How to Install Hardwood Floor
Things You Should Check Before Starting
Learn how to install hardwood floor. After, you've decided on an interior design idea, for your room. You've chosen your hardwood flooring. The room is empty, painted, and ready.
But wait, before you start learning about how to install hardwood floors. Take the time to prepare your subfloor, first. We want to make our hardwood floors as flat as possible and problem free. Your hardwood floor installation learning experience will be easy and with little frustration.
This is an important step, that you cannot overlook.
Flooring contractors will not prepare your subfloor, unless asked to do so, except for cleaning. Besides, this is where you can save money, if, your hiring a flooring contractor to put in your hardwood flooring.
Subfloor preparation:
Flatness
Check surface for flatness. The tolerance for surface flatness is 1/4" variation, over a 10 ft. diameter. To ensure a beautiful and flat appearance from your wood floor finished surface, correct any uneven areas, whether they're low or high spots, before starting your hardwood floor installation.
Use a skimcoat sandable floor compound, surface prep products, like Henry's floor prep.
Make sure you follow manufacture's instruction, and perform a moisture test after it has dried, to prevent cupping with your hardwood flooring.
Correcting low and high spot is an important step, especially for laminate floating floor installation or glue down flooring installation. This will allow these type of flooring to sit firmly tight on the subfloor. Which will prevent the wood flooring from seperating, squaking and many other problems.
A flat surface will prevent your furniture from going out of square and tipping over, and injuring someone.
It will be easier to learn how to install hardwood floors and it prevents problems, like tripping over a hump or speed bumps.
Some homes are very old, and requires a lot of work, to correct the flatness of the subfloor. It's up to you as a home owner, to determine, whether, it needs to be corrected or not, before beginning a hardwood floor installation.
Stop and Prevent Squeaks
Nows, the time to tighten that floor, before starting or learning how to install hardwood floors. No one likes an annoying loose and squeaky floor.
Squeaks are most likely caused from a loose subfloor. Tighten the floor to get rid of them.
You can apply 2" or 3" coarse wood screws or use 2"- 3" ring nails , nailed into the joist. To eliminate them and have peace and quiet.
Once, you've installed your new wooden floor. Squeaks can be difficult to get rid of, if you skip this step.
If, you already have hardwood floors installed in your home and have squeaks. Try fixing it from below.
As long as you have access to your floor joist. You can fix them, by inserting shims between the floor joist and subfloor. You then won't have to deal with an annoying squeaky floor, ever again.
Check for Moisture
Test surfaces for moisture, in basements, over any area you have applied leveling compound or skimcoats. Especially over concrete or areas built over crawl spaces (additions, or closed porches).
You'll prevent problems with adhesion(glue), cupping, buckling, mold, mildew, finish adhesion, bubbling in the finish, finish delaminating and more. Save time and Money by preventing costly rework and repairs to your new hardwood floors.
Test the surface by using a moisture meter or using duct tape and plastic. Tape a, 12" x 12", clear 6 mil plastic, onto the surface. Allow it, to sit, for 24 hrs, then just check it,
for condensation. Condensation is an indication that your subfloor is wet.
Test more than 1 area. Doing this, will prevent any costly repair, or rework of any flooring installation.
Damaged subfloor
Flooring contractors will usually point out this issue, before any hardwood floor installation. Any severly cracked or missing panels, should be replaced or added. To ensure a firm surface for your hardwood floor installation.
Depending, on the size of the area. You can sometimes just bridge over small gaps, 6"- 8" allowed.
If, The subfloor is severly damaged, consider replacing it or resheathing. Before starting or learning how to install hardwood floors.
Replace or resheath your old subfloor with new 3/4 tongue and groove Advantech Plywood sheathing. Nails hold on to them, good, and they have a moisture repellant in them.
Which will help prevent problems. You don't have to worry for as long as you own your home.
If, all these subflooring issues have been addressed. You would have prevented many future problems.
Then, learning how to install hardwood floors will be very easy to do. You can focus more on learning how to do your wood floor installation and less on dealing with subfloor problems.
" It's a good head start to a great finish."
Decide what's the best type of subfloor system for your concrete application.
Once, you've done, all these steps. And are satisfied with your surface preparation. Then it's time to learn how to install hardwood floor.
Choose a method of flooring installation.
Staple/nail down flooring
Glue down flooring installation
Laminate Floating floor Installation
Hardwood Floor Installation Over Radiant heat
Staircase Installation
Reclaimed Wood Floor Installation
White Pine Wood Floor Installation
Random Width, Recycled Wood Flooring Installation
Hardwood Floor Installation Images
Subfloor Systems
Tips To Installing Hardwood Floors
Preventing Common Wood Floor Installation Issues
G and S woodfloors Lynn, Massachusetts
