Hardwood flooring can add a lot to a room. It carries with it benefits that are both practical and aesthetically pleasing. You can install a great looking wood floor in your room, and have the benefit of easier cleanups and not having to deal with staining carpets. To clean up a hardwood floor, all you have to do is either sweep or mop. You won’t have to spend huge amounts of money to get it professionally cleaned, like you may have to do with a carpet after enough years have passed. You can easily pay someone to install hardwood flooring, but why would you do that when you could enjoy the experience doing it yourself? Read on to find out about the basics of how to install hardwood floor. You may find that it sounds easy enough for you to do.

First you need to gather the necessary tools and supplies. The most helpful tool is the simplest one: a marker. If you use a marker to signify where all of the pieces belong, you will have a much easier time. You will also need the raw material (wood), preferably with grooves that will allow you to fit them together. This not only makes it easier to assemble the floor, but it also prevents warping in the future. Most wood flooring comes with these grooves, so you probably won’t have to go out of your way to find them. Finally, with hardwood floor installation you need a staple gun to fasten the boards to the subfloor.

When you start the floor, you will want to begin at a preset point. This could be the point where you want your wood flooring to transition to carpet, or the wall where you want it to start. Pick the straightest board you can find, and line it up perfectly with the starting line. If it isn’t against a wall, you will want to use something to pin the wood down and keep it from sliding around. After you have the first board in place, simply start laying out the rest of the room piece by piece, staplng. You will encounter many stubborn boards along the way. They can curve in 2 directions – from side to side, or bottom to top. If you have boards that are curving from side to side, you will have an unsightly gap. Usually you can cure it by simply forcing the wood straight into its spot. If you need to, get some leverage with a crowbar or with another board. If the board is popping up off of the ground, step on the middle (or on the ends) to force it down and in. Once you get it in the groove and staple it in, you are not likely to have more problems with it popping out.

You should try to space the stapes about 8-16 inches apart from each other. For each row of boards, you should avoid placing the seams nearby each other. As a rule, give them about a foot of space each. As long as you pay attention to these certain rules, you will have a great-looking hardwood floor in no time at all.

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