How do I install a hardwood floor?

Question

We are installing a hardwood floor in a garage loft apartment. The floor will be laid out on top of ply wood. Anyone have any knowledge of how to do this properly? ei nailing, price, best type etc... thank you.

It will be 3/4 inch not lam.

Answer 1

omg some of the advice on this 1 is down right crazed... maybe its like my mood .
I hate being too long winded too. But I will try to help you my Friend. Hardwood I assume you mean OAK 3/4 it comes in various grades and bundle of various lengths. nice W/ less knots (select and better) most pricey. ON your existing plywood It should be sound & elliminate any squeaking before installing oak. you dont need to underlay it as w/ C-tile and plywood does not even come 5/8 t&G at least here in USA. There are 2 kinds of nailers manual and pneumatic. They have dif fastner though the manual uses a nail and the pnumatic uses a staple. go with the stapler, but dont worry about catching the joist. the staple is not even big enough to catch it. Use the black paper . Start by rolling out one run of the paper. Always install tounge away obviously (where nail goes) strike a square line for your first run.
3/8 is good for expansion. make sure you secure the entire first row Need toface nail it . Layout can be as desired a good look is continuos stagger. and wont be left with a bunch of shorts finishing it off start the first course with the smallest board then the next use the next size ect until you start over I Said to much Already so GL
Stud finder???

Answer 2

Don't use the air nailer. You get a better set using the regular nailer. Also you don't need to hit the joists. Just nail the hell out of it (remembering to stay a few inches back from the ends of the boards. Century makes a great floor and its easily refinished unlike the ones at stores like Lowes or Home Depot. Century has a tavern grade flooring that works well if it is high traffic and prone to scuffing. Another thing to remember is to lay the floor out parallel to the long walls. When you or a floor guy goes to refinish it will save you money and time, less hand sanding. If you have a large room start in the middle and work out both directions. You will have to get spline to do this, if you go to a hardwood supplier they will have this. Before laying you can use 15# roof felt to correct imperfections and do the whole overlay with resin paper (reddish) or Polaroid makes a good underlayment. Scratch the idea of laminate, you cant beat a well laid hardwood floor.

Answer 3

same question everyone else asked, is it laminate or real 3/4 inch hardwood. If its laminate that would be the best thing for the beginner its easy. no nailing at all, it is all a 'floating' floor, just roll out some of the blue pad, no sqeeks when walking. IF its hardwood you need the same pad and get a mallet nailer and you do not need a studfinder(whoever said that), you are nailing onto the subfloor which is more then enough. But either way you can go to the store and they will explain it to you very well, its easy though

Answer 4

First off, if it is old plywood- that you have been walking on over the years already (and I hope 5/8 tongue and groove stuff) put another layer of plywood on top. 3/8 is good enough. This will aid in levelling out the floor again and making it firmer (especially if you (glue and screw it down) screws 8" apart. glue - carpenters glue....pour it down in the area to be covered -sheet by sheet and use a notched spreader to spread the glue out before you put the 3/8 ontop of the wet glue. Then with a drill put in floor screws every 8 over the whole sheet. Then the next is done the same way. Now the plywood would be 1" thick. Less flexing. Then install the hardwood according to directions. Can't give you prices as that is always changing with the stores and the seasons and the demand.

Answer 5

Rent a Pneumatic mallet-actuated nail gun or stapler. Roll out a paper underlayment. Mark your floor joists. They'll probably be on 16" centers, although it could be 24" or 19.2" depending on when it was built and what was used for subfloor. Make sure you nail into the floor joists.
Before you determine the gap to leave around the edge, determine what kind of baseboard you are going to use and whether or not you plan on using quarter round.
Oak, maple, and hickory are common hardwood floors that you should be happy with. You can buy some of them pretreated, which saves a lot of work in sanding and finishing later. Don't use bamboo. It's soft enough to mark with a fingernail.
Laminate floors are not bad, either, although hardwood is more aesthetically pleasing, longer lasting, and adds more value. Laminate does go down awfully fast. And it isn't as hard on the back as hardwood.
Good luck.

Answer 6

Yes what andycap said.
You should also buy a stud finder which will locate the bearers easily and that will allow you to find the best place for the nails to go into.
It is important to remember not to place the boards all the way up to the walls. Make sure you leave a 1/2 inch or so gap between the boards and the wall. This gap will be covered by the skirting boards.
The gap is needed because natural timbers expand and if you don't allow them this gap you will find that your floor boards may buckle.

Answer 7

You will be better off with a Pergo type floor, it doesn't require any nails or glue, they call it a floating floor, it installs easily and lasts forever. They will explain the installation process were you buy the product. You will be amazed at how easy it is. You can probably do the whole job in an afternoon.

Answer 8

You REALLY need to get the old carpet up and put down a stable underlay before installing a hardwood floor. You will be setting yourself up to replace the new *buckled* hardwood floor in a year or less. You wouldn't lay new carpet over old carpet would you?

Answer 9

The lumber liquidators website has a pdf file you can download with all the instructions.
I bought brazilian cherry from them , its beautiful, and not too hard to install.
That guy that said not to use a nail gun is smoking crack, its too hard to do it by hand.
I have pergo in one room, and it went it super fast, and it looks good, but it wont last anywhere near as long as the hardwood, and in this age of everything fake, its nice to have REAL wood. The pergo was only SLIGHTLY cheaper....2.97 sf, versus 3.75 a sf for the brazilian cherry, home depot and lowes both have a very inexpensive oak that i have seen for $2 a square foot, but the coating has a greenish tint to it...

Answer 10

Is this going to be a laminate floor....like PERGO? Or is this 3/4 inch thick solid oak or maple planks??