Easy Steps To Install Your Hardwood Floor

When you add hardwood floors to your home you will find that it adds to the beauty of your room and the value of your home.  Before you begin installing hardwood flooring in your home, you should consider the things that you will need to do to make sure that it is done correctly.

The first thing that you should make sure you do before you install your hardwood flooring is allow the wood to sit for a few days.  This will allow the wood to adjust to the humidity in the home befor it is installed.  If you do not do this, you are running the risk of the wood warping after it has been installed.  When this happens you will have to pull the flooring up and redo the whole floor.

The best way to install the flooring in your room is to lay the boards in a horizontal with the floor joists.  You should mark the wall above the place where the floor joists are located.  This will help you to know their exact position when you are laying out your boards.

Before you begin laying the floor, you should lay asphalt felt underneath so that you will protect the flooring from moisture.  It will also eliminate any squeaking when the floor is installed and you walk across the floor.

It is always best if you lay several of the rows out before you begin installing them.  Make certain that the boards are staggered so that the end joints are not near to any other end joint in the row next to it.  It is best if the joints are kept six inches lower than the end joint in the row next to it.  This will help with the installation of your wood floor. 

Make sure that you cut the pieces of wood so that it will fit at the end of the row and it should not be any more than eight inches long.  There should also be a one half inch gap around the room between the walls and the boards.  This is a very important step in installing your flooring.

When you are cutting the boards you should only use a power miter saw or a radial arm saw.  If you are blind nailing the boards with a hammer and finishing nails do not drive them all the way in or you will leave dents in the wood.  Stop the hammering when the nail head is about an eighth of an inch above and then finish it with a nail set.  This will let you get the nails flush without damaging the wood when you are hammering them in.

If you follow these guidelines when you are installing your hardwood floor, you will find that the job is much easier than you might have thought.  When you have the installation finished you will have a beautiful wood floor in your home to enhance the look in any room.[an error occurred while processing this directive]