How to Install Hardwood Flooring and Keep Your Sanity

Thinking about doing your own hardwood flooring? Before you learn how to install hardwood flooring, you need to choose the type of flooring you want first. From traditional hardwood flooring to flooring that just snaps together, you have dozens if not hundreds of different options.

Laminates and snap-together hardwoods have their own instructions, which will come with the flooring. However, traditional hardwood flooring is more involved. Here are some steps to help get you started.

Before anything else, the flooring base needs to be put down. You want the subfloor to be dry, clean, and level. Before you begin, remove the baseboards.

You want the wood to get acclimated to your house first, so whether you pick up the flooring yourself or have it delivered, time it so that it all gets stacked somewhere in your house for a few days or so. Wood naturally expands and contracts in different temperatures and humidity levels, and if you don't allow it to adjust to your home, it will not fit properly.

When you're considering how to install hardwood flooring, you must determine the direction in which the floor joists (supports) run, and mark their position at the base of the walls for reference. Now you'll need to layer the top of the subfloor with 15-pound asphalt felt.

This does a few things for you: It protects the flooring from moisture and minimizes squeaking and creaking. This is especially important if you're installing the hardwoods in a kitchen or bathroom.

Mark the centerline of your room to indicate the position for the first board. Leave a 1/2 inch gap at the walls as you're installed the flooring.

Make sure to use a nail set to finish each nail you put in by hand, so the hammer doesn't leave indentations. The first three boards or so should be nailed in by hand, even if you're using a pneumatic flooring nailer. This will keep them from shifting.

Learning how to install hardwood flooring isn't all that difficult. However, it takes time and requires precision.

Make sure to visit How to Install for more tips on everything from How to Install Laminate Flooring to How To Install a Door.