Quickly Lay Hardwood Flooring
Written by: David Time | Date: Tuesday, 5th April 2011

Beautiful hardwood flooring can really add to the look of your home, to its elegance and its value.  Wood is also easy to maintain, all you need is a duster and some polish.  Laying a hardwood floor quickly is really a job that anyone can do regardless of your experience with renovations and remodeling, you need only a few tools and the hardwood flooring to hand.

Tools You Need for Laying Your Hardwood Flooring:

    * polly sheeting (for a quick clean up)
    * duct tape
    * tapping blocks
    * hammer
    * crow bar
    * level
    * set square
    * pencil
    * string line
    * spacers (for between the flooring and the wall)
    * sturdy saw

Quickly Lay Hardwood Flooring Instructions:

Laying your hardwood floor need not be a chore that takes you days.  If you work quickly most simple hardwood floors for square rooms can be laid in half a day.  It's important that you buy a system that you are equal to, if you're a beginner in the home improvement field don't buy timber buy a flooring system.  If you want beautiful, traditional hardwood flooring rather than flat-pack segmental boards then talk to a quality wood flooring installation company.

1. Check that your walls are true.  If not then consider seeking the help of a wood floor installation professional, or possibly an engineer - ouch!

2. Lay the polythene sheeting to collect dirt and dust.

3. Mark and undercut the door frame so that the boards will fit under it.

4. Use 10mm spaces blocks between the floor and the walls to allow for expansion of the floor.  Don't worry this space will be covered by the base board.

5. Quickly Wipe the tongue of each of the hardwood boards with a damp cloth before you lay them.

6. lay a few rows of the hardwood flooring. * TOP TIP * make sure you stagger the board lengths - where they start and end - to create the right look and greater strength.

7. Use the tapping block to hammer the boards closer together  * TOP TIP* Make sure you get rid of all gaps between boards and keep tapping them together with every row that you add.  It's worth the effort, you're strengthening your floor.

8. Once the hardwood floor is laid use a crowbar against the spacing blocks to further close the gaps against the wall.

Cutting Hardwood Floor Boards:

When choosing your hardwood flooring make sure that you take a quick look around your kitchen, bathroom, or wherever else you may be installing your floor to see what other woods have been used.  Perhaps there are already wooden cabinets, built-in wooden cupboards or wooden chair rail.  Try to match the wood type and stain, or at least make sure the two hardwoods will complement each other.

   1. Use a set square to mark the board length and cut with a saw.  * TOP TIP * Cut down from the top of the hardwood floor board so you don't splinter the side you will see.

Quickly Finnish Laying Your Hardwood Flooring:

   1. Remove the spacers once all the gaps have been closed.
   2. Install your base boards, making sure you punch the nails in deep so you can fill the holes with spackle and paint over them.

And now you have a beautiful wooden floor!  Congratulations. Enjoy it and buy yourself some polish to celebrate.