Inside this article:
Flooring Layout & Preparation
Cutting Flooring
Fastening Flooring
First Rows of Flooring
Continuing to Install Flooring
When it comes to do-it-yourself projects, a successful hardwood floor installation is certainly one of the most rewarding. New hardwood flooring can transform a room with warmth, beauty, and style—and it can also give the person who installed it a satisfying sense of accomplishment.
The difficulty of the job depends upon the type of flooring and the conditions of the floor area where it will be installed. As discussed in How to Buy Wood Flooring, you can choose from solid wood strips and planks, wood parquet, prefinished engineered-wood flooring, and faux wood floors made of laminates. Each has its benefits and drawbacks. Solid-wood strip and plank flooring is, by far, the most challenging type to install, largely because installation requires sanding and finishing. It is the type discussed here; for information on installing the other floorings, see the links at the bottom of this page.
You can install a solid-wood floor on a conventional raised plywood subfloor or on a properly prepared concrete slab (see Installing Solid-Wood Flooring on a Concrete Slab), but only if the surface is above grade (it must be no more than 3 inches lower than the ground level outside) because moisture, which is typically present beneath below- grade floors, can be very damaging to solid wood. If your floor is below grade, choose one of the other materials mentioned above.
Bathrooms and kitchens are another story. Though moisture is present in both areas, you can protect the surface of a solid-wood floor with a sturdy, protective finish.
HomeTips Pro Tip: Floor sanding is incredibly dusty work, and a drum sander can leave visible marks and ridges on the floor. If you are not experienced at this job, strongly consider installing a prefinished engineered-wood floor.
Flooring Layout & Preparation
New wood flooring should only be installed on a dry, clean, smooth, level, structurally sound flooring base. In addition, it is important to prepare the area and allow the flooring material to adjust to the room’s humidity level well before installation. For a complete discussion of the steps to take before installation, see How to Prepare for Installing Wood Floors.
The instructions given here are generic for nailing solid-wood flooring to a plywood or OSB subfloor. Before beginning, read the manufacturer’s instructions for your particular flooring.
Determine the direction of the floor joists and plan to install the flooring perpendicular to them; this isn’t imperative, but it is generally the best practice. Start with the longest, most visible straight wall (often an exterior wall). If you know the positions of the floor joists, mark them on the wall where the base molding will hide your marks later.
Roll out 15-pound asphalt-laminated kraft paper underlayment to provide a vapor barrier and reduce floor noise. Overlap edges by 3 inches. Use a utility knife to trim it around objects such as a fireplace hearth. Fasten the underlayment to the subfloor using a staple gun.
At both ends of the long wall, measure 48 inches toward the room, mark these dimensions with a pencil, and then snap a chalk line between your marks to serve as a guideline. This line should be exactly parallel to the wall so you can make sure your floor boards are in alignment as you work your way across the floor installing them. From this mark, measure to the opposite wall to check for equal distance at both ends. If it isn't parallel, the flooring won't be either, so it may be necessary to slightly adjust your guideline.
Then snap chalklines across the kraft paper at each floor joist location so that you will be able to identify where the best backing is for nailing when you get to that step.
Cutting Flooring
To rip flooring, use a power saw that has a fence, such as a job saw or table saw. For crosscuts, equip a power circular saw with a carbide-tipped 40-tooth blade or, even better, use a power miter (“chop”) saw with the same type of blade. Cut the boards face down with a circular saw or face up with a job saw, table saw, or power miter saw. Be sure all end cuts are precisely square (at a 90-degree angle).
Fastening Flooring
When nailing boards to the subfloor, you will be using two methods: face nailing and blind nailing. Both can be done by hand with finishing nails and a hammer, but it is much faster, easier, and less likely to damage the flooring to use a power nailer for face nailing and a pneumatic flooring nailer for most of the blind nailing. You can rent these tools if you don’t want to buy them for just one job.
To face-nail by hand, first pre-drill a pilot hole in the surface of the wood flooring, and then drive a finishing nail until its head almost reaches the surface. Set the head below the surface using a hammer and nailset and fill the hole with wood putty that matches the floor. To use a power nailer, just position the tool and pull the trigger—it should sink the nail below the surface; fill the hole with wood putty and wipe away the excess.
To blind-nail flooring, drive a nail at an angle through the tongue. When the groove of the next board is fitted over the tongue, the nails are hidden. For this job, you absolutely need a flooring nailer. This tool is designed for easily driving a special ring-shank flooring nail at an angle through the flooring’s tongue into the subfloor. You just strike the tool with a dead-blow hammer, one solid strike per nail.
First Rows of Flooring
For the first three rows of flooring, choose very straight boards. Then cut one starter board for each row; the boards should vary in length by at least 6 inches so the end joints will be staggered by at least 6 inches from row to row.
Face the tongue of the first row of boards away from the wall and dry-fit the boards in place. Use 1/2-inch spacers along the base of the wall to provide an even expansion gap between the flooring and the wall (this gap will be hidden by the base molding after installation).
Use a measuring tape to measure from the guideline to the board’s edge to double-check that it is the same distance at both ends. Hold the board in place and top-nail it to the subfloor with 1 1/2-inch finishing nails placed about 3 inches from the boards' ends and about 1/2 inch from the grooved edge at 6-inch intervals. Set the heads below the surface using a nail set. Install all of the boards in the first row.
Fit a board for the second row so that its groove interlocks tightly with the tongue of the first row. Use a tapping block or small piece of flooring to protect the tongue and tap the second row boards tightly against the first row.
Then blind-nail through the tongue, placing a nail 3 to 4 inches from the end of each board and every 8 to 10 inches along its length; where possible, nail through the subfloor into the floor joists. Until you reach the second or third row where you can fit the flooring nailer in place, you’ll have to do this blind-nailing by hand with a drill, hammer, and nailset.
Continuing to Install Flooring
Now it is time to dry fit five or six rows of flooring, sorting and positioning the boards for a pleasing pattern and appearance. Remember to stagger the end joints by at least 6 inches. At the end of each row, cut boards to fit. It's smart to pull flooring from several different packages or boxes to mix up any variations in wood color and grain.
Next, nudge all but one of the loose rows away from the attached second row and, if possible, begin the process of blind-nailing with a pneumatic floor nailer.
HomeTips Pro Tip: If the pneumatic flooring nailer does not have a protective plastic boot to prevent it from scratching the floor, cover its metal base with masking tape.
At floor heating registers, always cut boards to fit the opening before installing them. When you come to an obstacle such as a fireplace hearth, miter boards to create a border that will frame it. Glue this in place and then face-nail it. Also consider gluing the ends of the boards fitting snugly against it.
Continue across the floor. When you get to the last two or three rows, it will be difficult to use the floor nailer, so you may need to top nail as you did the first row. To force the boards tightly together, use a small pry bar. Fill any face nail holes with matching wood putty and wipe off the excess.
When you reach the final row, you may need to rip-cut lengths of flooring to fit. Measure from the wall to the top edge of the last flooring strip (not the tongue). Subtract 1/2 inch for clearance, and then mark the boards and cut them. If the plank is less than 1 inch wide, spread glue along the tongue of the last full-sized row and then fit the final piece in place. You'll need to use a short pry bar to force the final strip against its mate as you drill and nail it. Use a short piece of flooring to protect the wall from being damaged by the pry bar. Wipe away any excess glue.
Remove any spacers, cut off excess underlayment that may be sticking up around the edges, install baseboards and shoe moldings, nailing them to the wall, not to the floor, and finish with transition strips between your new floor and other flooring materials. Fill any remaining nail holes with matching putty.
