Hardwood Installation Methods
Hardwood flooring is a popular and timeless choice for adding warmth, character, and beauty to residential and commercial spaces. Here are key aspects of hardwood floors:
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Material: Hardwood floors are made from natural wood. Common wood species include oak, maple, cherry, walnut, and more. Each species has its own unique grain pattern, color variations, and hardness.
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Types:
- Solid Hardwood: Constructed from a single piece of wood, solid hardwood can be sanded and refinished multiple times.
- Engineered Hardwood: Consists of a top layer of real wood veneer bonded to layers of plywood or HDF. Engineered hardwood is more stable in fluctuating environments and can be re-finished multiple times depending upon veneer layer.
Most common question we being asked at store, which method you recommend to install the hardwood ? Well being in flooring business, we encounter many jobsites where beautiful hardwood has to be removed because the installers or homeowners did not follow the manufacturer guidelines or recommended installation method. To simplify the things for our customers, here are the different methods which can be used for installing the hardwood flooring depending on job site, environment conditions, type of wood, width and thickness of hardwood.
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Nail Down / Staple Down Installation:
- Process: Involves nailing or stapling the hardwood planks directly to the subfloor.
- Best For: Suitable for plywood or OSB subfloors. Common in traditional hardwood installations. Recommended for planks upto width of maximum 5 inch.
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Glue Down Installation:
- Process: Involves applying adhesive directly to the subfloor and then placing the hardwood planks onto the glue.
- Best For: Suitable for concrete subfloors. Provides a strong and stable bond.
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Floating Installation:
- Process: Planks are attached to each other, not the subfloor, and the entire floor "floats" over an underlayment.
- Best For: Suitable for various subfloor types. Allows for some flexibility and is often used with engineered hardwood.
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Click and Lock Installation:
- Process: Similar to floating, but the planks have a locking mechanism that clicks into place.
- Best For: Often used with engineered hardwood known as CLick Hardwood. Easy for DIY installations.
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Glue-Assisted Nail Down Installation:
- Process: Combines nailing the hardwood over OSB subfloor with a bead of adhesive or spread of adhesive for added stability.
- Best For: Provides the stability of nailing with the added benefits of adhesive. Recommended for planks having width more than 5 inch.
From this article you would have idea that Plank width and subfloor plays major role in deciding which method you use while installing the hardwood floor. For planks more than 5 inch wide, we recommend to use Glue-Assisted Nail down installation. To read further about Glue Assisted Nail down, please read our next article.
For any questions or concerns you can always visit us at 260 Sheldon dr Cambridge or can email us your questions at sales@thefloorhut.ca
Best Wishes
Garry Sahota