Hardwood floors are beautiful and warm yet many homeowners are discouraged from installing them because they know that wood easily rots from contact with moisture. Nevertheless, if wood is protectively finished and carefully maintained, it can be a beautiful and warm addition to the home. Before installing a hardwood floor, you will need to carry out the following basic procedures.
1.Prepare the flooring base. You do this by making sure that the floor on which you are laying the wood is level, clean and smooth.
2.The wood to be installed should be stacked indoors for a few days. This makes the wood adjust to the humidity levels in the house
3.The positions for the floor joist should then be marked and the sub-floor covered as a moisture-protection measure and to reduce the possibility of squeaks. To cover the sub-floor, you should use 15-pound asphalt felt.
Once you have carried out the basic procedures above, you are then ready to start the installation of your hardwood floor. The step-by step procedure to use in floor installation is explained below.
1.The width of the room to be floored should be marked so that an accurate centerline is established. Once this is done, you should make a chalk line that runs parallel to the starting wall. Additional chalk lines should then be made to indicate the position of the support members.
2.Parallel to the centerline and about a ½ inch from the starting wall make another chalk line. The ½ inch that you leave between the wall and the flooring is normally covered by base shoe and is left as an allowance for the flooring’s expansion.
3.The first row of you flooring should have the longest boards. If you are using planks, choose the widest for this row. Close to the wall, you should drill holes for 1 ½ -inch nails. The first row should then be face-nailed to the sleepers or the floor joists. The nails below the surface should be set to recess by use of a nail.
4.You should then blind-nail the first three rows by hand. At 45 to 50 degree angles, make pilot holes. These holes should be centered on each sleeper.
5.For installation of the second and subsequent rows, you should move a piece of flooring along the floor’s edge and, using a mallet, rap it to tighten the binding of the pieces you have laid down.