Install Hardwood Flooring... Tips For The Basics

Sub Floors, Tongues and Grooves

Hardwood flooring is one of the most stylish and beautiful materials that nature produces.  It is able to provide a warm and rich look to any room that very few other types of flooring available today can compete with.  But how does someone install hardwood flooring in their home?

The normal way to install this type of flooring into a room is by driving a staple or nail through the exposed tongue of every floor board.  By doing this you are actually nailing each board to the sub floor underneath but also help to force it up against the other boards that have already been installed.  Thus this prevents any gaps from appearing between each board.

Concrete Sub Floor

However if you happen to have a concrete sub floor then this method of installation is impractical.  The only type of wood that should actually be installed on to such floors is engineered hardwood flooring.  Plus the only way of installing hardwood flooring onto a concrete sub floor is through the use of adhesive (glue).  The actual flooring must be glued directly on to the concrete and each manufacturer will specify the best type of adhesive to use for this process.

You will also need to check with the manufacturer which of their hardwood flooring is the most suitable for the gluing process.  If you use any type of hardwood flooring other than engineered, the concrete will allow moisture that is in the ground to permeate into the flooring and this will then cause it to buckle and warp and in some cases the wood may actually begin to rot also. 

Tongues ang Grooves

You will find that most manufactured hardwood flooring comes with tongues and grooves which helps the boards to remain level when placed beside each other.  However unlike some kinds of laminate flooring these do not actually lock and click into place.

So this can often make it quite difficult for you to install hardwood flooring if you are using the glue method.  Oftentimes you will find it quite difficult to actually squeeze the boards together in order for them to remain in place until the glue has dried.  Also should any of your boards have a slight curve to them then this can this process even more difficult to complete.