Installing Hardwood Floor

FamilyMan · Sep 7, 2007

Anybody here installed a hardwood floor yourself? We need a new floor in our kitchen and are considering putting in pre-finished, full-thickness hardwood. I have put in snap-together laminate is some of the downstairs rooms, but have never done hardwood. Could save a lot of money doing it myself but don't know how difficult or what it would cost to rent one of those air-assist nailers.

Anybody want to share your experience?

Mark

Camo · Sep 7, 2007

It's not bad but you will need to rent the air hammer. I did my own kitchen and a few bathrooms. Let me know if you have any questions.

D13er · Sep 7, 2007

I'll give you the number to my contractor, they are very reasonable..........oh wait, I have a picture and the number is on the truck.

JB

Zigga · Sep 7, 2007

If you've never done it then forget about it. You will want to throw tools through the window. I was an expert by the time I finished my downstairs........too late. Plan on spending 10 times the man hours you have in mind. Good luck.

FamilyMan · Sep 7, 2007

Zigga
Your reply surprizes me because on the face of it it does not look that difficult. What were some of the things that made it so bad so that I can understand?
Mark

D13er · Sep 7, 2007

It's because he ain't very brite. It is really an easy job just tedious. Rent the airnailer. should be way less than $40 a day.

JB

Huntnfever · Sep 7, 2007

we just bought a air nailer for 60 dollars so renting it for 40 seems kinda stupid to me. You never know when you can use it again

Rustynail · Sep 7, 2007

Don't use an air nailer. Rent a hammer and use staples. My buddy goes all over the country doing wood floors. And he and I did mine in my house. I did about three feet and he did the rest. You will take ten times longer than a pro , but will save a ton of cash.

DallanC · Sep 7, 2007

The real hardwood floors are a pain in the ass and do take forever to lay down. The new prefab stuff locks and glues together quickly... these floors dont get nailed down but "float" on a felt layer.

TripleK · Sep 7, 2007

Damn Rusty Nail! Is THIS what it takes to get you to post!? I'll start talking about flooring more often. LOL

Jenn

Zigga · Sep 7, 2007

"we just bought a air nailer for 60 dollars so renting it for 40 seems kinda stupid to me."

And you think I'm not bright D? Funny stuff. I used a nail gun and it worked great. Don't know about stapling.

The problems I had were:
The house isn't square.....no matter what you think.

I had to borrow tools......JUST BUY THEM! (The people you borrow from always want them back right away and you will never have all the tools you need. Always another trip to Lowes.)

I had to set my furniture outside in April and had to bring things inside between rain and snowstorms.

Angles suck and take a lot of time.

I've got no patience

Small spaces suck and take a lot of time.

I could go on but don't let me discourage you, it does look nice now. Just frustrating.

RELH · Sep 9, 2007

I would think twice about putting standard hardwood floor in a kitchen area that is prone to getting moisture on the floor and very heavy traffic while preparing meals. You could end up with warping and refinishing the floor within a few years.
If you want the looks of a hardwood floor, I would think about using the snap together laminate kind. Get the type that is made with moisture resistance backer board, usually a blue color backing board and lay it down on 15 pound roofing felt. You can get 25 years to 50 year warranty on this type of floor for the finish. Which will outlast standard flooring before you have resand it and refinish with two or more coats of finish that will take 24-48 hours to cure.
It is far easier for a home owner to install, and a hell of a lot cheaper then standard flooring in the long run.

RELH

FamilyMan · Sep 10, 2007

RELH

We were thinking of going that route for all the reasons that you mentioned. Main thing holding us back is finding something that looks like a good quality hard wood, most have a fake look.

Thanks for you ideas.

Mark

RELH · Sep 10, 2007

Mark;

forget Home depot and Lowes for best quality laminate flooring. Try to locate a Lumberliquidators store in your area and check out their stock for top line wood floor brands with reasonable cost. Bella Wood is a top brand with a 50 year warranty and looks great. Lumberliquidators have a web site www.lumberliquidators.com that you can check for store sites and prices. I did three large bedrooms in a old Victorian home, my wife's farm house, for under $1,500.00 in flooring and moulding. I used a top brand, not Bella wood that had a 25 year warranty.

RELH

Huntnfever · Sep 10, 2007

naw zigga wasnt implying you were not bright, just some peoples kids these days, maybe they would rent it because they are only gonna use it once, i dunno maybe i should read things more closely when i post especially if i am hungover ha ha, have a good one all

Hooked_on_Coues · Sep 10, 2007

Get the non-finished wood. #2 hickory looks awesome. Then you can screen it in a few years and it will look like new. Lots of finishes out there. Mine has a new type of urethane that is hard as nails and takes 40 minutes to set up. No noxius smells either..

Use a tongue-n-groove 5/8" board. 4 or 5 inch. You need to rent a toenailer and a topnailer.

Its not that hard and you will love the results....

Zigga · Sep 10, 2007

Is that the #2 Hickory? Looks nice.

Hooked_on_Coues · Sep 10, 2007

zigg,

yup, #2.

Thanks

Gator · Sep 11, 2007

I just did my living room and one bedromm so far it not that hard I'm doing the all glue to concrete type 3/4" thick T&G Red Oak it coming out really nice, I got all the flooring on sale for $1500 and my living room is 22' x 28' bedroom 12'6"x 14' 6" still have 5 box left over still got to do the 2 closets and finish the hallway but it coming out great.