Hardwood Floors - About Hardwood Flooring Installation
To read more about hardwood floor care and advice about installing laminate flooring visit Best Flooring Options.
Hardwood flooring installation can be an arduous and sometimes complicated job, but if you feel comfortable giving it a go personally, you can end up saving quite a bit of money. Properly installed hardwoods can last for generations, even under moist and humid circumstances, such as in a bathroom. With a little advice and a step by step guide, as well as plenty of time, hardwood flooring installation can be done without exorbitant professional services.
Moisture is the number one enemy of hardwood flooring. Moisture can gradually warp the surface of the wood as it expands and contracts. This does not mean, however, that hardwood flooring cannot be installed in wetter circumstances. Hardwood flooring simply requires a little preventive care in order to function well under these conditions. Installing hardwood with an asphalt felt should provide a guarantee against rotting and warping of the hardwood. Take 15 pound asphalt felt, and put it over the subfloor in overlapping sections. The felt should be tacked down with a staple gun.
Leave a little gap, approximately half an inch, between the asphalt felt and the wall. A baseboard or base shoe will be secured in these smaller spaces between the flooring and the wall. The initial three boards of the flooring should be laid out by hand. Board lengths are normally random, so portions of the flooring should be set out as a test before nailing down. When the first boards are placed, the remainder can be put out with a flooring nailer. This will make it simpler to do a good job of laying out the flooring.
When the new flooring creates an uneven surface, you can employ a reducer to create an even meeting point. When preparing to install a hardwood floor, be certain to safely store the wood. Storing the wood outside where it can get wet will lead to uneven flooring that does not fit together. If the flooring must be stored outdoors, be sure to protect it with a waterproof tarp. This will reduce any possible damage from moisture, which can warp and bend expensive wood flooring very quickly. Do not transport wood flooring in an open bed when weather conditions could give rise to rain or high humidity.
