| Learning how to install hardwood flooring is important for a long-lasting floor that won’t cause you problems. Your big question right now probably is who is handling installing hardwood flooring in your home or office. Are you installing wood flooring on top of concrete or vinyl flooring, adjacent to carpet, or directly to a plywood or OSB sub-floor? Will you get fancy by installing herringbone hardwood flooring, or stay simple and go in conventional straight lines? |
Installing hardwood flooring can be a cinch, or it can be a nightmare, depending on the sub-floor you are working with and the pattern you want to create. Do you do it yourself or hire it done?
There are three general methods installing hardwood flooring in your home.
- Floating
- Gluing
- Nailing
When it comes to choosing the best installation method, your sub-flooring should be taken into consideration to narrow down your installation options. If you have plywood sub-floors you can choose any installation method, but if your sub-floors are concrete, floating or gluing are advised. One trick of having a professional looking job is to start at a focal point, like a fireplace hearth and work from there. Once you establish your starting point, snap a chalk line so you have a straight reference point.
You can install wood flooring on concrete with proper care. Installing hardwood on top of vinyl or linoleum flooring may not take any preparation, other than starting with a clean surface. Installing hardwood flooring to carpet will often require a reducer strip to account for the different thicknesses.
Patterns for wood floor installations can be lots of fun. You could consider installing herringbone hardwood flooring pattern. Or think about a diamond shape. Maybe using different colors of wood can create a pattern like a throw rug with one color of wood acting as the border around the simulated rug. There are so many ways you can create interest with your hardwood floor installation.
Let’s look in detail at the different installation methods.
Floating:
The floating method of installing hardwood flooring has become very popular in recent years. Floating is a very stable installation method since it’s not attached to the sub-floor. It floats above it, allowing for the natural expansion and contraction of a natural product. Unlike other installation methods where each plank or strip is installed individually directly to the sub-floor, a floating installation involves gluing or clicking the boards together.
This method is very common with engineered and laminate hardwood flooring. Before beginning your floating hardwood floor installation decide if you want an underlayment (made of foam, plastic, or cork) to help insulate noise transmission. If you want that muffling, then the underlayment must be put down first. The wood flooring is then laid on top of the underlayment. The glue used along the edges can be water-based or petroleum-based, and it is applied to the groove of the plank and the boards are then tapped together using what is known as a tapping block. Excess glue is wiped off with a damp cloth. Repeat the process until the room is complete. That’s it!
The clicking method (or CLIC) literally involved clicking the tongue and groove edges together for each board you lay. it’s faster and cleaner because you don’t have to take the step of applying glue, and then wiping excess off the surface.
The floating installation is an excellent do-it-yourself method and someone with little or no experience can get great results.
Glue Down:
You opt for a glue down installation primarily when installing an engineered strip or plank floor over a concrete sub-floor. Glue down installations can be very stable once properly installed. The glue down method can be used with plywood sub-floors, making the wood floor quieter than with either floating or staple down floors because there is less creaking.
Before installing using the glue down method for your wood floor, you need to ensure that your sub-floor is level. If your sub-floor isn’t level, you can have serious problems such as popping because of improper bonding due to insufficient contact between the sub-floor and wood plank. If your sub-floor is uneven you will need to use a leveling compound before installation. Once the sub-floor is level, you can proceed with gluing your flooring using the manufacturer’s recommended adhesive. As the adhesive dries it shrinks, pulling your wood floor tighter to the sub-floor and giving a stronger attachment.
Installing glue down hardwood flooring on concrete takes care. Make sure the concrete is dry and not wicking moisture from the ground to your wood, causing it to warp. Check the levelness of the concrete and fix areas that aren’t level and smooth. Consider an underlayment to help insulate against cold temperatures.
Glue down installations are recommended for those who have experience working with the preparations methods that are described above. Be careful of fumes when working in an enclosed area too.
Nail Down:
Nail down installations are used when installing solid and engineered wood flooring. Solid wood flooring expands and contracts more than engineered and laminate flooring, so take care to acclimate the wood to your home’s interior before starting the installation.
Longer pieces should always be placed at entries and doorways if you are working with random lengths and the shorter pieces should be integrated throughout the floor. Nail down installations require that you place spacers around the perimeter of the room to allow the floor to expand and contract. When positioning your boards the groove side should be against the wall. Nails should go through the face of the boards and nails should be long enough to penetrate the sub floor by at least 1 inch.
Nail down installations will require some basic carpentry skills and specialized tools such as a floor nailer, miter and jamb saws. This method of hardwood flooring installation is not recommended as a do-it-yourself project.
Stapling, a variation of Nailing:
Staple installations have become very popular and is mainly used with engineered wood flooring. The staple down method is used over plywood or wood sub-floors. Certain woods may require specific staple sizes to ensure a secure installation; your manufacturer can give you this information.
Staple down installations are recommended for those with a moderate amount of skill using power tools. When stapling hardwood flooring, a special stapler is required. This can be rented from most equipment rental stores
Now that you know the installation methods available, you will be able to choose which is best for your hardwood flooring installation. Will you tackle the project, or hire it done?
Alex – Peter’s right. Kudos Peter for thinking *outside the box*!
Flooring Lady,
Thanks again for your good advice. Here’s the new situation. We filled in a sunken living room with a sleeper system and 3/4″ t&g plywood subfloor to match the height of an adjacent concrete floored dining room. We would like to run the same material from one room to the other continuously across the change in materials and perpendicular to the change. Can we do a glue down across this gap with either hardwood, bamboo or engineered flooring, or is floating the best option? If we float, then does that rule out bamboo? Thanks again.
Carl
And one footnote:
Is there a material that can span the joint between dissimilar subfloors for a glue dow? Can the wood over the plywood subfloor be nailed and the glued over concrete?
Again, many thanks
Carl
Hi Carl,
There such a thing as floating engineered bamboo flooring – the link takes you the page on this site that tells about it. Very durable and beautiful.
You should be able to glue down or float, just depends on your your preference.
You’ve lost me on the second posted question – try again. Perhaps need more info on your idea that you’re getting at too.
Can I lay hardwood on top of my old vinyl or do I need to strip all of the vinyl before I lay the hardwood on?
Hi Chuck,
You can, but you really should remove the vinyl. You should read over your warranty too, installing over vinyl might void the warranty. What’s under the vinyl?
I have an engineered hardwood floor glued down on concrete. There is one spot that gives where a small area of concrete wasn’t completely level.
What could be done now that the floors are installed? Is there anything that could be put under it that the board could still be glued to?
About the only thing I can think of is maybe putting something like roofing felt under it (or something else that’s thin). I don’t know how much you need to build it up, but you can use multiple layers of the felt. Obviously, it won’t glue onto the cement, but you can glue the felt to the cement if you feel the need. Good luck!
My installer put in cardboard to even out a dip in the sub floor before nailing down the hardwood. when questioned says that it will be ok. I am not sure. can any thing be done? many thanks.
Hi Flooring Lady,
We are installing solid 5/8″ thick bamboo on a concrete subfloor. If the bamboo needs 5/8” to expand and contract how could we install the wood around the fireplace mantel? Is it ok to put the wood right up against the tile? Would we have to use a reducer? The tile around the fireplace is about 1/4” thick so the bamboo reducer doesn’t lay flat. Please help we are at a stand still.
Yes, this is common and considered ok. I prefer to use roofing felt though. ;~)
Yes, use a reducer of some sort.
Selena,
When I installed my bamboo floor I acclimated it, following The Flooring Lady’s advice, for much longer than the manufacturer recommended. When it was as dry as it was going to get I left a 1/2″ gap around the perimeter of the room for possible expansion — except at the fireplace. I used sanded caulk so that it would expand and contract with the little bit of movement I anticipated I’d have in our floor. Years later it’s working fine. I had tried grout but it cracked so I cleaned it out and replaced it with the sanded caulk.
Thanks Randolph for your input and insight. It helps so much when real people share their real personal experiences here.
One last question, we are debating on weather to install the bamboo all the way into the kitchen since the family room and kitchen flow right into each other. Whate would you recomend, wood Vs tile?
Thanks
For all the help on my first question.
Is it important to have 5/8″ instead of 3/8″ bamboo flooring? Or is the thickness of the subfloor the important factor?
Please answer by email. Thanks.
Hi Selena,
It’s really more of what you personally like, it doesn’t matter if it’s tile or continuous with just the bamboo – either will look just fine. So, I guess the big question of the day is “What do you like?”
Hi Maris,
Those are both important things to consider. The sturdier your subfloor is, then the less problems you should have with your hardwood that you install.
Thicker is better when it comes to the hardwood itself because the thicker it is the more times it can be refinished sucessfully before you would have to replace it.
We are installing 5/16″ hardwood flooring and we have been receiving some conflicting information.
I read that if we do not buy the $120-150 (1408) glue we will regret it in the long-run but my husband had a floor installer tell him that we would be equally served by the $70 glue (1407) because the wood is so thin. Which is true? What glue is the best for our job?
Also, this floor installer told my husband that we did not have to nail the wood down on the second floor. He said that we could just as well glue it to the wood (particle board/plywood?) subfloor and we would not have any problems.
Could you please give us some guidance as to what is truly best?
Hi Cassandra,
I don’t know which glue would be better, I’d suggest using your favorite search engine to research what others say about those products.
As far as the second story floor is concerned, most installers will lay felt on the floor first (to help muffle noise downstairs) and nail it. I wouldn’t recommend gluing it and I’m not sure how common this is for installers to do. Less work – yes….. better? I don’t know.
If it were my house & money, I’d opt for a second or even third opinion/estimate.