DIY Hardwood Floors Installation Tips

may perceive to be an awesome looking job may not be in the eyes of others. While it's true hardwood floors increase a home's resale value and/or sells a property faster; will your work stand up to the discriminating buyer who looks at everything? Those beautiful hardwood floors may look great until closer inspection.

Upon doing some personal inspections of DIY hardwood jobs I have to conclude there may be one out of four who can do a reasonable job or one that may pass the test of what may be your biggest obstacle; the next home buyer.

Another item to consider is how long you want to be out of action for other fun things. Handling a hardwood flooring project will take a toll on muscles rarely used. Expect sore knees and an aching back for a few weeks depending on how much you plan to do in any given time. Remember the last time you handled a jet ski or did a similar activity? I don't know about you, but it took me weeks to get back to normal, and I thought I was in reasonable shape.

Some DIY Tools

.....besides what you see on the other sites

Solid 3/4" Installations- Considering the majority do it yourself installations are of the prefinished flavor we'll look at hardwood flooring nailers. There are manual flooring nailers but they can take a toll on anyone and become very labor intensive especially when dealing with some of the very hard exotic hardwoods. Visit our what's needed page to get an idea what kind of power and/or pneumatic tools you may need.

Some Basic Tools Include: Tape measure, hammer, pry bar, hand saw (used for under-cutting door casings), chalk line, carpenters square, broom, utility knife, knee pads, sweat band(s) and YES a pencil, no pens!

Renting Power Tools?: In our last visit to the big orange place we found they offer more each time we visit. Not only can you rent pneumatic nailers/staplers and compressors. They now offer table saws and compound miter saws available for the day or week. Rental costs run about $35 per day for any larger power tool and $130 for the week.

Glue Down Installations- Of all hardwood flooring failures, glue downs lead the pack by a wide margin. By using the proper adhesives, correct amount, along with proper floor preparation these types of installations work everyday. Floor preparation? Why didn't I mention that already? For any type of installation, one can follow the book to a tee and still have problems if you have a poor subfloor to work with. Pay strict attention to tolerances suggested by manufacturers. Somebody once said; "your final floor covering will be just as good as the subfloor itself." No matter what the price of the new floor covering.

We do not consider glue down floors as a DIY project. However if you're determined on tackling gluing down hardwood floors stay away from everything in sight until you get the stuff cleaned from your shoes, clothes, hair, hands...you name it. Cover other areas including carpet. Keep the critters (animals and kids) away from the work area until it is safe to do so.

Floating Floor Installations- Are more for the do it yourselfer but don't neglect floor prep. Any high or low areas in the subfloor, if not corrected, will give a bouncy effect, creak when walking on, and can break down the interlocking system of the floor itself. Floating systems can be glued by tongue and groove, or installed by the snap together method depending on the manufacturer. Don't worry about this adhesive. It's mild in odor and provides easier cleanup compared to the gooey smelly stuff used for gluing direct to the subfloor.

Moisture Testing and Installation Environment- Should be considered for any successful long term, trouble free hardwood floor. Not followed properly could send your fabulous work down the drain.

Updated November 2008

We've compiled some very useful do it yourself pages filled with pictures and descriptions of many types of installations, including stairs.