Installing hardwood flooring yourself is not that difficult. In fact, most hardwood flooring are designed and manufactured to be easy to install by do-it-yourselfers, even for someone who may have no experience in putting down a hardwood floor.

If you are looking to install a new hardwood floor for your home and you are thinking of doing the job yourself, instead of paying someone to do it, here are a few tips to help you make the job go smoother and make sure you get the best possible result.

When you get the hardwood flooring home, keep them in their boxes and store the boxes in the room where they will be installed. Don’t start putting down the flooring as soon as you get them home. Keep them in the room, or rooms, for at least 3 days to give them time to adjust to the room’s temperature and humility.

While waiting for the wood flooring to acclimate to its new home read the manual that comes with the flooring and make sure you have all the tools you need to do the job. You want to make sure that you have everything at hand before you start on the job, so you don’t have to stop working and waste time to get what you need at the hardware store.

The typical tools you will need to install your hardwood flooring will be a pry bar, a hammer, a tape measure, a chalk line, miter saw and table saw. Depending on the specific type of installation you are doing, you may also need vapor barrier sheets, nails, a staple gun, glue, a drill, and drill bits. Some hardware stores carry prepackaged hardwood floor installation kits to make gathering the tools less of a hassle.

If you are installing solid wood flooring, it is best to install them on top of a flat and smooth plywood sub-floor. The flooring will last longer. If your installation requires a vapor barrier, the barrier goes on top of the sub-floor before the flooring. Over lap the vapor barrier sheets and taped the overlaps with duct tape.

Hardwood flooring can be installed either horizontally or vertically across the room. The general rule of thumb is to run the planks front to back as you enter a room. The easiest way to decide is to pick the longest wall or the most visible wall in the room as the starting point and lay the planks outward from that wall.

Be sure to leave ½ “gap around the floor to allow for expansion. Try fitting the planks between walls to make sure you don’t have little slivers of flooring planks at one end that will be too small to work with. You may need to cut starting planks to get a good fit.

When you are satisfied with the starting point, draw a chalk line that will serve as a baseline for the first row of flooring. Use the guide for designing the rest of the floor. If you do the starter row correctly, you can be sure that the rest of the planks will be straight.

Stagger the edges of the planks at least 6 inches apart in a random manner. This will make a more pleasing looking finished hardwood floor. Make sure that each rows of planks fit tightly together and that there are no gaps before moving on to the next row.

If you are installing pre-finished hardwood flooring, the last step is to install the baseboard moldings around the base of the walls. Pre-drill holes in the baseboard and secure it to the wall with finishing nails. Do not nail the molding to the flooring to allow the wood flooring to move under the baseboard when it expands and contracts.
If you are installing un-finished hardwood flooring, you will need to buy or rent a sander and finishing tools, or hire a professional, to strain and put a protective finish on the floor to finish the installation.

A wood floor installation is not as difficult a project to do. However, if you ever feel unsure of yourself about installing hardwood floors on your own, there are many competent flooring installers that can turn.

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