How To Install Hardwood Floors (DIY Masterclass)

Want to learn how to install hardwood floors? This is a highly detailed DIY masterclass on everything related to installing your hardwood floor. We cover the tools needed including hardwood nailers, saws, and mallets. From there we will cover how to prepare the house for wood floors. Starting with subfloors and moving on to what trims need to be removed. From there we will cover how to set your starting line, how to work around different obstacles, and when to use what floor-nailing gun. We will cover moisture retarders to keep your wood floors safe and how to prevent them from squeaking. Hardwood floors are a huge investment and whether you're going to DIY them yourself or hire a pro, this video will teach you everything you need to know about installing new hardwood floors.
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[@lumberjackhardwood]

Would you install your own hardwood floors or hire a pro?

[@MorneMarais81]

Planning on cranking it out myself. Thanks to this masterclass, I feel pretty good about it! Excellent video!

[@lumberjackhardwood]

Awesome! Glad we could help. @@MorneMarais81

[@annadam]

If I could afford it, I would hire a pro. But I can't, so I'm tackling it myself. Been prepping the room and collecting tools and materials since Christmas, will lay the subfloor this weekend and hopefully start the actual floor next weekend. I've taken lots of notes, including from your video, which was very helpful. Thanks so much!

[@liberpater1342]

Masterclass? What about leveling the subfloor?

[@jtr789310]

I would not hire you, never put tar paper under a wood floor. You never would see an old times that know what they doing using tar paper. They would use Rosin Paper or even news paper but never tar paper. Paper is used only to stop floor from squeaking. Wood floor has to breath or it will cup.

[@two-sense]

I just took delivery of 600 sq ft of 13/16 x 5 1/2 western hemlock t&g. Beautifully and cleanly milled with proper back relief and machined ends. It's all rift sawn and quarter sawn, and varies from about 4 ft to 19 ft with an average length of 10 ft. It was cut just down the road from me, and milled by a friend who's had it stickered in his drying shed for 4 years. Moisture content is around 18%. Now, it will sit in my heated house for a year or two until I'm ready to install it. Thanks so much for your video, it taught me a lot. Lifelong cabinetmaker here, but never laid a solid wood floor until now. 68 years old, building our last house with our own four hands.

[@als1023]

No BS, no music, no chatter, just straight up how to get it done right and learn to work at a good solid pace. Some excellent tips. Never thought about non-hardening glue, thanks for that !

[@clarkpiper6007]

Flipping the board on the table saw is great!

[@WhoDissGuy]

This is awesome. I ended up paying someone to put in our flooring but I still watched this. Your channel has been super helpful through the process of picking the hardwood flooring. Thank you.

[@lumberjackhardwood]

So glad to hear you've found it helpful!! Thanks!

[@PoBox-ix7lc]

I have watched almost all the videos on wood floor instal. Yours is the best. You answer so many questions I have. Thank you.

[@owen12397]

This is super valuable information! Excellent explanations and visuals

[@lumberjackhardwood]

Glad it was helpful! Thank you!

[@jacobschmitz6349]

Please shoot the herringbone install process if you ever have the chance! And thank you in advance for spreading your wealth of knowledge.

[@ericballard4050]

Phenomenal. I’m a huge floor geek and, as someone who’s been in the industry for a long time, this is by far the best hardwood install video I’ve seen on KZbin by a mile. Great work 👍🏼

[@ktown1389]

Any one else feel like they were watching Matt Damon with a moustache installing a hard wood floor? LOL

[@nativeamerican7372]

Thank you for this video. Always educational

[@bobinhouston7638]

You cut to the chase on this process. Best video I've see on hw floor installation. Thank you!!

[@brunnermetalwear]

This was probably thee best completely from start to finish process on how to lay a hardwood floor. Although there were a few things that if a novice was to watch it would miss. Things like what other kind of underlay you can put down. They might have mentioned it and I didn’t catch it but all in all this was a wonderful video. Thumbs up!

[@timw-ON]

Great video, whether you're going to hire a pro, or do it yourself. It is important to understand what the job is, or you can't make an informed decision, or know if the job is being done well.

[@moralias104]

Awesome video

[@lumberjackhardwood]

Thank you!!

[@jrafko]

Thank you! You are the first person who specifically answered a question about cleats hanging out and a crack in the tongue. I just started and I’m struggling already but you answered my question! Subscribed!

[@_Ag-]

Hey, this was great. Thanks for all the work in putting this video out there for a bunch of strangers. You’re really good at teaching, super organized and logical in how you present info. The camera work was also fantastic & easy to follow. BTW, your voice is perfect for this, made me feel like I was watching an old time-y instruction vid and could kick back and take it all in with the confidence that I chose the right one to watch. Anyway, I found it extremely useful to see what actually goes into the hardwood installation process in enough granular detail that I fully absorbed I will need to hire a professional to get this project done. 😅😂 (Wish I could hire your crew.) Thanks again!

[@allysonrogers9701]

Professional quality video!

[@cryptojacked]

this is a great vid

[@markoshun]

Excellent. I came looking for a solution to changing directions and found the spline. So simple.. once you see it. Anyway, watched the whole video and will watch once more before starting job. Great job on this video.

[@davidlech7203]

Wonderful job, herringbone looks so good. Finish is perfect too

[@69keifer]

Fantastic Guide, seriously. Subbed

[@johnumbach7064]

Bravo. Few tutorials show managing the challenging spots. Thanks!

[@omarbryant7930]

Shout out to your camera man, he did a phenomenal job with capturing the important stuff and getting good angles.

[@markrichardson-g9i]

great video i learned a lot in a short informative delivery

[@EllyECristiano]

Looks amazing. Great video and amazing job.

[@willfulliam]

This video is great! It could probably be a series of 10 videos.

[@stephenmarketos778]

When you get to closing up under door jambs you can cut your piece to fit all the way around the jamb but before installing the previous row. You use a shorter piece, cut it and install it first, under the jamb leaving enough room (tongue width) to pull it back to the previous row.

[@8bailey8]

Great balance of how and why.

[@Charlieman.]

Superb. Would love to see a chevron pattern done. Super popular in new home builds in our area. Thanks!

[@ecstazyrm]

Good job brother! Thanks for sharing

[@kimberlydavis5960]

Can you please link this hardwood? Thank you so much for this video!

[@lemmegetone]

Awesome tutorial

[@zachpygall3063]

Very helpful video, thanks for sharing!

[@casst346]

wow! great great high quality work!

[@greggadler3128]

well done. I'm in the process of installing a hickory floor in my kitchen, dining room and living room plus a 24 foot hallway. How do I make sure I will be aligned when I come out of the kitchen into the living room with two archways. One from the kitchen to the living room and one that comes out the other side of the kitchen to the hallway.so they are exactly aligned when I get past the wall. Hard to visualize but could use some advice.

[@gravelsandwich]

Great video mate, Thanks.

[@chitrasubbu7397]

Hi, Your videos are excellent and very informative. We live in Northern California. We have chosen 7.5" wide Engineered wooden flooring ( white Oak) with a wear layer of 4mm. My question is when I install the flooring should I do the combination of glue and nail/cleat or just nail/cleat is sufficient? Can you please help us with this?

[@tatianachachkovskyy4393]

Amazing video!

[@chucklynnegrew9003]

Great video with a lot o great info!

[@roxysimmons]

Love your videos!

[@abtechgroup]

Great video - beautiful job! What about hardwood over self-levelling over plywood subfloor thats not level? The nails will crack and spall the self-levelling??? Or build it up with a breathable membrane instead of self-levelling?

[@Barbodpiano0]

That was awesome 👏🏽

[@davidjrjimenez1030]

Great work but at 17:08 it wouldn’t matter for the floor to match the same at that case since it’ll make it easier?

[@JAD1DAD]

What barrier, if any, would you recommend for a house with a crawlspace and exposed earth?

[@lonestar4721]

Great video! How thick is the plywood underneath? How thick is the oak going on top? My house is 1/2 ply on the joists then 3/4 particle on top. The particle board is shot. I am wondering if I can pull up the particle and replace with 3/4 oak flooring strips or replace the particle with 3/4 ply and the oak on top. Thank you in advance.

[@sonomafred]

For starters boards that you face nail at groove side, you used 15 ga finish nailer or 18ga brad (pin) nailer? And, if 15ga, can 18 ga also be used instead or not robust enough? I’m using pre finished 3/4” plank and want to minimize holes. Thanks for video!

[@lumberjackhardwood]

18 ga is fine if you glue it as well.

[@BobMyers-y9b]

How would you install hardwood that does not have tongue and grooves? I bought some flooring to match up with existing flooring, 5/8", due to the thickness and it does not have tongue and grooves. I will be installing an entire room. Do you face nail it or try nailing on an angle into the side of the boards?

[@lenshandcraftedwoodsigns6033]

Question? When you reverse using the splines. could you have screwed some scraps on that side. Then use your floor nail gun like you typically would. Then block the other side and nail through the spline. I would think that having nailed through both would give you a strong joint. But would this cause an issue with floors moving as the weather changes?

[@lenshandcraftedwoodsigns6033]

Learned a few tricks. Thank you.

[@christophercolumbus8944]

do you like VIDAR products? have you used them ? engineered hardwood

[@TimReeves-l4u]

Do you have a recommendation for the glue used in the video? The chaulk gun looks to be special use for the large "tubes" of glue. I've found Bostik adhesive in a regulare size chaulk tube and woner what your professional opinion on the product is? Thxs in advance! I'm glad I've found your videos, very helpful as im going to tackle this 475sg.ft. job myself. Everyone that installs floors in northern Michigan are booked 1-2 years in advance. I cant wait that long as my kitchen and dinning room are all stripped bare.

[@TimReeves-l4u]

Also, im installing Summerset pre finished/stained Hickory flooring 3/4"thick x 3 1/4" width. Do you recommend the standard flooring nails or staples what gauge or size do you recommend. By the way, if you'd like to come to Charlevoix, Mi for an install, id be a happy camper! 😁

[@oscarvaldez7894]

Thank you sir.

[@serenadesoz]

Can you do floating floors with hardwood?

[@kellylynch5113]

Not with solid or engineered hardwood, because it is a natural product it has to be able to expand and contract, but if it’s not nailed or glued down after a couple seasons you will have unsightly gaps on the floor. Floating floors can only be done with products like luxury vinyl plank or tile and laminates that have locking tongue and groove built into them as well as don’t expand and contract like wood

[@jillf7401]

Could you link the wood floor adhesive you used. There are many choices and I want to get the correct one for my install. Thanks!

[@PoBox-ix7lc]

Would you glue and staple 1"x12"x16' pine tg on 3/4 osb wood subfloor over crawalspace or vapor barrier w staples? Great work!

[@funeralgiggle3771]

2:32 floor squeaks- please tell us more. How to fix in more detail?

[@thaitran4527]

Any reason why you dont glue the enitre floor? If you went with a thicker board would there be an expectation to glue?

[@jayzswayz4897]

if i want to go against the joists, i screw down another layer of subfloor? is there a depth I should be going for?

[@riley12c]

Are those boots thorogoods?

[@seanpelletier2637]

what gauge pin nails would you recommend?

[@gracekim7902]

Great video! Thank you! You mentioned in one of your videos that vinyl is toxic ~ is the 15 pound roofing tar paper for underlayment also toxic since it’s made for outside? We need to buy underlayment for our hardwood floors and we are very confused with so many options. Thank you!!

[@gracekim7902]

Also does it matter if we use the 15 pound you’re using in the video or the 30 pound?

[@lumberjackhardwood]

30 lb is way to thick and will cause problems where it over laps. Your best option is aqua bar B, which is what we normally use. We just have roofing paper in this video because we were shooting a video on underlayments.

[@tatianachachkovskyy4393]

⁠@@lumberjackhardwoodwould you advice to use aqua bar b for underpayment for the whole floor without roofing paper?

[@Sean-Aviation]

But how do you establish the first row to be straight ?

[@deepmodel-q3b]

From 1:28 Felt like I was watching a 1970's Kung Fu movie!

[@anhtuanb]

You mentioned about high quality nailer for wider boards 4in and up. I plan to install 5 in boards. What do you recommend? Thanks.

[@lumberjackhardwood]

You should probably glue and nail your floor then. It's called glue assist. You will need a glue special for wood floors like Berger Seidle's glues and a liquid applied moisture barrier.

[@anhtuanb]

@lumberjackhardwoodsupply Thanks. It doesn't seem Berger available here in US. Would Bostik Grip-N-Shield adhesive that has moisture vapor control be a good alternative? If not, anything you know of that is available in the US? Thanks.

[@patandderry8416]

Damned good video

[@curtisferrier9822]

We dont use tar paper Been installing hardwood for 20 years never have i used it..

[@lumberjackhardwood]

Yeah, I honestly don't think its a big deal either if its over a dry basement or similar.

[@frozenwalkway]

mann i need some primatech guns

[@lumberjackhardwood]

They are the way to go!

[@stephenmarketos778]

You using "sight" down the wall. Thats a no no. Snap a chalk line.

[@deanbrown8980]

That’s not a pin nailer. A pin nailer is 21 or 23 gauge. You’re using a 16 and 15 gauge finish nailer.

[@_Ag-]

He mentioned that.

[@joshhuntley289]

Yikes!