DIY I'm afraid, I am looking for guidance and past experience on laying solid oak tongue and groove flooring?

Question

I intend laying the flooring onto a flooring chip board base with a 3mm foil lined cushioned underay. Each plank is 18mm x 90 mm and various lengths.

I have a decent range of tools and I would appreciate any hints you may have.

Thanks!

Answer 1

Best advice ever !!!!

If youve gone to the expense of buying solid oak,,pay to have it laid properly.

If not laid correctly,,,it will look a mess.........trust me,,we have rectified a few !!!!

They may need to be pinned &/or glued & expansion joints required around the perimeter, finished of with oak bead.....etc,,etc...

Answer 2

I laid my own solid oak 200mm wide boards x 20mm thick and some long lengths about 2 years ago. I am a keen DIY enthusiast and hired a 45 degree nail gun which punches the nails through the tongue so you dont see them. The wife wanted a jacobean finish so i stained them all and finished them with Mega bona.

At first they looked great but after a while showed signs of dents and scratching. Due to the dark colour, the floor shows every bit of dust and marking.

Despite being very careful to acclimatise the wood and close gaps during installation, plus laying a foam silver back membrane, gaps have appeared where the central heating pipes go under the floor. One gap is approx 10 mm wide. I spent a lot of money on my floor and am now going to sand it and oil the natural oak colour, fill gaps and hope it is a more pleasing finish than before.

In hindsight i would have gone for an engineered floating oak floor as it just seems more viable.
In conclusion i would not recommend attaching an oak floor to chipboard as it does not have the strength to combat against warping and shrinkage

Answer 3

Solid Oak Flooring must be nailed, not glued. You will need to lay a layer of plywood over the chipboard -- it's too brittle to handle all the nails/staples.
Take the amount of time you expect to the job to take and triple it.
As mentioned, rent a nail/staple gun -- it works like a charm (most of them also require an air compressor).
Snap a chalk line a few rows from the wall and nail arrow-straight boards along that line. You could start in the middle of the room, but you'll need a special tongue insert to attach the boards groove to groove and I've never seen one a hardware store.
NEVER hit the groove directly with a hammer -- use scraps -- you won't forgive yourself for the hammer dents.

Answer 4

The single most important tool when you are laying Plank flooring for the actual installation is a flooring nail gun, it speeds things up by a factor of about 10 compared to hand nailing, I know, I have done it both ways. If you think you might do this again, buy the gun. If you know this is a one time thing, rent the gun. when you are ready to install there are several things to do:
1. make sure the flooring has acclimated to the room in which it will be installed by sitting in the middle of the room for 3-5 days.

2. Make sure you start with the first row laid parallel to the longest wall in the biggest room in which you will be installing

3. Start the first row 1/4-3/8" away from the wall to account for wood's natural expansion and contraction.

4. Top nail the first few rows (enough to get the gun into position) then check again for straightness by pulling a string tight near the edge of the flooring.

5. Continue laying the flooring, checking for straightness every 5-10 rows, and remembering to mix in short and long pieces to avoid ending with all short or all long pieces.

6. Position the joints with at least 3 board widths distance on adjacent rows, in your case, 27 cm.

Answer 5

You will need a good solid hammer, not one that will break in half or lose its head at the first swipe, you will also need a piece of wood ( a bit of the floor board ) to place against the floor boards when you use the hammer when you are fitting them together, a lot of small wedges to keep the boards in place while you work, and a special bent bar to get the last ones in place, do not forget to leave a space of around 1/4 inch all around the boarders, to allow for the wood to move ( as it will expand and shrink with the temperature ) and of coarse if you have never done this before , get some one who has to help, it is very easy if you know but it will be very costly if it is not put down correctly. Oh yes and you must at all costs start perfectly STRAIT, if you do not you are wasting your time

Answer 6

Check layout, snap a line on the long run (room to room or down the hall) adjust line to wall for straightness. Check basement for water pipes electric,gas line that could be penetrated. Direction can be an issue depending on joist direction and number of sub-floors.
Start on the snapped line and work into rooms. Long handled rubber mallet and staple gun (special that staples when you hit it with the mallet and fits on the tongue).
Layout flooring, Stagger ends 2" to 6" inches for pattern optimum 4" avoid all long or all short ( except in closets).
Lay out about four rows. Do not align ends within 3 rows wide.
Pound boards(after laying out about 4 to 6 rows ) together 1 at a time and staple on tongue approx 6" apart.
Closets and walls can be top nailed when needed. direction can be reversed from snap line with wood strip that allows groove to groove. Glue and saw dust floor small oops.
Use chop saw for end cuts. table saw for rips. Angle/undercut for tight fits.Use walk behind floor finisher for sanding prior to finishing. Need more info E- mail me by clicking on my name.

Answer 7

forget about the underlay as there is no need for it and really should be used for laminates, solid wood shouldn't be 'floated'. Go to a flooring company and buy flexible adhesive,these come in tubes for gun application or tubs for spreader application, and glue to the chipboard.Lay boards running away from the window not across it as this helps to hide the joints and make it look more professional as it doesn't catch the light.

Answer 8

You don't say whether the boards (planks) are tongue and grooved.
Anyway, to do the job properly,it needs to be secretly nailed, ie, you can't see the heads. Don't try to hammer nails through the boards, they will probably split, you have to drill for the nails.

Answer 9

START FROM THE CENTRE OF THE ROOM AND WORK OUT.LEAVING A 10MM GAP FOR YOUR BORDER