HOW TO INSTALL HARDWOOD FLOOR
Hardwood floors are easy to install as well as to maintain. Compared to the carpets and rugs hardwood floors are easier to clean. Hardwood flooring is installed in many houses but most of the time the home owners get confused regarding which installation method to use.
A number of methods can be followed to install hardwood floors. The mostly used hardwood floor installation methods include float method, glue down method, staple down method and nail down method. If you have the skills then you can install hardwood floors in your home all by yourself or you can seek help from the professionals.
Before adopting any of the installation process, you have to find out whether the sub floor of your house is made of concrete or plywood. If you have a plywood sub floor then any of the above mentioned methods can be used. If the sub floor is prepared from concrete then it is better to avoid staple down and nail down methods.
- Staple Down Installation: This method is applied while installing engineered hardwood flooring. Sometimes specific type of staples is required for installing certain hardwood floors. So first try to know the type of hardwood you will be installing. While applying this method for floor installation, one has to be very careful about stapling down the planks in order so that no gap is left in between them.
- Float Installation: This method of hardwood floor installation has become popular in the recent years. For engineered hardwood flooring float method is very suitable. First an underlayment prepared from plastic or foam or a combination of both is spread. The wood flooring is placed on this underlayment. Then water based glue is used to fix the tongue and groove of the planks. Since the planks are glued with one another, the hardwood floor is less affected from contraction and expansion as it generally is with other methods of floor installation.
- Glue Down Installation: This is another very common method of hardwood floor installation over a concrete sub floor. This method can also be applicable for hardwood installation on plywood sub floor. But in this type of installation the sub floor should be completely even and flat or else popping may take place and the glued down planks can get loose from one another.
- Nail Down Installation: This method is used to install the thick and solid hardwood floors. Compared to the engineered hardwood floors, the solid hardwood floors are more prone towards shrinking and expanding due to change of climatic conditions. Thus for this type of material it is good to nail down the planks to place them properly.
While installing hardwood flooring in your house, you can choose from the different varieties of hardwood like planks, hardwood of parquet design and strip hardwood. If a home owner has decided to install hardwood floors then he can be assured that he is spending on the best kind of flooring products. Compared to other materials of flooring, the hardwood flooring has more longevity.