When we purchased our new house, one of the things we knew would have to change was the flooring. The walls were coming out, and there was a hodgepodge of flooring with vinyl and more vinyl on top of vinyl. Oh, and mold in between all the vinyls. And a blend of various carpets too, which of course with walls coming out, wouldn’t work.
So early on, we began our search for the hardwoods we wanted to place in the house and we fell in love with Pergo’s Flint Maple floors from their American Era collection.
Boy, are we glad we did.
It’s one of the changes we’re so glad we made, and we love the unity and impact it brought to our spaces.
We’ve already shared a little on the site about picking hardwoods (here).
The question we really didn’t answer was why we chose hardwood over carpet throughout the home.
There were a lot of reasons, really. But one of the biggest?
They say an image is worth a 1,000 words…
That right there my good friends, is the dust and dirt we swept up from our previous home, before installing hardwoods there. Eewww gross, right? It’s what was left in one room when we replaced our carpet after 8 years. And yes, that is a full-sized banana for size reference.
But before you start thinking we’re just nasty people, let me assure you… we’re NOT.
We’re totally the no-shoes-in-your-house kinda people. To each their own, but it’s definitely how we roll. The kind that even sell a sign on the site to help other like-minded people politely ask guests to their homes to also remove their shoes. (Pssst…Get the sign here)
We wear out vacuums like they’re going out of style, and even though we do have two ginormous dogs, we know we need to stay on top of it. We’re generally OCD about our home. Sorry not sorry.
What we discovered is that no amount of cleanliness and routine scrubs really gets that carpet clean. So after years of struggling with seasonal allergies and eliminating problems in any way we could, we vowed not to install carpet in our next house. And let me just say, our allergies have already improved.
So today, we thought we’d share some helpful tips for those of you we’ve now freaked out or who just love the beauty of hardwoods.
(These are tips for installing pre-finished solid hardwood, there are several different methods for the different types of hardwood options so please be sure to fully read and follow all manufacturer instructions before attempting to install a hardwood floor to make sure you are using the right method for the material you have and for the conditions inside your home. #lawyersarehappy)
Measure and order
• After you’ve decided on your hardwoods, you’ll want to measure and order them. This is relatively simple, but like everything pertaining to math, make sure to double {triple} check.
• You’ll measure every space by it’s length and its width at the longest points, then multiply the two numbers. If you have a space that contains alcoves, or juts out, or has other odd shapes simply break the space in two and measure each square, rectangle or whatever shape you end up with. Once you’ve multiplied those individual portions of the space, simply add them together for the total amount of hardwood you’ll need. For more details on measuring your floor, check out Pergo’s “How to Buy” page.
• Make sure to add all your spaces together, then multiply the total times 115%. The extra 15% is for your waste, cutoffs, mistakes and generally to make sure you have enough wood. Add an extra 5-10% for more complex installations like diagonal installs or installs with a lot of corners or rounded edges.
Preparing the subfloor
If you’re on a concrete slab:
• You’ll need to scrape all the glue and generally clean up the concrete. Then check for a level surface and make sure that there aren’t any major issues with the concrete. If there are large cracks or the floor isn’t level, be sure to fix these issues, whether it’s filling low spots or grinding off high spots.
If you’re working on a plywood subfloor:
• Inspect all the boards to make sure they’re in good condition, free of all nails and debris. You’ll also want to walk the room to make sure you don’t have any loose boards that need to be nailed down to the joist a little better. And finally, verify that you are working with a 3/4 inch plywood subfloor. If not, add additional underlayment panels as explained in the manufacturer’s installation instructions.
• You’ll also want to remove any old shoe molding or quarter round.
Vapor Barrier
• Hardwood should never be exposed to wet conditions, and this includes after installation. To help with this, you’ll need to install a vapor barrier.
• On a non-concrete surface, this is pretty simple. You want to purchase the same amount of barrier that you ordered in hardwood. There are several options available at several price points.
• If you’re installing on a slab, it’s a good idea to prime the concrete before you lay the vapor barrier, as this adds one more level of protection. Then you’ll want to apply cutback adhesive to help hold the vapor barrier down. You can repeat this step to add extra protection as well. Then lay a nailing surface over the vapor barrier covering the entire floor. This is typically a layer of plywood.
• If you’re installing over a crawlspace or second level, you’ll simply roll out 15# felt paper and attach it to the subfloor with a staple hammer.
Acclimate the wood
• You’ll need to acclimate your hardwoods in the environment that they’ll live in. This needs to be done for a minimum of 72 hours, but a preferred 7 days. This will give the wood time to adjust to the final environment and help with any shrinking issues that it might face.
Tools you’ll need:
• pry bar
• mallet
• nail set
• drill and drill bits
Pick your pattern and direction
• If you haven’t yet, you’ll want to pull out some of your hardwoods and play with the direction you want to lay them as well as develop a little bit of a pattern. We were sure to lay them out in our main room and decide how they should be mixed for a good, organic pattern.
•You’ll want to keep in mind that going perpendicular to the joists will offer the most stability and reduce the risk of squeaky boards.
• One rule of thumb is that a lot of people prefer the wood to go with the flow of traffic, in other words as you walk in the door the wood will walk with you, you won’t walk over the planks. But this is preference and it’s your home, so do what you feel works the best.
• We used Pergo’s Flint Maple floors from their American Era collection in our current home. These are 5″ boards and come in varying lengths, which makes laying them easier. But it is always a good idea to lay out a good portion of the room before you start.
Expansion gap and starting lines
• If possible, start against a straight, long wall.
• You’ll mark out 1/2″ from the wall on both ends. I then like to measure to the other wall to check how square the room is. You can at this point make adjustments to one of your marks if you choose. If your room isn’t square you’ll either correct it at the start or at the finish. Either way is fine.
• Once you have both marks, simply pop a chalk line on the floor, this will be your starting line for the first row.
Begin laying the wood.
• With the first 1-3 rows (depending on your nailer) you’ll need to face nail the planks into place with a finish nailer. This simply means you will be nailing through the top of the planks. You will use your nail set to make sure the nails are deep enough and then add a little wood putty to cover the nail hole. Always make sure pieces are flush together before nailing them in place and use a scrap piece of flooring to properly set your tools to prevent damage.
• Line up your first plank on the chalk line with the grooved side facing in. I believe it is easier to begin with a long piece and begin nailing it. Continue down the row until you reach the end. When you reach the end, simply cut the last piece to size leaving a 1/2 inch between the end and the wall for your expansion gap. You can use a pry bar to push the last two pieces together.
• You can start the next row with this cutoff piece.
• You’ll continue down the second row tusing a mechanical fastener until the room is complete.
• You’ll continue laying the hardwoods in the same fashion throughout the house and carrying them into the next room so that the lines continue.
• If you mess up and need to remove a piece, you can first try to pry it loose, but if you are having to apply too much pressure to remove it, it’s better to cut it out using a circular saw set at the right depth for your hardwoods. This will allow you to butt right behind the staples and easily remove the piece without damaging the piece next to it. You’ll nail the final row(s) in the same way you nailed the first couple of rows, using the finish nailer.
• If you encounter cabinets or other obstacles, the best thing is to slide the hardwood underneath. However, if that isn’t an option, try to get them as flush as possible to the obstacle knowing that you might need to add a piece of molding to cover the gaps.
• And finally, the best advice we can give you is to have patience and grab a friend to help you. It makes any project better.
We hope this helps get you started if you’re ready to tackle a project like this, or you’ve been curious about the process.
We’re loving our hardwoods and while doing a lot of the things in the house ourselves was definitely a lot of work, it was well worth it in the end.
As always, let us know if you have any questions. Have an inspired day!
:: This post was brought to you in partnership Pergo. All opinions are 100% ours. Please read our full disclosure pertaining to partnerships here ::
Bonnie says
Your floors are just beautiful! Thanks so much for all the good suggestions and tutorial. I had the floors in my kitchen and living area, utility room, and one bath replaced. The old vinyl had holes in some of it. It made a huge difference! Now, I just need to replace the flooring in the rest of my home but I tell myself to take one step at a time.
jamin says
Always one step at a time. I think people get overwhelmed and believe it should happen over-night, but that’s not reality, baby steps and just keep moving forward! Best of luck with the renovations!
Deck Builders Seattle Pros says
These are really excellent tips. I have recently had a hardwood floor laid in my house so these tips on caring for the wood are just what I was looking for and very helpful. Hopefully it should last a lifetime if you look after it properly. Jenny