose the flooring. There are dozens of options for kinds of flooring these days, some of which are installed traditionally, and some of which snap together.

Laminates and snap-together hardwoods have their own instructions, which will come with the flooring. However, traditional hardwood flooring is more involved. Here are some steps to help get you started.

First, you need to put down a flooring base. The subfloor needs to be level, dry, and clean. Remove the baseboards before you begin.

Whether you're picking up your new flooring at a home improvement center or having it delivered by a flooring company, time its arrival so that it will be stacked inside the house for a few days. Unless you let the wood adjust to your home environment, it won't fit properly. This is because wood reacts to different humidity levels and temperatures by expanding and contracting.

When you're considering how to install hardwood flooring, you must determine the direction in which the floor joists (supports) run, and mark their position at the base of the walls for reference. Get some 15-point asphalt felt and layer it down on top of your subfloor.

You'll muffle the creaks and squeaks this way, and your floor will be protected from moisture. If you're installing the hardwood floor in your bathroom or kitchen, this step is especially important.

Mark the centerline of your room to indicate the position for the first board. When installing, leave a 1/2-inch gap at the walls.

To avoid marring and indenting your wood with your hammer, make sure to use a nail set when you finish hammering in each nail. The first three boards or so should be nailed in by hand, even if you're using a pneumatic flooring nailer. This will keep them from shifting.

It is not difficult to learn how to install hardwood flooring, but it is a time-consuming and precise project.

Make sure to visit How to Install for more tips on everything from How to Install Laminate Flooring to How to Install a Sink.

Published December 9th, 2007

Filed in Finance, Real Estate, Society

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