Installing Hardwood Flooring

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If that sounds complicated, better read it over again before you tackle the grading rules which follow. I'll just cover oak to be merciful: The cut can be a standard plain-sawn or a special quartersawn order. The difference is that quartersawn wood is cut perpendicular to the tree's growth rings, offering a straighter grain and less tendency to swell and warp. Once installed, the difference is mostly visual, since the interlocking tongues and grooves keep movement to a minimum.

Better strip flooring (Fig. 1) is end-matched (the ends as well as the sides have a machined joint) and hollow backed—meaning the bottom surfaces are relieved slightly to allow for irregular mounting surfaces. You'll find that oak comes in five grades, based on appearance and length.

Clear is rated the best, as it's free of defects and has a uniform color. Select has a limited number of "character marks" and a cleaner appearance than the No. 1 and No. 2 common grades, which are accented by a range of colors and natural imperfections. And though shorts are just manufacturing surplus, they offer a welcome variety in use because they're a combination of all grades. Prefinished oak and the other hardwoods and softwoods have similar levels of quality, and are designated by name, number or letter.

Which type of flooring you choose is up to you—but if you hope to stand on tradition, the 2 1/4" clear oak strip in a light stain gives a formal look, while a common grade stained darker offers a rustic appearance. Plugged plank flooring is often used in Colonial homes and libraries. OK—now that you have that wisdom under your belt, it's time to find out what's under the surface you're walking on. Is there a chance that finished wood hides beneath that vinyl tile? Unless you're prepared to resurface the floor in any case, pick an inconspicuous spot and pry or peel up the covering with a broad putty knife. You'll probably see a brown underlayment beneath; it's a 1/4" or so sheet of particle board, plywood or hardboard used to level the floor below and provide additional rigidity.

If you can get a corner of that material up without cracking it, you should be able to determine if the original flooring still exists. It could be linoleum or asphalt tile, or it may be strip or plank flooring that's worn but restorable. On the other hand, the flooring could have been ripped up long ago, leaving a plywood or 1 X 6 subfloor to serve as a sound basis for the project you're about to take on. Here's where the road forks. If you were honestly just looking for buried treasure and it wasn't there, you can put the material back where it was and forget it—you haven't spent a dime. If there's wood flooring in place, you'll have to strip away everything on top of it to check its condition. And if you want hardwood and it's not there, you'll still have to expose the subfloor to begin the job right. The last option is the most involved, so let's concentrate on that.

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