DIY hardwood flooring tips wanted..

[thatguy]

My dad, a buddy of his, and I will be putting down 3/4", prefinished, T&G, 5" hickory flooring in the next month or so..

The room is about 12x10 with a 2x5 closet over a crawl space.. so its not a huge room and the flooring will be able to acclimate for probably a month at least.. We are going to leave the baseboard down and just use shoe molding or quarter round

Im looking for any tips you can offer that you found that will make the installation easier...

couple of questions for you though..

1) we have to rent a nailer/stapler - is one better than the other?

2) The mfg recommends a 3/4" gap around the wall for expansion - that seems like a lot. Will the floor really expand that much? Im not sure if the baseboard goes all the way to the subfloor or not yet.. I was worried that the molding will not fill the gap

3) What sort of underlayment have you used and why? I have read to use either rosen paper or 15# felt paper. any advantages of either? Isnt this mainly to eliminate squeaks due to wood to wood contact?

4) the room is currently carpeted - would the carpet need to be removed so the subfloor will acclimate the same flooring?

Thanks..

Brian

 

[Willl]

The mfg recommends a 3/4" gap around the wall for expansion - that seems like a lot.

Is that a total ?, meaning 3/8 at both ends ?

 

[thatguy]

Is that a total ?, meaning 3/8 at both ends ?

Based on the instructions I have read, it is 3/4" along each wall (or more specifically the gap should be equal to the thickness of the flooring)

Brian

 

[kennyd]

I have done a LOT of flooring...I you where close you could borrow my nailer!

-Bostich nailers are very popular, mine has never let me down
-I use regular roofing felt
-1/2 to 3/4 gap is good. I don't like to use 3/4 round trim so I always remove the baseboard molding and a little drywall if it goes to the subfloor. You can then stop the wood at the edge of the drywall and the new base molding will cover the ends.
-Make SURE you start straight! do NOT rely on a wall being straight-use a string.
-Screw the subfloor down, and not with drywall screws! I like the Senco screws designed for putting subfloors down-Lowe's has them.

 

[mbohuntr]

Same as last poster, Bostitch air nailer. Lay out a "field" of boards ahead of you to spot imperfections or to mix the color hues better. Pick from several boxes at the same time to get a good mix. I use light roofing felt as underlayment. I screw down a 2x4 at the edge of the snapped line so you don't move them as you are driving them tight together. Nail through the tongue. When you get too close to the wall to use the nailer, I don't nail down the last couple of pieces but pry off the wall using a catspaw or flatbar. The last piece gets ripped so it's 1/2-3/4" from the sheetrock, and I use a finish nailer through the top so that the shoe molding covers it. Have fun, and get some knee pads. Oh yeah, if you need to trim the door moldings, leave them on, and get a marble brand "pull" saw. Lay a piece of scrap flooring against the jam, and drag the saw across the top of it cutting the jamb.

 

[Pops15]

I've put down tons of hardwood flooring. Much of it with an old manual nailer and mallet.
I finally bought a Bostitch flooring stapler several years ago. I would have preferred a nailer but no one around here stocked them. I've never had a problem with the staples. In fact they are probably better in certain situations like when fastening to over ship-lap sheathing the staples won't split the board if they're near an edge like a nail might.
I prefer rosin paper instead of 15# felt although I don't think using felt is a bad thing.
1/2" is probably enough clearance. I don't like 3/4" quarter round either. I'd remove the base, put the floor down, re-install the base and add shoe mold.
You can trim the jambs and casing with a back saw, but life will be much easier if you rent a jamb saw.
You don't have to take the carpet up yet but the longer the subfloor and the hardwood are exposed to the same temperature and humidity conditions the better your floor will be. Plus the longer it's exposed, the more time you'll have to make sure everything is screwed down securely and feather any uneven edges. The better the prep, the better the finished product. I've used a walk behind floor sander on subfloors that were uneven, cupped, etc.

 

[jdonovan]

2) The mfg recommends a 3/4" gap around the wall for expansion - that seems like a lot. Will the floor really expand that much?

12 feet wide = 144 inches. a 5% change in flooring size would be 3/4" across the width of the room.

YES you need to leave a substantial gap for the floor to move. That is a 3/4" gap on all 4 sides of the room.

If you are installing in the winter when its dry you want to be to the larger side of the gap. If you do install in the mid-summer, then a smaller gap as the wood is near its largest size due to humidity.

Im not sure if the baseboard goes all the way to the subfloor or not yet.. I was worried that the molding will not fill the gap

Baseboard goes above the wood floor, and the trim (if you use it), say 1/4 round would also go above the floor.

3) What sort of underlayment have you used and why? I have read to use either rosen paper or 15# felt paper. any advantages of either? Isnt this mainly to eliminate squeaks due to wood to wood contact?

15lb felt. Reduces squeeks, and reduces the floors ability to pick up humidity from the subfloor.

4) the room is currently carpeted - would the carpet need to be removed so the subfloor will acclimate the same flooring?

Not really, the subfloor is already fairly well acclimated to the room... but in a perfect world yep, fully exposed floor. Also if you detect any squeeks in the sub floor, now is the time to fix 'em.

Keep in mind you'll also need a finish nailer to do the first few boards as you start the room, and also for the last few as the floor nailer won't be able to fit.

Knee pads sure make it nice as your doing the trim work. Get soft ones so you don't scratch your new floor.

The other suggestion... take some advil before you start. If you're not used to working for an 8-hour day bent at the waist for all 8 of it, you are going to be a sore pup at the end of the day.

 

[drs1124]

I install hardwood floors nearly everyday (for the last ten years);

1) we have to rent a nailer/stapler - is one better than the other?
Bostitch 2'' pneumatic staplers are all we have used for 3/4'' solid products, they work great. Be sure the pressure on the compressor is not set to high, if it is you will notice the tongue splitting and the staples setting too deep. Also a 15GA angled finish nailer will allow you to set your first couple of rows before you can get the power nailer on it. Open boxes and plane (look) down the front and back edges of long boards, for straight boards to use for your first two starting rows. Use a chalk line to hover over the front edge of the finished product (two people one at each end). When you get it nice and straight carefully top nail the back of the board where your quarter round is going to cover. Now use the angled nailer and place nails at an angle at the top of the tongue just as the power stapler will later. Use a prybar between the expansion space to prevent your straight starter row from shifting. Nail the entire length and re-check with the line to be sure nothing shifted. Set the second row with the angled nailer (just above the tongue).
Now you can use the power stapler. Work left to right. Stagger end seams at least 6'' apart, and try not to have end seams line up with only one row in between them (it creats an "H" pattern that is undesirable). If a board is bowed place a flat screw driver or chisel in front of the tonque and hammer it into the subfloor, have someone gently pull back to close the gap while someone uses the power stapler to hold it closed. The angle nailer will also be used to at the end of the the room when you can no longer get the power stapler to fit, the angled finish nailer usually fits another row or two. For the last rows plane for more straight boards, when the nailers no longer fit cut the tar paper out and apply some subfloor adhesive (OSI) and set the boards into it, a couple of strips and wiggling the boards around to spread it is all you need. Being that you are using a wider plank this will probably only be for your last two rows. On the last row use the prybar to pull the boards closed tight and use the finish nailer again where the quarter round will cover.

2) The mfg recommends a 3/4" gap around the wall for expansion - that seems like a lot. Will the floor really expand that much? Im not sure if the baseboard goes all the way to the subfloor or not yet.. I was worried that the molding will not fill the
You will not need to have a 3/4'' gap, a floor of that dimension we would typically have 3/8'' each side and you will be just fine.

3) What sort of underlayment have you used and why? I have read to use either rosen paper or 15# felt paper. any advantages of either? Isnt this mainly to eliminate squeaks due to wood to wood contact?
15# felt

4) the room is currently carpeted - would the carpet need to be removed so the subfloor will acclimate the same flooring?

Remove day of install is just fine, vast majority of our installs are done in that manner

 

[inveresk]

Those places where the groove is tight and the joint won't close without some persuasion, use an off cut of the flooring slipped over the tongue as a blocking piece. An ordinary piece of lumber used as a blocking piece can damage the tongue.

 

[greasemonkeyok]

An acquaintance used his "painter" to install an oak wood floor in a small office building. Painter thought the recommended 3/4" gap was too much and unnecessary. Now the floor is buckled throughout the building and looks bad.
Better safe than sorry.