Lay a hardwood floor

Before laying any hardwood flooring, make sure that the subfloor is level and firmly fastened to the floor joists. If necessary, add screws to ensure maximum solidity and to prevent creaking. Allow the wood to acclimatize to the ambient temperature of the room where they will be installed for a few days beforehand.

The following instructions are for wall-to-wall nail installation.

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List of materials
Step-by-step instructions

List of materials

  • Non-tarred felt paper
  • Hardwood floorboards
  • Saw
  • Snap line
  • Measuring tape
  • Manual or pneumatic nailer

Step-by-step instructions

  1. Staple the felt paper to the subfloor. This underlayment forms a moisture barrier and reduces footfall noise.

  2. Cut the base of the door frames to be able to insert the planks, and remove all edgings, baseboards and quarter-rounds, as well as the door threshold.

  3. Decide the layout direction for your floor planks. Unless the subfloor has been reinforced, the planks should be laid either at right angles or at 45o to the floor joists.

  4. Measure the width of one plank and add 3/4".

  5. Using a snap line, draw a guide line parallel with the starting wall, based on your measurement from Step 4. It is very important for the starting line to be straight and square.
  1. Decide which planks to use and in which arrangement for the first four or five rows (mix different shades and grains). Choose the straightest full planks for the first row.

  2. Lay the first plank along the guide line. Measure the length you need for the second plank and cut if necessary. Keep an expansion gap of 1/4" from the wall. Start laying the second row with the length left over from the end of the first row.

  3. The first row will need to be nailed by hand, with the grooved side of the plank facing the wall. To do this, bore 1/16" holes in the planks at 45o, ½" from the grooved edge. Start 2" from one end and space the holes every 6".

  4. Align the first plank on the guide line and insert nails in the pre-drilled holes. Sink the nail heads with a nail set.
  1. Nail the following rows using a manual or pneumatic nailer. Continue spacing the nails every 6". Never nail less than 2" from the ends of the planks, otherwise the wood may split. Stagger the joints 6" to 8" from those of the previous row and alternate the length of the planks.

  2. For the last row, you may need to cut the planks length-wise. Remember to always leave an expansion gap of 3/4" from the wall. Manually nail the last row in the same way as the first.

  3. Install the baseboards and quarter-rounds.

Nothing beats a hardwood floor for warmth and style. Attractive and durable, its timeless elegance withstands passing fashions and the test of time.
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