Laying a tongue and groove floor in my shed. What's the best way to lay the last few boards? No room to hammer

Question

I'm using a scrap piece to hammer the boards together for a tight fit but obviously I can't do that with the last few boards up agains the wall. I also can't remove the tongue because the boards need the support (38mm shed flooring so not too strong).

Answer 1

Go to a hardware or flooring store, and ask for a "Z" bar. The 'Z' bar is a flat peice of metal with one end bent higher than the other. Take the shorter end, and slip it over the edge of the floor board. Now lay the bar on the board so that the higher end is up. Now you can hit the higher end with a hammer, and pul the board in tight.

In lieu of a 'Z' bar, and if you are close enough to the wall, place a 3/4" board along the wall. Take a couple of wedges, and wedge the floor boards in to place. The last one is the tricky one!!

Measure from the wall to the top edge of the last peice laid. Add 1/4". Scribe this line on the last piece, and cut it. Tip the groove or tongue, whichever, into the mating piece. it may stick up a bit, because it hasn't seated yet. Take a peice of wood, or cut off peice of flooring, and place it on the edge cloest to the wall. Tap the piece of wood with a hammer to seat the peice of flooring. This way, you won't damage the surface of the floor.

Answer 2

Someone else mentioned the gap that should be included with the new floor. Also, the gap will probably exceed the width of the tongue that extends from the edge of the board.
So, take the last couple of 2 or 3 boards, and put them together by turning them on edge and tapping the together. Then, set these couple of boards (at an angle) into the groove of the last board placed on the floor. Press straight down, and if your gap is correct, you should have clearance to drop the boards into place. Then use a crow bar or Z bar to work into the gap and then twist to press the cluster of 2 or 3 boards firmly against the floor board. You can then put a couple of finishing nails on the outer edge of the last board to keep it snug.
When you place the colding down against the wall, it should cover the edge of the flooring.

good luck

Answer 3

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 4

With no offense meant at all; it is a SHED!

In any case flooring should always be installed with some perimeter gap, IE: 1/4 1/2 inch allowing for OOOPS and hidden by cove base.

I often install the last board first; or at least set it; then the adjacent board to finish with both crowned just enough to allow the tongue and groove to butt; press down and toe nail; then counter sink the nails with a nail set.

Steven Wolf

There are BLIND connectors; and they have been used and shown on shows such as on HGTV and This Old House; but it's a bit beyond that in your case.

Answer 5

Since you want a tight fit....take a couple of small pieces of the T&G to act as a spacer...then use a pry bar or crow bar against the wall and spacers to force boards to fit tightly together. As one person has stated already....you will need to use finish nails on the last couple of rolls. Prior to that you can still nail into edge, but by hand ...instead of using the toe nailer tool.

Answer 6

You will probably have to face nail the boards. Make sure you countersink the nails then use suitable color wood filler to hide the nails. You can use a good wood glue to help eliminate some of the nails.

Answer 7

I believe home centers cary a tool especially designed for this problem, pretty sure you can rent one since you really only need it once, sorry not sure what it is called.

Answer 8

Darrin O is talking about a pull bar.