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Where to start - Hardwood floor installation

6K views 24 replies 9 participants last post by  Jackofall1 
#1 ·
Hi everyone,

My husband and I will be installing 4-7/8” width 3/4 thick tigerwood hardwood on our second floor (3 bedrooms and the hall).
It currently has carpet but we will remove it this weekend and start the hardwood installation soon.

We are still undecided of where would be the best area to start the installation.
What I have found online is you will be better of starting at the hall area, but the hall is not to big, so we are not sure if that's the best idea.
But if we start at any of the bedrooms there might be a bigger space for error.

I've drawn a sketch that I'm adding here below in hopes to get some ideas going.



The area is about 700sq ft.

Any help is really appreciated.

Thanks,

Juliana
 
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#3 ·
Is the notation on the sketch drawing the direction of the floor joist, or the direction of the flooring. I would say the this is the direction of the floor joists, and if I am correct you should be laying the floor perpendicular to the floor joist for best end results.

The key is ensuring the floor stays straight, whereby one end doesn't grow more than the other, careful measurements to a string line is key to a successful install. I would plan on having breaks in the floor at doorways, this will allow for adjustment, unless you think that from one side of your project to the other is with in a very close parallel, something that really can't be measured.

Not sure how much research you have done, but this will be a great project and when you are complete I am sure it will look great.

http://www.findanyfloor.com/

A bit of info for technique.

Good Luck

Mark
 
#4 ·
Well, I'm currently doing the same thing as you and almost in the exact same way. The difference, your bathroom2 is my brm1 and your brm1 is my living room. I'm laying oak 3-1/4" wide and 3/4" thick.

I started in the bedrooms and laid it top to bottom(going by your picture) and my hallway/living room will be laid left to right.

As for the transition at the door ways for the bedrooms I am basically just laying a piece the same way as the hallway/living room.

Here's a pic(the carpet in the pic is the hallway and its still down as I'm not there
 

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#5 ·
Thanks for all the input.
I've modify the sketch a bit because I so the confusion on the direction of the wood.

@ Jackofall1 - The direction shown in there is how we want to install the floors. We are assuming this direction (for now, until we take the carpet out) because the main level has wood floors installed in that direction.

@ Fantastic - your picture really looks good. We will be capturing the process in pictures as well.

Juliana
 
#6 ·
JulianaCR,

I don't want to say that the floors on your first floor have been installed incorrectly as I don't know the direction of the floor joist for certain.

The layout you are showing would indicate to me that the floor joist are running in the direction of the short overall dimension, supported in the middle (between the two bedrooms), this would be the typical construction methodolgy. That being said you really should plan on running the floor perpendicular to the floor joist to improve the structural integrity of the installation.

Mark
 
#8 · (Edited)
juliana,

once you have the carpet up and removed, I would chalk some lines on the plywood floor to carry the edge of your hallway into the master and BR3. (or do it just in BR2 and work from there out)

in my opinion the hardwood should run parallel to your hallway (running left to right throughout. this will look right in the hall as well as the master. the other bedrooms are almost square and it won't be as noticeable...

measure from the chalk lines to the walls to the bottom. get a distance and divide it by the width of your flooring to give you the number of rows needed between the wall and the line. if needed, you may have to start with a part board.

have some milestone marks between the wall and the chalk line to track your accuracy.

rod
 
#9 ·
I'm doing the same thing 5" x 3/4" tigerwood after it gets here and acclimates. First off be sure to install it perpendicular to the floor joists. I am doing a hall and a sunken living room, so I am starting with the stairnosing and next the planks and using chaulk lines to be sure I am installing correctly. Be sure to check humidity and moisture content, my instructions say to have the humidity at 35 to 55%RH and the moisture content difference between the subfloor and the tigerwood should be no more than 3%. I spent about $60.00 for a couple of meters to check this, a small amount compared to the cost of the tigerwood.
 
#10 ·
Here is an update!
We took the carpet out for one of the bedrooms (BR3) and the joist direction is as we initially assumed; perpendicular to the way the diagram displays the hardwood direction installation.
The joists are located every 24in. The sub-floor is 3/4 of an inch.
We are thinking on starting on BR1 know but at the closet level and continue through the hall into BR2 and BR3.

We are know trying to figure out how to measure the MC and the difference between the sub-floor and the hardwood.
We bought one meter for the MC on the wood, but I've read you will need another one to calculate the differential.
Any thoughts?

@ cep89: Which meters did you use? One for the MC and one for the humidity? How would you measure humidity?

Thanks again,

Juliana
 
#11 ·
I've just finished installing 3-1/4", 3/4" thick tigerwood in my living and dining room about a month ago. One, make sure you screw the 3/4" subfloor to the joists to prevent squeaks. Two, get an 8' level and make sure the floor is level. Even at 3/4", that flooring will follow peaks and valleys and you'll see it. Use L-cleat nails, buy the nailer off Amazon, get the Freeman one. It has been great and was the same price buying as it would have been to rent. You'll need a table saw, jig saw, chalk line, etc. Red rosin paper is fine, I didn't want asphalt felt roofing paper under the floor.

Use splines when you need to change direction of the tongue and groove. You can make them from the material you are using or buy them from a store like lumber liquidators. Personally, I would be running the flooring in the opposite direction of what you are showing. Usually like to lay it parallel with the longest wall in the room because it visually makes the room longer. Plus, at the top of your stairs, those cuts against the stair nosing all have to be pretty darn tight. But running it perpendicular to your joists is the primary goal so that may drive it. Your joists running L to R on your drawing would be odd to me for a 2nd floor, but every house is different.

Check the size of your joists. If they are on the small size for the span, you're going to get some bounce. When the floor bounces, the floor makes "cracking" noises. Almost like there is bubble wrap under it. Ask me how I know. 2'x10' joists on a 14' span allows too much movement. I have a lot of blocking to do from underneath. Fortunately I have an unfinished basement.

You'll end up facenailing the first couple rows. Pre-drill for them, use a piece of tape on the drill bit or a drill bit stop. You'll drill too deep without being careful and the chuck will make marks around your hole. Again, ask me how I know. Use a nail set to set your finish nails.

On moisture content, just let the wood acclimate for a week or so. Some people use moisture meters. Do what you're confortable with, but I have found if you open the box ends and it sits for a week or two in the room it is going into, it's going to be close to the same as the environment it is in. I would recomment if you are going to put a humidifier in your HVAC system, you do it before you put the wood down.

When installing, start at one end, work your way to the other wall, when you get to the last piece on that row, pick one at least 18" longer than you need. Cut that last piece and put it in place. Now take the 18"+ piece you cut and start the next row with it back at the beginning. That's how you avoid wasting lots of wood with little scraps.

Oh, and just my opinion, but I took the wall base off, laid the floor with a 3/4" gap to the baseplate of the stud wall on all 4 sides, cutting the drywall up a little bit where needed, and then put the base down right on the wood. No shoe molding in my house.

If you'd like to see some pics of my tigerwood installed, let me know. They aren't hosted anywhere so I can't post them here, but I can e-mail them to you.

Hope my info helps.
 
#13 ·
I got an acurite humidity meter at walmart. I also replaced my humidifer, my old one was noisy and leaked and could not get the RH above 30%. The new humidifer can't get the humidity up to 35% either, this may be because I live in Michigan and it has been a cold winter. My wood flooring has been backordered, which may not be such a bad thing. I got a Sonin MC meter model #50211 at amazon.com because it had good reviews. I plan on letting my wood acclimate for 2 weeks, because that it what my instuctions call for. This will be my first hardwood floor installation, so I want to follow the instructions to the letter. It may seem like I am overdoing it, but the cost of this wood was $3500 for 450 sq. ft. including transition pieces.
 
#14 ·
Thank you again for the replies.
We got our wood yesterday and the instructions state the following:

"Minimum thickness sub-floor material recommendations are satisfactory for 16'' on center joist spacing. Thicker sub-floor recommendations will allow up to 19.2'' joist spacing"

From what we see it seems that out joists are 24'' apart on center. Is it necessary to install another layer on top of it for this floor?
What would happen if you install the floor without adding any additional sub-flooring?

Thanks!

Juliana
 
#15 ·
Noise right away. Squeaks later. Possibly boards working loose from the movement.


Thank you again for the replies.
We got our wood yesterday and the instructions state the following:

"Minimum thickness sub-floor material recommendations are satisfactory for 16'' on center joist spacing. Thicker sub-floor recommendations will allow up to 19.2'' joist spacing"

From what we see it seems that out joists are 24'' apart on center. Is it necessary to install another layer on top of it for this floor?
What would happen if you install the floor without adding any additional sub-flooring?

Thanks!

Juliana
 
#16 ·
My instuctions say pretty much the same thing. It says "Stiffening may require the additon of a second layer of subflooring material to bring the overall thickness to at least 1 1/8". This will be my first hardwood install, so I'm no expert, but I would think if you don't follow this instruction the floor will flex and may make noise.
 
#17 ·
Well, we will have to add another layer to the subfloor, probably 1/2 inch plywood.
Any ideas how it should be lay down?
We are thinking it should be glued and screwed down, and it should be staggered on top of the existing one.


  • Any specific type of plywood we need to use?
  • Should it be glued? If so, what adhesive is recommended?
  • Should it be screwed to the joists? or just to the first layer of subfloor?
  • Should it run perpendicular to the existing subfloor or in the same direction of the existing one?
  • If screwed, what kind of screwsain should we use? (star, square, philips)
  • If nailed down, what kind of nails should we use and how long? Can the be longer than the thicknes of the overall subfloor? (3/4 + 1/2)
  • If stapled down, what kind of staples should we use and what length?
Thanks again!

Juliana
 
#18 · (Edited)
I was hoping a flooring pro would respond to your last question, but I would think you would want to get going on it soon. Have you asked the salesman who sold you the floor? I checked my copy of the insturctions and it only says to stiffen it properly, not much help. I don't know what the proper process is, but I have some advice. Using square drive screws works better than phillips. You have to put a lot of down force on a phillips screw or it wants to pop out and strip the head, square drive screws don't do this. I think you are on the right track with glue and screw with the joints offset from the lower subfloor. I would use a construction glue that is recomended for wood and use a v notch trowel to ensure even coverage. I would also use a heavy roller or weights the press it down. I had to replace my subfloor and I used 3/4 t&g plywood that had no knots on the top side. I used a counter sink bit on one drill and a square drive bit on a second one, because I wanted the screw heads to be just below the surface so that they don't contact the tigerwood and make noise. The sister site contractor talk.com has a thread about problems with spliting tigerwood when nailing it down, you might want to read this. It looks like you will be putting your floor down before I do, I still don't have my tigerwood. Please keep the thread updated with your progress.
 
#21 · (Edited)
Isn't that Mrs Robinson?

JulianaCR, how sure are you that your floor joist are at 24 inch c to c. And if they are, what sub floor do you have already, if its 3/4 ply is it real bouncy..

And at 24" C to C what size and grade of joist are they?

Seems like the spans that you have, 24" centers is rather wide.

Mark
 
#22 ·
Yeah, I know is kind of weird the 24'' C on C spacing.
Well, we find out this weekend that there is one side of the house that seems to have joists at 12'' C on C, but the other side of the house seems to have 24'' C on C. Not sure what size the joists are. We try to find other studs drilling some holes in between the 24 joists to no avail on the size of the house that has the 24'' spacing.

We have a 3/4 inch OSB subfloor at this point and we will be adding a 15/32 in plywood to reinforce it.

Juliana
 
#25 ·
The fact that you have variation in your floor joist would lead me to believe that you also have variation in direction as well.

I would imagine that the direction of the floor joist for the area on the right of the stair is perpendicular to the area on the left unless there is a wall midpoint between the right parimeter wall and the stairway on the first floor running front to back.

Mark
 
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