Step By Step Instructions Of Installing Prefabricated Wood Floor
You need to apply a finish on conventional & long-established hardwood flooring as soon as you install it. Prefabricated wood floor has a permanent finish so you don’t need to withstand with sanding, staining as well as applying layers of finish. While you can place or fix engineered hardwood flooring by gluing or nailing it down, manufacturers offer tongue-and-groove as well as click-lock systems to install the floor in order to make sure that it floats over the subfloor without nails or glue. The prefabricated wood floor can consider, examine, or check wood and concrete, however, the concrete must get fixed 60 to 90 days before installation.
- Remove Quarter-round Or Shoe Molding: Pull out the quarter-round or shoe molding from the perimeter of the room by moving a pry bar smoothly betwixt the molding and the wall before pulling firmly along the length of the wall. Be extremely careful while removing the molding in order to make sure that you can replace it when you finish.
- Clean Any Debris From The Subfloor: Clean any debris from the subfloor with the help of a broom or shop vacuum. Inspect the subfloor thoroughly for any protruding nails or screws. Set nails or screws, to a small degree, below the surface of the subfloor with the help of a hammer or screwdriver. If you notice any loose or squeaky subflooring, then secure it to the floor joists using ring-shank nails long enough in order to penetrate into the floor joists.
- Identify Any High Or Low Spots: Run a straightedge tool or a straight piece of 2-by-4-inch lumber over the subfloor when it comes to identifying any high or low spots. Mark the spots using chalk or marker and strongly suggest if they are high or low.
- Sand The High Spots: Sand the high spots, as long as they are level with the remaining of the floor, using a belt sander loaded with medium-grit sandpaper. Fill low spots using premixed patching compound applied with the help of a trowel. Allow the compound to dry before smoothening it out level with the remaining of the floor with medium-grit sandpaper.
- Measure The Thickness Of The Prefabricated Wood: Calculate the thickness of the prefabricated wood that you are using. Trim that amount from the underside of the doorjambs with the help of a handsaw. Vacuum clean the dust created by the two previous steps. Unroll builder’s felt or other underlayment material in order to make sure it covers the room. Trim pieces to fit the length of the room with the help of a utility knife & then butt edges together. Staple felt down with the help of a staple gun. None of the staple heads should be above the surface of the felt. Tape underlayment material together with the help of a duct tape.
- Snap A Chalk Line & Place Spacers Between Chalk Line & The Wall: Calculate & compute 1/2 inch away from the longest wall. Snap a chalk line before placing 1/2-inch spacers made out of scraps of wood betwixt the chalk line and the wall. Snap extra chalk lines in order to create an expansion gap 1/2 inch away from all the walls.
- Place Several Lengths Of Flooring End To End Through The Chalk Line: Position several lengths of flooring end to end through the chalk line but make sure that the tongue side is facing toward the center of the room. Insert the tongues into the grooved ends or click the ends together which is entirely dependent on the system used by the manufacturer. Trim a strip to fit the end with the help of a handsaw or circular saw having a carbide-tipped blade.
- Stagger All Joints As You Set The Planks: Start the second row with a plank that is betwixt 8 to 10 inches long. Stagger all joints as you are setting the planks. Engineered wood usually comes with different lengths of planks in a box in order to make sure that you can easily stagger the pieces. Continue to set the pieces of the second row by pushing them gently into the boards of the first row. Keep in mind to keep a 1/2-inch expansion gap on the ends.
- Set All The Remaining Rows Of Planks In Place: Set rest of the rows of planks in place. When you get to the last row, calculate how wide the plank needs to be. Permit for the expansion gap before cutting the boards to fit with the help of a circular saw or hand saw.
- Remove The Spacers & Reattach The Shoe Molding Or Quarter Round: Pull out the spacers before reattaching the shoe molding or quarter round with the help of finishing nails set into the wall and not into the floor. Install transitions in doorways in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions.