Installing Hardwood Flooring

Article Tools

Image Gallery

Print

E-mail

Comments

RSS

Visually, a repeating pattern of narrow-towide boards is most appealing. When you come to the opposite wall, you'll need to facenail the last few courses. A simple wedge-block (Fig. 9) will draw the strips tight for fastening; then you may have to rip the final run to fit along the wall, leaving the required 3/4" gap. Of course, you may run into some situations that call for a special touch. Obstructions such as hearths and stairwells look best when framed out with header boards—tongue-and-groove pieces usually wider than the strips themselves.

They should be mitered at the corners, then face-screwed in place and plugged. Too, where the flooring changes direction (at closets, alcoves and hallways, for example), meeting grooves can be joined with a slip tongue available from the dealer. The strips are then nailed as usual. If door and passage casings are in the way, they can be undercut with a handsaw to allow the floor to fit underneath. Block flooring and the methods for installing it vary so much among manufacturers that it's difficult to detail accurately. But the gist of the operation consists of first applying an adhesive mastic to the subfloor.

For a standard square pattern, the floor is marked with a base line placed at a distance equal to five block units from the main entryway into the room. Then a test line is snapped through the center of this line, at a right angle to it. To check for square, measure 4' from the intersection along one axis, and 3' along the other. The distance between the ends of these lines should be 5'. The wood blocks are laid in a pyramid pattern along the test line, starting at the intersection and working right, left and forward in stair-step sequence (Fig. 10). This procedure prevents any discrepancies in the wood from being magnified into misalignment.

Lay one quadrant of the room at a time until it's completed, then go back and cut sections of block to fit 3/4" from the walls. Cork strips are sometimes used at the edges to allow for expansion.

The Finishing Touches

If there's any one aspect of floor installation that should be handled by a professional, it's the sanding work. Nonetheless, a first-timer can do a respectable job with good equipment and attention to detail. You'll need two sanders to finish—or refinish—a floor: a drum sander and a power edger. The first tool can be rented for about $33 a day, the second for around half that. Even if you own a disk sander, get the edger; it's made just for floor work and has a light, a base guard and wheels that'll make your effort worth something when you're through. You should pick up a quantity of sandpaper, too.

A 36-grit will be about right for the initial cuts; the intermediate work will take 50- or 60-grit, and the final sanding requires fine paper—100 or 120 should do. Begin by sweeping the floor clean and sinking any protruding nailheads. Bookcases and electronic equipment should be covered with plastic sheeting. Load the drum sander with coarse paper, and prepare to work the right side of the room, starting at a point that puts onethird of the floor behind you. With the motor on, gradually let up on the handle to lower the drum to the surface-walking forward at the same time.

RSS | Comments | E-mail | Print