Do I Nail Down Fiber Board Underlayment?

This entry was posted on Jan 25, 2016.

Solid hardwood floors must be fixed into position by either gluing or nailing down to the subfloor. Engineered hardwood floors can be glued or nailed into position, merely they besides have the option of being floated over an underlay. If you choose to set up your hardwood floor into position, you then have the pick of either gluing your flooring to the subfloor using flexible floor adhesive to create a full surface bond, or y'all tin can secretly smash your floor straight to the subfloor. Which method you cull, mainly depends upon your subfloor. If you have a concrete subfloor, so you should mucilage your hardwood down, if you have a wooden subfloor so you can choose either method of installation. However, if you are planning on fitting your hardwood floor to joists, then you will demand to secret boom them into place.

When laying hardwood floor in whatsoever way, it is ever important to cheque that your subfloor is dry, level and apartment, and leave an expansion gap of at to the lowest degree 12mm effectually the perimeter of the room.

For farther information on subfloors, run into our article: 'How to prepare my subfloor before installing hardwood'. And for more than communication about expansion gaps, see: 'What is an expansion gap?'

Gluing my hardwood floor downward
To be able to glue your hardwood floor down the subfloor must exist a solid and sound structure, for instance, concrete or wooden floor boards. Yous should use flexible floor adhesive to allow your flooring to expand and contract with natural changes in temperature and humidity. Always beginning with the longest wall in the room, ensuring you exit the correct expansion gap. But employ the adhesive to the subfloor with a notched trowel and spread beyond a small expanse at a time (approximately 1m²). Identify the hardwood flooring planks on top of the adhesive and push them together. There is no need to glue the planks together as they are fully bonded to the subfloor. Flooring straps tin can also exist used to concur the boards into place to ensure they practise not movement around while the glue is drying.

Trowel_Glue_Adhesive Applying flexible floor adhesive using a notched trowel

Hugger-mugger nailing my hardwood floor down
Secret nailing downward your hardwood floor is ideal if you have a wooden subfloor (plywood, wooden floor boards or joists), just it is not a suitable method of installation if you have chipboard or a concrete subfloor. In order to blast your hardwood floor down, it must exist at to the lowest degree 18mm thick, and you should run the planks of floor perpendicular to whatever existing floor boards. E'er brand sure yous are using the right equipment. A Portanailer gun is specifically designed to use flat nails that have teeth on either side to ensure the wood cannot come loose when your floor volition naturally aggrandize and contract over fourth dimension. Using a nail gun is quite straightforward; just position it over the border of the plank where the tongue is establish and use a mallet to push the nail in at a 45 degree angle. This will ensure that the blast is completely hidden from view and will securely attach your flooring to the subfloor.

How to fit wood flooring onto existing wooden floor boards - secret nailing Nailed hardwood floor. Paradigm: hss.com