Acclimating Hardwood flooring before installation

[Mark Brown]

If your measurements are true then that looks great, you have all of two ends that are less than half a board and i dont see anything under an inch. I am not a lot of help on layout because a long long time ago i realized there is nothing to change the dimensions of a home and that if i run the most important things and give up after that the layout angels will look after me from there on out. If you need to scribe boards into crooked walls that is no thing, in fact it is a common thing, I am more shocked when i can run my hardwood rips on a fence.

One thing you want to be damn sure of is that your boards actually are a true 5" because if you are off by a 32 that adds up to half inches over a width less than 8' this is where someone might want to put a few boards together and measure them. I use a metric tape, so I never can be bothered, but it has its utility.

 

[jake18v]

Thanks Mark. I'll verify that the boards are a true 5".

What kind of glue do you guys like for the edge boards that my flooring nailer cannot reach? I'm going to face nail and tongue nail those boards with a 15ga nailer. I read a urethane based glue is ideal. Can I use the tubes of Loctite Polyurethane PL Premium?

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Loctite...hane-Construction-Adhesive-1390594/202020474?

 

[Mark Brown]

Oh heavens no. I mean ok, i bet eveyone who ever installed hardwood has at one point or another done just that but you do not want to use a construction style adhesive. You want a formulated hardwood flooring adhesive. My go to for years was bona R850-T but Mapei just released an adhesive that i cannot recall the name of at this moment that is basically the same thing.

Problem is with construction adhesives are they are not designed to allow for movement in the hardwood and what can happen is the wood will just shear off of the adhesive. Ask me how i know sometime over beers.

 

[jake18v]

Oh heavens no. I mean ok, i bet eveyone who ever installed hardwood has at one point or another done just that but you do not want to use a construction style adhesive. You want a formulated hardwood flooring adhesive. My go to for years was bona R850-T but Mapei just released an adhesive that i cannot recall the name of at this moment that is basically the same thing.

Problem is with construction adhesives are they are not designed to allow for movement in the hardwood and what can happen is the wood will just shear off of the adhesive. Ask me how i know sometime over beers.

Can I just skip the glue all together and face nail and tongue nail the perimeter boards?

 

[Mark Brown]

If you are willing to face nail boards then you 100% can. The glue came about because in the era of prefinished floors and maniacal home owners everyone stopped doing it.

 

[highup]

I think Bostik has it in tubes..... Or maybe just bags like you can buy cookie dough in. It's designed for small projects and repairs.

 

[jake18v]

I figured out my starting wall. It's a 14' long wall which runs parallel to the direction I want to run my flooring - lengthwise with the building. How do I know that wall is parallel to the building - or square to the front of the building?

The picture will help clarify my question.... the bay windows make it hard to figure out what square is.

I know I didn't layout the flooring membrane straight. I'll cut it as needed. I plan to glue down & blind nail the edge pieces instead of face nailing them. I got the Bostik glue tubes.

 

[highup]

In a typical house, the best wall to use to measure for your first row is an outside wall. Just don't measure out right at a corner because the drywall mud in that location can screw up the accuracy a little bit.

 

[jake18v]

I started the installation a few days ago. Making some slow progress. It's hard work on the body. I find myself either hunched over or kneeling. Here are some observations. Questions in bold.

The first pic below shows a large open space. Thats the entryway, living room, dining room, and kitchen. I'm trying to use as many long pieces as I can here. I'm keeping the smaller pieces for the bedrooms, and closets. I'm also going to use small pieces underneath the kitchen cabinets and the fridge. I really hate how these small pieces look in the field.

I've noticed these pieces of wood can sometimes differ in height once installed. If the piece I'm about to install is a touch lower than the adjacent pieces, I will attempt to shim it. But if it's a touch higher, I can't really do anything and I just keep on with the installation. Is this how you guys approach a pre-finished hardwood floor installation?

I've been using scrap hardwood to beat the pieces into place. Most of the time that gets rid of the gaps. But sometimes there's a bow in the board I've been using a floor jack in the field. Wow that thing can really un-bow a board. I put extra nails in those locations.

In areas I can't fit my flooring gun, is a 15 gauge 2" nail thru the tongue sufficient? When I get into really tight areas, I've been using a right angle drill with #7 2" trim head screws. I pre-drill the holes first. The last row gets a bead of Bostik glue and is face nailed in.

I've got to order the transitions into the bathroom, main entrance, and around the brick fireplace (non-working).

Would you guys consider using LVP in the laundry closet? The closet is a washer & dryer stack. This would mean I need another transition.

I have noticed a handful (3-4) locations where the finished floor makes a creaking sound when stepped on. If I step on that same spot again a few seconds later the creak no longer exists. What is the cause of the creak? Boards fit together too loosely? Too tightly? Or a cracked tongue?

 

[Dan]

While it's possible a difference in height is due to thickness of flooring boards, it would probably be considered rare. "Overwood" as it's called, is normally the result of debris on the floor. swelled subfloor seams, or a subfloor that is not flat. Proud screws or fasteners can also cause overwood.

Noises are created by vertical movement. Either by the flooring boards themselves or the subfloor system. A cracked tongue could definitely be the culprit.

 

[jake18v]

While it's possible a difference in height is due to thickness of flooring boards, it would probably be considered rare. "Overwood" as it's called, is normally the result of debris on the floor. swelled subfloor seams, or a subfloor that is not flat. Proud screws or fasteners can also cause overwood.

Noises are created by vertical movement. Either by the flooring boards themselves or the subfloor system. A cracked tongue could definitely be the culprit.

Would this be considered overdriving the nails? I’m running at 90psi.

 

[Dan]

Maybe a tad. You want the fastener to sit in that nail pocket just so it's not in the way of butting up the next board.