There is nothing more beautiful then a hard wood floor. Installing a hardwood floor, however, at least until recently, was a task that only the most advanced DIYers would undertake. The invention of engineered flooring materials and the invention of the floating wood floor changed all that. Today, installing a beautiful hardwood floor is within the skill range of even the most modestly skilled DIYer. Unlike the old style hardwood floors, where each board had to be cut, fitted, and nailed into place individually, a floating hardwood floor goes down quick and easy. Even a rank neophyte can lay a 10’ X 14’ floor in as little as 8 to 10 hours.
A floating hardwood floors are installed over a thin foam sheets that eliminates squeaks and offers a cushioning effect to the soles of your feet. The individual planks, depending on their design, either snap together or are glued together, which allows the whole floor to shift from side-to-side and end-to-end with changes in temperature. Because of this need to shift from side-to-side and end-to-end, you must leave a 5/16” gap between the floating floor and the baseboard or walls all around the perimeter of the floor.
Tools that you will need to install an engineered hardwood floor
1. A miter saw for cutting the flooring and molding to length. The miter saw also assures you of a square cut every time. A power miter saw is great and to be preferred but an old fashion hand powered miter box and saw will work just as well in a pinch.
2. You will need a circular saw or a jig saw to rip the final pieces of flooring to the required width.
3. A flush-cut dovetail saw will be needed for trimming door casings.
4. You will also need a flat pry bar, hammer, tape measure, nail set, and coping saw.
Supplies that you will need
1. Engineered wood flooring
2. Foam underlayment
3. Duct tape
4. Blue painters tape
5. 5/16” spacers
6. Glue
7. 1 ½” (4d) finishing nails
8. Quarter round Shoe molding
9. Transition molding.
All the tools and supplies that I have mentioned or will mention in this article can be purchased at any home center store, like Home Depot or Lowes.
Calculating the amount of material that you will need
Begin by calculating the area of the floor to be covered. Sometimes, if you are working with a floor that isn’t square or rectangular, it is easier to break the area up into smaller squares or rectangles, calculates these areas separately and then add theses areas together to get the total area to be covered. Even those of us who do this for a living find that method quicker then resorting to elaborate formulas. Once you know the total floor area, you are ready to start ordering material.
Most manufactured wood flooring comes in bundles that cover either 11 or 30 square feet, so divide your floor area by the appropriate number and then multiply by 1.1 to allow for waste.
The foam underlayment comes in 3 or 4 foot widths so divide the total area of your floor by the width of the roll to determine how many feet you will need. Once again, multiply by 1.1 to allow for mistakes and waste.
It’s the professionals rule of thumb to add an extra 10 percent when ordering material for any job, hence the 1.1 multiplication factor.
Beginning the project
Once you have the flooring, let it set for 24-hours, so it matches the room’s temperature and humidity before you start the actual installation. With this project as with any project the biggest factor, that determines success or failure lies in the preparation
There are two ways of preparing a room for the installation of a floating hardwood floor. You can remove the baseboard so that the baseboard, when reinstalled, cover the 5/16” gap between the flooring and the walls, or you can leave the baseboard in place and use a quarter round shoe molding to cover the gap. If you have an older home where the wood is dried out from age and has been painted many time, the latter method will probably be your best choice because the odds are that you will damage the baseboards and or the walls if you try to remove them. I always recommend using the quarter round shoe molding to all my customers.
To begin the installation, trim the bottoms of all door casings using your flush-cut dovetail saw. To determine the proper height to make the cut, cut a short length of flooring and place it on a small piece of the foam underlayment. This will allow you to cut a gap wide enough for the flooring to slide easily under.
Next, vacuum the floor to remove all traces of dirt and sawdust before rolling out the foam underlayment. Cover the entire floor with the foam underlayment, trimming it to fit with a razor knife. Make sure the seams butt tightly together and then seal them together using the Duct tape.
Laying the first course
The quickest and easiest way to lay a hardwood floor is the traditional way with the planks running parallel to the room’s longest wall. To lay the first course, place spacers at equal intervals along the wall and one at each end. When laying the plank, lay it with the tongue side facing the room and the flat/groove side facing the wall. Depending on the length of your room you will most likely have to cut a piece to fill in between the last full length piece and the wall. To cut this piece take a measurement between the wall and the last full length plank. Transfer this measurement to a new plank, measuring back from the grooved end. After cutting a new plank to this length apply glue to the groove and align it with the tongue of the last full plank. Now place your flat pry bar between the plank and spacer and lever the joint together. Once the joint is firmly seated, push the planks down in place. Wipe any excess glue from the planks with a wet cloth.
A word of caution is in order here, make sure that you use the glue recommended by the manufacturer of the engineered flooring that you are using.
Laying the remaining courses
Begin each new course with the piece left over from the previous course as long as it’s more then 8” in length. Apply glue to the groove of the new piece and tap into place with a hammer. Make sure you place a block of wood between the plank and your hammer so that you don’t damage the plank’s tongue. When you reach the far wall with the last course, use your flat pry bar to lever it in place. Use your jig saw to cut planks to fit around obstacles like door casing, etc.
Finishing up
With the final course in place you are ready to reinstall the baseboards or the finish shoe molding. Carefully nail the molding in place, placing nails at 12” to 18” intervals, counter sinking them using the nail set. Fill in the holes carefully so you will have to do minimal sanding after the filler has dried. The last step in your project will be to paint or stain the new molding to match your other trim.
