Newbie at installing hardwood

15 years ago

My husband and I are experienced with installing tile (have done a bathroom floor and counter and kitchen counter and backsplash).

Now we're trying to learn how to install hardwood.

We need to remove existing 2 3/4" red oak in the kitchen, entry and dining room and replace it with tile and new engineered wood for some areas including living room, dining room, stairs and upstairs rooms.

I know this will be a longgggg project but wanted to know how difficult is this for newbie hardwood installers (and removal)?

I will go to the library and get some books and research the internet, but any suggestions (internet sites, book or just advice) would be so much appreciated!

My biggest concern is cutting the wood, since with tile, you can cover your mistakes with grout or caulk. ;)

Thanks!!!!

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Comments (7)

ccoombs1
15 years ago
Don't even give it a second though. Although it is labor intensive, it is MUCH easier than tile. There isn't much cutting....only the end pieces get cut. And you leave a 1/2" gap between the board and the wall (which is hidden by baseboard and quarter round) so even a poor cut isn't a problem. I have some good sites saved on my computer at work...I'll post them tomorrow. You may need a table saw to rip some pieces to make them narrower, and you'll need a miter saw to do the cutting.

My VERY first experience installing hardwood was not nice new hardwood, it was warped and twisted old hardwood. And I did not have a pneumatic nailer, I had the kind you have to hit with a rubber mallet to drive the nail. It was a very difficult time consuming job because the wood was so warped, but the floor came out beautiful. If you are handy, this will be an easy project for you.
penaddict
Original Author
15 years ago
Would I have to remove all the baseboards? When you say "leave a 1/2" gap between the board and wall," do I not butt the floor to the wall (under the baseboard)?
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I'm curious to see the replies. My son almost bought an older house, 1951, the wood under the carpet is about 2"wide strips looks like solid wood, but seems to have a lot of nails. Is that how it was done back then? I wondered how it would look if he had them finished, but he backed out of the deal after the inspection. We are about to tear out decent wood because the sun has faded it and since it is not a big area it would cost a lot to refinish, and I hear the refinished floor would need to be done again much sooner than a new prefinished. I wish I could take out the old wood in a way that it could be used by someone, but I think it will get wrecked. The store I am using charges $3 sf to install it, the wood price obviously varies. They use their own employees, no subs, and did a nice job on our mbr and hall, so I will use them even though I dont know what an independent installer would charge. My maple will cost $5.54 sf, plus install.
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weedyacres
15 years ago
I'm a newbie at hardwood floors, but will be trying my first hopefully starting this weekend. I've tiled 7 rooms now, so if it's easier, I'm optimistic!

I found a link about a month ago that had a lot of good details about how-to. I posted a link to the thread below.

My biggest take-aways from doing a lot of research in preparation are:
1. Prep the floor well
2. Plan your layout well (chalk lines for alignment, random seams)
3. Use good tools

Good luck!

Here is a link that might be useful: DIY instructions
penaddict
Original Author
15 years ago
Ahhh, I already feel overwhelmed. Thanks for the links!
floorguy
15 years ago
Is the wood fasten down or glue down?
Is it over wood subfloor and crawl space, or over concrete?
penaddict
Original Author
15 years ago
We don't know how it's currently fastened down but will find out once we start taking it out (any suggestions).
It's over wood subfloor (ocb or plywood).
rivkadr
15 years ago
My husband and I did 1000 feet of wood floor in our house, by ourselves. It was a floating install, which I believe is one of the easier installations to do. We removed all the baseboards, and put new ones in, because the old baseboards were small and ugly. Once you figure out what you're doing, it's actually pretty easy -- just very time consuming.

Newbie at installing hardwood

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ccoombs1

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Newbie at installing hardwood

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ccoombs1

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