How To Install a Herringbone Wood Floor | I Like To Make Stuff

[@dancrim8460]

Awesome work. As a pro flooring installer for 20+ years, I can say your work is pro quality. Only side comment for anyone that thinks of laying on another coat of poly on this, he was working with factory pre-finished wood. That poly is baked on with an oven. Another coat put on in place, if not sanded down, will not bond and you will have a mess. Also, expansion in this small of an area should not be much of a factor in a humidity controlled house. In a larger room, it would need to be factored in just like a straight laid floor.

[@chreex]

Came to the comment section to get these answers. Thanks a bunch :)

[@Kevin-rc5ec]

Question about the expansion... Since all these pieces are nailed down, wouldn't they be unable to expand anyway?

[@tomahoks]

Kevin Rivero It is not a factor. RTFM.

[@marcusboyce8609]

Kevin Rivero im guessing that because they are nails they move with the wood? Dont quote me on that though

[@Jordanixting]

@@Kevin-rc5ec the whole reason American wood homes are almost exclusively nailed together is for the same exact reason of expansion and contraction.

[@jsmooth76]

This is the best how to do herringbone video 💯

[@charlesclark2151]

From a pro flooring installer, your work, attention to detail, and Craftsmanship are truly phenomenal. Herringbone is not an easy floor to lay! You had the gumption to do your first one ever, and record it. I applaud you sir. You are an absolute beast

[@Iliketomakestuff]

Thank you Charles, I really appreciate that!

[@orlandoramirez1345]

Agreed.

[@barbaraspanos4291]

@@Iliketomakestuff how did you end up handling the poly on the edges? Thanks!

[@Ichabod_Jericho]

Such amazing work. I’m a builder, people dunno how many hundreds (maybe thousands) of mistakes you can make in this process! True craftsmanship!!

[@rawlsawh2804]

the flooring turned out beautifully. it's a true feature in the home. great work Bob. cheers.

[@darthrevan2063]

Rawl Sawh indeed

[@utkarma8132]

True

[@robscott4723]

By far the best herring bone video I have ever seen!!!

[@alexs1169]

When I did my hardwood floors I left the baseboards on and reattached the quarter rounds after, which I regret. The bb were cheap looking and now look a bit shorter. In retrospect it only saved a bit of work in the grand scheme of things. If I ever change them again (not likely!) or if I ever do this in another home, I would rip them out, let the flooring get closer to the drywall, then put new bb to rest on top. Oh yeah, and the cat was awesome! Loved the 'meh' comment

[@idontthinkso666]

I agree with you 1000% on that. Rip off the base (likely some builder grade crap from Home Depot, anyway) and do the job right. Replace the base with a quality molding from a millwork shop so the job looks classy.

[@miketaylor7440]

Having all the right tools really helps when doing this kind of stuff but also having the knowledge how to use them correctly is something you don't learn easily. Your standard of work is incredible.

[@fav6059]

I've laid thousands of sq ft of hardwood floor. I applaud you for doing this herringbone layout. looks like a huge pain, but so rewarding!

[@agentx250]

Everything is easier when you have the right tools and materials. The latter was absent in this case but it came out well enough for an amateur.

[@da324]

@@agentx250 What was absent? Don't knock something without giving a solution. Room looks pretty fucking good to me, you know, for an amateur. Derp!

[@mathewprusak2052]

@da324 what he said was absent was the "latter." As in the right material. Hense why he had to use a router and custom make every groove and cut each piece of material himself. Many herringbone floors come with the right length boards from factory, that way you don't have to cut and router each board to the same length.

[@randybrandes8885]

​@@mathewprusak2052 not st the cuts dummy

[@rosenurse7687]

You are sooo gifted! Your details are right on point! My husband and I do this type of work, so we recognize the pros from the amateurs! Great job Bob! Keep up the great work! Wonderful tutorial, thank you !

[@davidstarkey295]

Hey Bob, when you first cut and beveled the pieces, you can touch-up the raw edges with a Minwax stain pen/marker, to seal and make it look like a factory edge. The floor looks amazing!

[@APatchworkCanvas]

I do hardwood Installation and refinishing for a living. You definitely did a great job with this. Instead of face nailing you could've used an adhesive and toe nailed more of the pieces (except those tiny triangles) and could've hid more by removing base molding. I'm sure you know that. Great work!

[@plasmac9]

Adhesive would definitely prevent expansion and contraction and therefore greatly increase the wood cracking or lifting over time. Especially since he's using a fairly hard work species.

[@bharper9422]

From a contractor perspective you got skills my man. Herringbone is not for the faint of heart

[@PeterBestel]

That was obviously a HUGE amount of effort and the results look like it was worth it. Beautiful.

[@MidnightMaker]

Wow, amazing job! Looks like a job for when the family's out of town. I've done about 20 herringbone floors/decks and never noticed that "center of the room offset" issue. Herringbone patterns are a huge pain, but worth it in the end. Note, it also generates considerably more waste. I usually allow 15% instead of 10% for off-cuts. The good news is that you get to use them for those small corners.

[@randybrandes8885]

Yep, the big ones always tend to walk on you. Its a tricky situation.

[@glennatkinson2341]

I’m a flooring contractor for over 30 years. This is a great method! Great video!

[@kindalost1]

The house suffers when bob gets bored. Great work !

[@jacobwilson8151]

In a past life I worked as a hardwood flooring installer before getting my real estate license. I have to say, I've seen a lot of "DIY" flooring installation videos on KZbin, and this is the only one I've seen where you actually installed everything correctly. Only thing I would recommend is at 8:30, rather than cut out the tongue, take your board you're installing to the tablesaw and rip off the bottom half of the groove. Then all you would have to do is wood glue the top half of the groove to the top of the tongue and face nail it in place. I'd also recommend not using an underlayment there and instead use a construction adhesive like F26 to glue it to the subfloor. There should be enough adhesive to keep any moisture from damaging the material, or just use a small amount underneath the underlayment to keep it in place, then glue the boards to the underlayment. Anyway, great job! Floors look great.

[@EvanAndKatelyn]

ohmygosh can the kittens be in every video? They were so cute with those question marks!! Also the floors look great :D

[@matthewjhicks123]

Instantly thought of you guys! 😂😂

[@cmdraftbrn]

supurrvisor approves.

[@NochSoEinKaddiFan]

He has coined Saftey Bob, now it is your turn to introduce cat supervisors to the youtube makers ^^

[@HamSweetHam25]

EvanAndKatelyn won’t be kittens forever 😊

[@AkiaraDolls]

@@joonasfi ain't that nice? 💖 @EvanAndKatelyn 💖

[@cabinfeverjack1925]

Having researched herringbone flooring for the last year. I have to say that your video was the easiest to learn from. It's informative but not overwhelming, the steps are thoughtfully laid out but not drawn out and boring. Thank you. Great Job!

[@Iliketomakestuff]

I hope it’s helpful!

[@askariana100397]

The HOME Series is Back!!! Oh I missed her so.....

[@talonlebaron2053]

Anybody else absolutely amazed that it is still 45 degrees once he gets to the outside perimeter??? Great job! 😀

[@stewartmcmanus3991]

Quite a lot of experience with this but on concrete floors only, so it floats, therefore expansion here in South West Australia is a real factor. I allow about 6-8mm per side and use quarter round or some sort of skirting but I fasten it to the WALL not the planks and allow a millimetre gap underneath it. In the room I'm sitting in now, so far no probs after 9 years.

[@ihmesekoilua]

Oh man. I'ved used the ready made herringbone stuff for all the floors in our two latest apartments. Even with all the grooves ready, it's a huge amount of work, especially getting all the little fiddly bits done, really makes you wish you had paid more attention in school when they did geometry. Impressive work.

[@hannahsmovies5612]

i'm watching how-to videos that i won't need for the next 5 years and i love it

[@AirARTBBQ]

Me too. But putting in my mind ? Folder diy.

[@lindseybsmith]

It looks fabulous! Your family is fortunate to have someone so handy & clever!

[@markfazakerley]

sorry to hear you lost your groove.

[@OverWims]

Haha

[@charliemason4355]

But I think he got his groove back.

[@boristhebarbarian]

Nice to see a maker finally use a vacuum/hoover and admitting mistakes made and needing to vacuum/hoover again! Very instructional video, good planning, lots of hard work and clever usage of space and materials. keep up the good work.

[@Zogg1281]

I love how that floor came out. Having the hall with a different patern looks awesome 😊

[@ladykenja2700]

- Luv, luv, luv the Herringbone design. It's grand, "classy" & not for the impatient woodworker. It's also a quilting pattern that takes as much thought as laying the floor boards. Thanx 4 sharing.

[@Rapha2587]

Can we talk about that *amazing* yellow door!? Love it.

[@9usuck0]

As someone who owns a hardwood flooring business... This isn't bad. I liked it. You do better work on floors than most people I've seen.

[@SpecificLove7]

The floor looks great. Also loved the onlookers.

[@kevinmazzarini2200]

Looks very nice. You should consider gluing in splines on the ends of each board where they connect to the mating board especially because you cut off the micro bevel which is there to make up for the movement and thickness differences of the boards. You may want to just reintroduce the micro bevel on the ends of each board right after you cut them and stain and poly before you instsll. Interlock as much as you can with prefinished floor. Cut back the paper along the walls and use adhesive under the boards before you nail them... Also if you want put a bead of glue along the tongue and groove especially if you have to remove a piece of the tongue and groove.

[@dougbeach7299]

Looks awesome! I would love to hear a follow-up in a couple of years to see if the design worked out for you with expansion within a frame

[@bobjim4202]

the way you explain things is super easy to understand. as a finish carpenter i have a hard time understanding people when they are explaining things they dont quite understand themselves. youre very direct and to the point in a very linear fashion thats easy to understand.

[@DIYTyler]

That turned out beautiful Bob!

[@ShireenPlays]

I didn't even know wooden floors had different names... The fact that you done that all yourself is very impressive and it looks beautiful! Well done Bob!

[@Yet1moreUtuber]

*THANKS* You just solved our entry way floor problem!

[@PR-rh9qm]

Marvelous. Setting up the video while you're doing all the little-bitty steps is amazing. A few comments from an amateurish (3 floors) point of view. 1. For someone starting fresh, using unfinished boards would eliminate the need for microbevels and look even more spectacular once finished with, say, Waterlox (love it!). But you already had a pre-finished/beveled floor to match, so I get it. 2. Roberts 70-198 silicone paper underlayment is nice compared to Aqualon B (no smell, boards slide even more easily). 3. I like GRK finish screws instead of nailing (pre-drill). Some say screws hold the boards too tightly, but...much easier than hand nailing.

[@JM-bg2ts]

This should be called the "I like to add value to my house" channel!

[@mikel3419]

Beautifully done. Any old French guys may have their own comments but it I like it. Thanks for sharing.

[@kevinbaker3854]

You got serious skills bro! Keep the videos coming!

[@paulortiz5047]

More than skills this man has serious patience! Patience will trump skills, usually. Often???!! Usually!!

[@everybodylovestoney1697]

When I purchase my first home this is what I intend on doing. Love herringbone floors!

[@Wordsnwood]

Yeah, that is a big big big job. You guys did an amazing job on it. I suspect it would be quicker to just use a mop and put poly over the whole thing. As an aside, I love the bright yellow door. There's way too much "neutral" out there in houses these days!

[@freddiecurry4397]

Actually. Old English has hard wood scratch repair products for just such occasions.

[@kylelove927]

I fully agree about the door!

[@monkeygraborange]

There really is nothing as beautiful and classic as herringbone, and you did a remarkable job.

[@ModernBuilds]

Love it!!

[@Mainbusfail]

Bob, I just threw my flooring nailer, and tools into my garage, lit it all on fire and walked away. All joking aside, you did a damn nice job on that floor. I have been doing floors for a good spell now, I feel the need for therapy at this juncture. Cheers

[@masterofnone]

Sooooooo much work! How many times did you have to go up and down to the shop .?

[@Iliketomakestuff]

1,000,000,000

[@masterofnone]

@@Iliketomakestuff sounds about right.

[@jajjjamensan]

Didnt he have all the material at hand? So he ran to the shop and bought the pieces one after another? Because that would be stupid, as long as you not talking about the workshop.

[@brianfriend2153]

I just did two rooms with engineered oak. Manufactured for this purpose so each piece was identical in size. A lot of work saved as opposed to cutting each one and putting a groove and bevel on them. The transitions are definitely the time consuming part but well worth the look.

[@rawlsawh2804]

happy Thanksgiving Bob and family.

[@Iliketomakestuff]

You too!

[@owenwindley2209]

It was in october

[@rawlsawh2804]

owen winds Canadian Thanksgiving?

[@owenwindley2209]

Yeah, just joking!

[@rawlsawh2804]

owen winds I'm Guyanese so what would I know. 😂

[@Kyletransit]

Looks amazing that floor the transition between existing floor is beautiful what a lovely job you made of that

[@BobMcCoy]

*I'm actually seriously considering this*

[@zaydzastrow-topic4112]

Do it.

[@mr.burnham8929]

Do it

[@monkeygraborange]

Need I say it?

[@bartholomewbilby1333]

You will regret the amount of work!

[@madrox4132]

Yeah, but that goes away as soon as it's done

[@DarinBeard]

Wow, difficulty level 9.8. That turned out great and looked like a whole lot of work. Your ability to figure it out and make it work is amazing.

[@6919wally]

Did you finish a board at a time or the whole floor at once

[@glennlee5861]

Looks good. A pointer FYI Undercut your baseboard past your jambs for proper expansion, ease of installation and allows wood to go under quarter round. 2" past the jamb is plenty. This tip works for all flooring that requires expansion.

[@rachelpang310]

I love the cats, Bob!!

[@mariofederici447]

Ghthwsg

[@neomaycry7]

I did not expect to watch this entire video, but I did. It was interesting from beginning to end. Thanks for sharing!

[@michaellovin3522]

Great vid and job... But you failed to mention one VITAL thing with regard to cutting herringbone boards: The ratio of the length to the width of the board MUST be an integer. I.e., the length must be a direct multiple of the width for this pattern to work. You can have longer or shorter boards in your pattern (all the same length of course), but you have to have this ratio.

[@NicholasMangos]

Why is this the case?

[@paulortiz5047]

@@NicholasMangos you could always cut enough paper, in various sizes, and see how they go together! Cut 30 strips as instructed. And 30 pieces in an odd size, or not as instructed. And then lay them out. Or try to lay them out. The answer will quickly become apparent. And you will never forget the answer why, either! I would think you might cut different sizes of paper to find a size you like the most for your size room. Some pieces available are way to big. And some might be way too small, and look funny or off. Best to try different sizes before wasting your time and money on such a project. ( Because it is Very expensive and time consuming to do. Best to get it right the first time!)

[@listofromantics]

Herringbone floors are gorgeous.

[@thatsenseijosh4035]

I don't think I'll ever need to do this but it'll help of I do

[@ernsthergenbeck872]

Thanks a lot for your video. Although I am using completely different material (about 60 years old, used oak panels 40x6 cm) and will probably glue them (which is the most common method now here in Germany; also, oak does not move a lot), this has been immensely helpful: Your video made me aware of some points I had not thought about before. Keep on!

[@punishedprops]

Gorgeous work Bob! =D

[@Sonal_Mobile]

There was so much to consider for this pattern, and you addressed everything. Excellent work Bob!

[@FigmentsMade]

While your cat supervisors seemed unimpressed, I thought the floor came out beautifully! And those were some groovy dance moves! ;)

[@Sgtstd]

Where I live we dont nail flooring but the Question about expansion is justified. Since its thick and the boards are out of one grain it is going to expand much more than any other woodflooring. We normaly leave 1cm of space between any walls or objects. In winter you are probably going to have some gaps on the headside of the boards which are gona leave in time. You really did a fine job here, just hope its not going to need yearly reworking.

[@doubledarefan]

I would have applied finish to the cut ends before the install. Cover the bevel and the exposed endgrain in one swipe of a brush. Instead of starting in the center of the room, I would have started at the door transition. No need to do woodworking acrobatics at both ends of the room. 14:42 Before installing that piece, I would have dropped in pieces and slid them along the archway to the opposite end, sliding in splines as needed, so only one small piece would have to be nailed down.

[@AlainPilon]

You have to start at the center if you want the centerline to be, well centered. Woodworkers like to make it hard on themselves!

[@artiet5982]

alain pilon although I don’t like the tone of this guys feedback, he is right. Bob could started in the center of the room but at one end to make it easier with the transition cuts on that end at least.

[@JessAndyStudios]

he did it the right way. I installed hardwood for 15 years, you always start this in the middle.

[@Coirbre]

Just beautiful. Such a classic choice for an entry hall.

[@JoshMakesStuff]

That AC vent kicked on and shot a blast of sawdust right in our faces. FIRST!

[@mimked]

You know, you're kind of cheating at this "First!" thing

[@darrenmaxwell3108]

Outstanding level of work every time I watch you American carpenters I’m in awe 🔥

[@sushicatsan]

More cats please!

[@amherstfinishing]

Nice job! If you're going to add a border, I'd do it on all 4 sides and might as well add a feature strip of mahogany or walnut to make it pop. To dress it up even more, buy shoe molding in the same type of wood as the floor.. white gets beat up pretty quick. Also like you said, buying the pre-made pieces will save you a ton of time in prep and Finishing, probably worth it when all is said and done. The finish that is on those boards is called aluminum oxide, not meant to be buffed and recoated with polyurethane. Typically with custom installations, we install unfinished wood, then trowel the whole thing with wood filler, sand and finish.. 100% perfect result.

[@danny_phantom91]

what about a salmon or trout bone floor?

[@MikeTheMaker1]

Bitten_By_Frost I prefer bass bone.

[@MikeTheMaker1]

Brian Hume heard of the fish but don’t know anything about it.

[@blackphoenix8932]

I was trepidatious about laying the wood floor in my new house, now this video has made my mind up. I'm going to get a contractor to do it.

[@carloscastilla4118]

Can you make an electric secret door, like this one, you made in wood and with books

[@leifprice8836]

Flooring jobs can be quite troublesome and you make it like easy to deal with. As always, great video and information along the way.

[@Melicoy]

You DIDNT say if you stained the whole floor or just the edges :(

[@brianshantz2449]

You can tell he added a coat or two to the whole floor look at the different shine at the end of the video it goes from matte finish to almost a satin or semi-gloss

[@Melicoy]

thanks

[@robertmills4298]

Hi Bob, You have done a fantastic job, well done. Having laid wooden flooring down myself I can appreciate your labours.

[@samyouel3530]

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!!🦃🦃

[@brettbaker4189]

OMG, great job and patience to do all those steps. well done.

[@kevinyoungblut]

I must have eaten too much turkey. The saw was yellow and then it turned red.

[@VartaBok]

The pattern looks great as does the border and it makes the space look more open

[@kadenhepner9767]

How to install herringbone pattern.. Don't install herringbone. If so charge extra.

[@LogoBallers]

Please please please do more home series! I am finalizing my first home purchase next week. Need some more videos. Especially refacing cabinets (replacing the door and drawer faces, while keeping the cabinet shell)

[@scotlandwoodwork2553]

Ooops, baseboard should have been removed before the install....

[@dr.feelgood2358]

i'm not sure what happened there. did he forget or do that intentionally? if it was my floor and i was paying i'd be asking for a re-do! maybe just laziness...

[@YouCanMakeThisToo]

The floor looks great, and it was cool seeing your LEGO table in the background. Nice seeing you again at ThinkerCon!

[@Oonagh72]

You have added so much value to that house.

[@kylelove927]

Honestly that's thee most beautiful Herringbone floor I've seen. Excellent job! Excellent video!

[@JSHayward3]

I broke a sweat just watching that. I can't imagine trying to lay down a herringbone floor while filming it. Well done!

[@starboy71]

I saw this floor first hand last week. It looks great! Good job Bob!

[@eoind3302]

that turned out great, often with herringbone floors you put a border of 2-3 boards running parallel to the walls and then a strip of contrasting wood between the pattern boards and the border boards

[@marielucier7982]

Thank you! Amazingly on point and crystal clear video. I’m thinking about herringbone or chevron for the hallway upstairs (open to main area below one one side) and the landing (switchback stairs). Then the bedrooms will get standard installation. Same reason, adding interest.

[@66justariot]

I watch every video you do, but don't always comment. The finished product was so beautiful that I was forced to reply. Great job thank you for the details content.

[@Iliketomakestuff]

Thank you! I truly appreciate that!

[@VanOaksProps]

Beautifully done, Bob. Great choice in flooring color as well!

[@Iliketomakestuff]

Thanks so much!

[@EMSpdx]

This is exactly what I want to do in my entry way in my home, so how wonderful this video came out! You can do this pattern in larger rooms- in French apartments you see this pattern done in living rooms and entry ways. Your project came out BEAUTIFUL!

[@tseckwr3783]

Good one, Bob. It is an incredible amount of work and easier on the young and flexible.

[@wetrock2766]

Beautiful job, I've seen many herringbone floors in Europe, it seems popular there. I looked everywhere but could not find what kind of hardwood you have used. Could it be Cumaru? If so it's a beautiful exotic wood but very hard. My kitchen cabinets are made of this wood, beautiful.

[@TallJakeW]

That floor turned out beautiful! I like seeing the problem solving and adaptation while sticking to your plan.

[@vfielding2010]

The end product is absolutely gorgeous. Well done!

[@hacktooth1]

Awesome video. Thanks for putting it together. I am getting ready to do a harringbone floor for my game room. I love how you show and explain the pitfalls. Yo😊ur floor looks great.