How to install hardwood floors
by Adele Joy
A hardwood floor undoubtedly adds charm, character
and value to a home. Beautiful and hard-wearing,
they almost never need to be replaced. With a
huge variety of woods, finishes and designs,
hardwood floors offer an endless choice of possibilities
to suit any type of home.
Sub floor preparation
- All sub floors must be clean, level, absolutely
flat and dry. Scrape and smooth any debris off
the surface, sand high areas or joints and fill
low areas and cracks with the proper compounds.
- Prepare all doorways and walls - undercut all
door casings and remove all moldings.
- Concrete sub-floors must be completely cured
and dried (8-12 weeks old) with minimum surface
temperature of 60ºF (15ºC) and maximum
moisture content of 2% dry-weight basis. The
ideal relative humidity in the room should be
55%.
- Wood sub floors need to be well secured with
counter sunk screws on ring shank nails. It should
not exceed 14% moisture prior to installation.
Floating Installation
Spread and unroll the required polyethylene cushioning
underlayment parallel to the longest wall (they
can be trimmed after the installation has been
completed). Allow sufficient overlap on all joints
with the next sheets; use double adhesive tape
to fix the joints. Complete until the whole surface
is covered with the underlayment. Pick the first
floorboard and align it with the closest wall,
groove side facing the wall. The installation should
begin from the right corner of the room.
Use ½” (12mm) temporary spacing-wedges
to create the necessary gaps from the walls. Pick
the second board, apply 1/8” (3mm) glue bead
at the inner topside of the groove at the board
end, and start jointing the board in the row. Never
apply glue onto the tongue. Continue the same steps
until the first row is competed.
Use a specially designed crowbar to push all the
joints tight at the same time. Use this crowbar
to tighten joints from the sides and use clamps
whenever necessary to ensure tight and square joints.
Never fail to wipe off any excess glue immediately.
Repeat all processes and install the rest of the
floor.
Allow the finished floor to be free from load
and traffic for at least 8 hours before all temporary
spacing wedges are removed. Install all the skirtings/moldings
the next day, making sure that they are fixed onto
the adjacent wall only, and not directly fixed
onto the floor.
Nail Down Installation
This method of flooring installation gives some
advantages over other methods such as speed, reduced
labor materials and more immediate “use” of
the floor. However, the process is more difficult
and some professional assistance may be required.
Lay the first floorboard as for floating floorboards.
Once the floorboard is aligned perfectly, face
nail the board with the nail perpendicular to the
surface. Use 1 – 1.5” finishing nails
depending on the thickness of the floorboards installed.
Continue the same step until the first row is completed.
Start the second row in the same manner. From
the second row on, nailing is done on the tongue
side only. Continue to install all the remaining
rows.
The final row of flooring is usually narrow and
it will likely be necessary to rip floorboards
lengthwise to fill in the row. Measure the remaining
space and cut the boards accordingly, ensuring
a ½” (12mm) gap at all sides. Nail
down this last row in the same manner as the nailing
of the first row, and complete the installation.
Once the nail down work is completed, install all
the skirting and moldings. Make sure that all skirtings/moldings
are fixed onto the adjacent wall only, NOT directly
to the floor.
Glue Down Installation
This method of 'how to install hardwood floors' requires fans to create
airflow and to help speed up the drying time of
the adhesives. This type of installation does not
need any cushioning underlayment.
Determine the working area to begin the installation
in and the longest wall in the room with access.
Make a test and dry lay floorboards beforehand,
if necessary. A starting block is recommended to
help the initial floorboard placement. Nail the
starting block down firmly along the starting line,
within the working area, to help hold the first
row of the installed floorboards firmly in place.
The adhesive should be used sparingly over an
area that can be laid with flooring within 3 hours.
Pick the first floorboard and align it with the
starting line (starting block) along the groove’s
edge. The installation should ideally start from
the right side. Lay the first floorboard and ensure
that there is a 12mm (1/2”) gap from the
adjacent wall.
Pick the second board, apply 1/8” (3mm)
glue bead on the inner topside of the groove at
the board end and start jointing the board in the
row. Never apply glue on the tongue. Continue the
same steps with the next floorboard and complete
the first row. Use a specially designed crow bar
to pull the last board into place. Push joints
tight and drive spacing wedges in. Clean any excess
glue from the joints immediately.
Continue laying each row as described above. Note
that unlike the floating installation method, longitudinal
tongue and groove gluing (along the edge of each
row) is not compulsory with this glue down method.
To prevent movement, tape flooring down every
3 completed rows across the face together using
temporary–adhesive masking tape.
Every 2-3 hours and upon completion, roll the
floorboard surface with a 100-150 lb (50-70 kg)
roller to ensure all boards are flat and in perfect
contact with the adhesive. Wrap the roller with
cloth or foam pad to avoid scratches or dents on
the floor surface.
Allow the finished floor to be free from load
and heavy foot traffic for at least 24 hours after
completion. The next day, remove all temporary
spacing wedges and install all of the skirting/moldings,
making sure that they are fixed onto the adjacent
wall only, not the floor.
Resources:
http://tamalpaishardwoodfloors.com
http://home.howstuffworks.com/hardwood-floor.htm
|
