Easy Installation of Hardwood Flooring
- 1). Lay out paper underlay over the whole floor in rows, cutting them as needed to fit with a razor knife and securing them with a stapler. Let the sides of the rows overlap slightly so the whole surface is covered.
- 2). Set the first floorboard at one end of your starting wall, which should be the longest wall in the room. Position the board so the grooved side is toward the wall and sitting 3/8 inch out from it. Nail it down by shooting nails straight down along both edges, every eight or 10 inches.
- 3). Set the next boards of the first course off the end of the first one, locking them together by their tongue-and-groove fittings and lining them up along the edge of the floor. Keep the 3/8-inch space at the wall. Cut the last one on a miter saw to fit.
- 4). Install the next course by knocking the boards tightly together along their long edges, this time shooting the nails in through the sides of the boards rather than the surface. Shoot the nails at a downward angle, every 10 or 12 inches. Arrange them with the ends staggered, so they don't line up between courses.
- 5). Repeat and continue to work your way across the floor, course by course. Cut the final course of boards along their lengths so they fit along the ending wall with a 3/8-inch gap there. Floor trim will cover the gaps.
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