Renovation 4th Edition

by Michael Litchfield

  line up the starter row to it. Because you don’t

  face-nail a starter course in the middle of a room,

  Using a piece of scrap to avoid damaging the tongues,

  screw temporary blocks—scrap flooring is fine—

  drive the boards snugly together before nailing them. The

  along the chalkline to keep starter-row boards in

  friction between the tongues and the grooves will usually

  hold them during nailing.

  place. Otherwise, they could drift as you drive

  nails through the tongues. Nail down five or six

  rows, before removing the temporary blocks.

  Next, add wood splines (also called slip

  tongues) to the grooves of starter-row boards,

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  If boards are slightly warped or tongues and grooves are a

  Glue the last row of boards, especially those at the base of The first and last rows of tongue-

  bit swollen, use a thick screwdriver as a lever to draw them a cabinet. Only one edge will engage the board next to it, and-groove floorboards are usually

  together. Hammer the screwdriver point into the subfloor

  and there’s often not enough room to drive nails.

  face-nailed, here with a pneumatic

  to get some traction.

  finish nailer. Draw boards tightly

  together with a flat bar.

  which most flooring stores carry. Adding splines

  allows you to blind-nail toward the opposite wall

  as well. Glue splines to board’s grooves, using

  scrap flooring to drive the splines snug without

  damaging them.

  Installing the rest is straightforward. To speed

  the installation and ensure that board ends are

  staggered at least 6 in. between rows, have a

  helper rack (spread out) floorboards so you can

  quickly tap boards into position with the flooring

  mallet and nail them down. Floorboards come in

  regular lengths from 12 in. to 36 in. So to create a

  random joint pattern, use board remnants with

  irregular lengths to start rows.

  Continue blind-nailing boards every 10 in. to

  12 in., checking periodically to make sure the

  rows are straight. If milling irregularities or

  warping prevents boards from seating correctly,

  use a large flat screwdriver to lever the boards

  snug, as shown in the top left photo. Set aside

  Whenever there’s a tricky transition or a complex

  boards that are too irregular to use; professional

  shape to cut, either scribe the shape or create a

  installers typically order 5% extra to allow for

  template to transfer the shape to the floorboards, as

  warped or poorly milled boards and waste.

  this installer is doing.

  As you approach within a foot or two of the

  opposite wall or next to a base cabinet, you won’t

  have room to use the pneumatic flooring nailer,

  so switch to a pneumatic finish nailer. Nor will

  you have room to swing your flooring mallet, so

  use a pry bar to draw the boards’ edges snug. As

  Flooring

  575

  you get within 6 in. to 8 in. of the wall, measure

  the distance remaining, including 3⁄4 in. for an

  Wood Flooring over Concrete

  expansion joint. In most cases, you’ll need to rip

  down the last row of floorboards. If they are less

  Before purchasing wood flooring for installation over concrete slabs or in below-

  than 1 in. wide, first glue them to the next-to-the-

  grade areas such as basements, check the warranty to see if such installations are

  last row and install the two rows as a unit. Or, if

  allowed. When allowed, most require that excess moisture conditions be corrected

  you’re installing floorboards of varying widths,

  beforehand. in general, engineered wood flooring is a better choice than solid-wood

  rip down a wider board. The last row of boards

  flooring in such locations because engineered flooring is more dimensionally stable.

  should be face-nailed and glued to the subfloor

  When solid-wood flooring is installed over concrete, the slab is typically covered

  as well. Finally, install prefinished transition

  with a 6-mil polyethylene vapor barrier, with 2x4 sleepers (on-face) spaced every 12 in.

  pieces such as thresholds, reducer strips (strips

  to 16 in. over the plastic; power-actuated fasteners then attach the sleepers to the

  that taper to accommodate differing floor

  slab. although it’s possible to nail 3⁄4-in. t&g flooring directly to sleepers, it is likely to

  heights), and so on. When you’ve sanded and fin-

  deflect. Most flooring manufacturers specify a 3⁄4-in. plywood subfloor, with panels run

  ished the flooring, reinstall the baseboards.

  perpendicular to the 2x4s, a 1⁄8-in. gap between panel edges, and a 1⁄2-in. expansion

  Store extra flooring in a dry location. If the

  space around the perimeter of the subfloor.

  flooring has a warranty, file it in a safe place,

  alternatively, some building scientists argue against using plastic vapor barriers and

  along with the flooring’s code number and floor

  for covering concrete surfaces with semipermeable, moisture-tolerant insulation panels,

  care information.

  as discussed on p. 257. they suggest placing 1-in.-thick expanded polystyrene (EPS)

  panels on the concrete floor. EPS’s compressive strength is sufficient that you can then

  “Floating” an Engineered

  cover it with a 1⁄2-in. plywood floor—there’s no need for sleepers.

  Wood Floor

  Engineered wood and plastic-laminated flooring can be nailed or stapled to wood

  As explained earlier in the chapter, engineered

  subflooring, glued directly to a slab, or “floated” over it. Floating systems typically call

  wood flooring can be thought of as a specialized

  for floorboards to be glued or attached to each other, rather than to the subfloor or

  type of plywood, usually five to seven plies thick,

  slab. Many systems feature proprietary underlayments that block moisture and cold and

  with a hardwood veneer face layer—also called

  cushion the flooring so you feel less like you’re walking on concrete. Cosella-dörken’s

  the wear layer. Because it is more stable dimen-

  dElta®-Fl underlayment is a dimpled plastic membrane, and other systems employ foam

  sionally than solid wood, engineered flooring is

  or felt pads. Floating systems can be used over slabs with radiant heating, as well.

  little affected by shifts in temperature or humidi-

  ty. When used with an appropriate underlayment

  layer, it has been installed over a wide range of

  substrates, including plywood, particleboard,

  concrete, resilient flooring, and even ceramic tile.

  This flooring’s wide usage has led to diverse

  methods of installing it, including gluing it to a

  substrate, nailing or stapling it, and floating it—

  in which individual boards are snapped together

  or glued together but that, as an assembly, are

  not attached to the subfloor. This section looks at

  one way to float an engineered wood floor.

  Floating a wood floor is an attractive option for

  many reasons:

  �
�� It is relatively simple to install and

  requires few specialized tools.

   It is the preferred method for installing a

  floor below grade—say, in a basement. It is

  also arguably the simplest way to install

  flooring over concrete.

   It is one of the few acceptable ways to

  install wood flooring over particleboard—

  which makes it an ideal choice to upgrade a

  floor that was previously carpeted.

   It is the preferred installation method

  Every box of boards has variations in color and grain, so take boards from several boxes as you

  over subfloors with radiant heat because there

  install them. Stagger end joints at least 12 in. to 24 in. in adjacent rows. If end joints line up every

  are no flooring nails or staples to puncture

  third or fourth row, it won’t be too noticeable.

  radiant tubing or electrical cables.

  576 Chapter 20

  Heed the maker. The usual warnings about buy- from online flooring suppliers. Here are the other

  P R O T I P

  ing quality and reading the manufacturer’s instal-

  necessary items:

  lation instructions are doubly true when it comes

   Layout: measuring tape, chalkline (taut

  When examining displays of

  to engineered wood flooring. The integrity of the

  string), and straightedge (a flooring board

  engineered wood flooring at a

  product, the thickness of the wear layer, and the

  will do).

  supplier, scratch the flooring

  durability of the finish all argue for buying pre-

   Cutting: chopsaw with a fine crosscut

  with your thumbnail. if that

  mium flooring from a reputable company. Wear

  blade for cutting across boards, tablesaw with

  leaves a white streak on the sur-

  layers vary from 1⁄16 in. to 1⁄4 in. thick. Supposedly, a fence for ripping boards, sabersaw for

  face, be skeptical about the fin-

  wear layers 1⁄8 in. to 1⁄4 in. thick can be refinished

  complex cuts around pipes and the like, and

  ish’s durability.

  two to five times, though it would take a very

  undercut saw or an oscillating multitool for

  light touch to do so successfully.

  trimming the bottoms of door casings.

   Miscellaneous: pry bar, hammer, staple

  ordEring, aCCliMating,

  gun or hammer tacker, utility knife, carpenter’s

  and Storing Flooring

  square, pencil, safety glasses, work gloves, and

  broom or vacuum. Optional: finish nailer.

  After calculating the square footage of the

  

  room(s) to be floored, add 5% to 7% for waste. If

  Materials: approved adhesive or glue for

  you will be installing the flooring in a diagonal

  joining boards, cardboard shims, sponge and

  pattern, add 10%. It’s helpful to have a carton on

  rags for wiping up excess glue, construction

  hand for repairs later, in the event that the prod-

  adhesive for affixing thresholds, and foam or

  uct line is discontinued.

  felt paper underlayment. Replacement

  Have flooring delivered after drywalling and

  baseboards or trim if originals are destroyed

  painting are complete. Ideally, your order should

  removing them.

  arrive five to seven days before you plan to install

  it so it has time to acclimate. Flooring makers

  PrEParing tHE rooM

  recommend room temperatures of 60°F to 80°F,

  If you float engineered wood flooring, you can

  with relative humidity of 35% to 65%. If there’s

  install it over pretty much any substrate—above

  new plaster or concrete present, it should have

  or below grade—as long as that substrate is sta-

  cured for at least 60 to 90 days.

  ble, sturdy, dry, and flat. Again, follow the manu-

  Checking the order. When the shipment arrives, facturer’s specs that come with your flooring to

  set aside cartons that are damaged, damp, or

  protect the warranty. This section describes float-

  delaminating. Open them at once and look for

  ing engineered wood flooring over particleboard

  crushed edges, cupped boards, water stains, blis-

  or plywood, typically 5⁄8 in. or 3⁄4 in. thick, nailed

  tered finishes, and so on. If you see any of these

  to 2x10 floor joists spaced 16 in. on center.

  conditions, reject the shipment. If cartons look

  OK, don’t bother opening them until you are

  ready to install the flooring. But if you reject a

  shipment, you must do so before installation. You

  can’t do so afterwards, piecemeal.

  Wood is irregular, however, so expect to cut

  off occasional sections with small knots. One

  other thing to note when opening cartons: Most

  boards should be 4 ft. to 8 ft. long. Too many

  short boards will yield many more end joints,

  which won’t look as good.

  Storing flooring. When the flooring arrives,

  stack cartons flat in the middle of the room. Do

  not stand cartons on ends or sides, which may

  damage the tongue-and-groove edges. Do not

  store cartons in an unheated garage, directly on

  concrete, or in direct sunlight.

  toolS and MatErialS

  You need only two specialized tools to install

  engineered wood flooring: a hard-plastic tapping

  Thorough prep work is essential. The substrate must be flat, well attached, and clean. Pry off

  block and a metal pull bar. Both are available

  baseboards, and trim the bottoms of door casings so flooring can slip under them. Here, the

  installer uses a scrap of flooring as a depth gauge beneath an undercut saw. You could also use an

  oscillating multitool.

  Flooring

  577

  Remove obstructions. If the room is carpeted,

  Next, measure out from the chalkline to the

  remove it and its padding, then pry up nailing

  opposite wall to determine if the room is square.

  strips and any staples stuck in the subfloor.

  If the room is not square, you will need to scribe

  Because the new flooring will run to within 1⁄2 in. the floorboards along one wall—preferably along

  of finish walls, also remove baseboards, shoe

  the least visible wall. In the photo sequence, the

  molding (if any), and doorway thresholds, as well room was square, so there was no need to scribe

  as heat registers, baseboard heater end caps, pipe floorboards.

  escutcheons, and so on. You will also need to

  Lastly, measure the room’s width—from the

  P R O T I P

  trim the bottoms of door casings so flooring can

  starting wall to the opposite wall—and divide the

  slide under them. The best tool for this last oper-

  room’s width by a board’s width. Engineered

  after stapling underlayment,

  ation is an undercut saw, as shown on p. 577; an

  floorboards vary in width, but the most common

  use a utility knife to cut open-

  oscillating multitool with a wood-cutting blade

  are 6 in. or 7 in. wide. If yours are that width and

  ings fo
r pipe risers and heat

  (see p. 49) is even faster.

  the last row would be less than 2 in. wide, split

  registers. When you’re in a floor-

  the difference. In other words, trim down the

  laying rhythm, it’s easy to forget

  Secure the subfloor. After vacuuming it well,

  first row so that both the first and last rows will

  and floor over registers.

  walk the subfloor (or floor) and note squeaks.

  have roughly the same width.

  Using ring-shank nails, nail down squeaky spots,

  or, better, countersink wood screws into noisy

  laying row one. Place cardboard shims every

  boards. That done, use a straightedge to survey

  2 ft. to 3 ft. along the wall to establish a 1⁄2-in.

  the floor for high and low spots. Shaw® Floors’

  expansion gap and, as needed, to create a straight

  specs call for the substrate to be flat within 1⁄8 in.

  surface for the first row of boards. To determine

  of a 6-ft. span. Sand down high spots or fill low

  the length of that first row, measure the length of

  spots, using a cement-based leveling compound

  the wall and subtract 1 in.—to allow 1⁄2-in. gaps

  such as Ardex Feather Finish®, which is self-

  at each end. Place boards with the grooved edges

  drying and has excellent compressive strength.

  toward the wall; tongue edges will face out into

  the room. Apply glue to boards’ butt-end grooves,

  Apply the underlayment. Again, follow the

  fit boards together by hand, and snug them

  manufacturer’s specs. Below-grade installations

  against the shims along the wall. Tap board ends

  over concrete, for example, can be quite exacting, together, using a pull bar. Then place a straight-

  employing a seam-sealed 6-mil poly film vapor

  edge along the tongues to make sure boards are

  barrier used in tandem with an approved foam

  lined up straight.

  pad layer. Above grade, tar paper is often used as

  Note: Place shims behind end joints in the

  underlayment, although quality installations

  first row, too.

  favor a foam layer because it cushions floating

  floor systems, mitigates substrate irregularities,

  don’t overglue. Board edges are machined to

  and soundproofs to a degree. When stapling

  fit tightly and are glued only to add stability.

  foam underlayment, use as few staples as possi-

  Apply glue to the bottoms of grooves, filling them