How to Lay Down Hardwood Wide-Plank Flooring in a Bathroom
- 1). Turn off the water line behind the toilet. Use a wrench to disconnect the line from the tank. Remove the two floor bolts holding down the toilet base. Carry the toilet out of the room. There will be an open toilet drain left in the floor.
- 2). Lay paper underlayment over the floor, in overlapping courses. Staple it down.
- 3). Snap a starting line with your chalk snapline, setting it 1/2 inch out from the wall where you are going to start. (Note: You should generally start at the longest unobstructed edge of the floor; don't start along the wall closest to the toilet drain.)
- 4). Set the first wide-plank floorboard on one end of the starting line, with the grooved edge facing the wall. Nail it down with your floor nailer, shooting the nails through the top every foot along both edges of the board.
- 5). Set a second board off the end of the first, fitting them together by their tongue and groove ends. Nail the second board in the same manner. Repeat, laying the whole first course of boards along the starting line, so there is a 1/2-inch space by the wall. Use a miter saw to cut the last board as needed to fit at the end.
- 6). Lay the second course alongside the first, locking the boards together by their tongue and groove sides. Arrange the boards in a staggered configuration with the first course, so the ends don't line up between courses. (The boards will come in several different lengths to accommodate this.) Secure the boards of the second and subsequent courses by shooting the nails through the sides of the boards at an inward angle rather than through the top.
- 7). Repeat the process of the laying the boards course by course, working your way across the floor, until you get to the toilet drain.
- 8). Lay the next boards loosely over the toilet drain. Mark curved lines on each of the boards with a pencil, showing where the drain will fall under the boards. Add 1/2 inch of space between the marked lines and the edges of the drain.
- 9). Make the curved cuts with a jigsaw. Set the floorboards in place around the drain, leaving the 1/2-inch space bare around the perimeter. Finish the rest of the flooring, cutting the final course lengthwise on a table saw so it fits along the ending wall with a 1/2-inch space left there. (Note: Floor trim will cover the spaces.)
- 10
Install the flange on the toilet drain to raise its level, using the provided screws. Set a new wax ring on the perimeter of the drain. Set the toilet in place. Insert the floor bolts into the base and tighten. Reconnect the water line in the back. Run a line of caulk around the base of the toilet where it meets the floor.
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