Tips For A Super Easy Diy Hardwood Floor Installation Project

Dec 14, 2018

As hardwood flooring experts, there is a list of few tools and accessories that we recommend to make your flooring DIY change easy-peasy. Once you have the basics in place, time to get your tools and accessories organized so you can begin the installation. However, before you actually begin your installation we ask you to take a step back and consider safety first.

Accessories

Before starting your DIY hardwood flooring job, consider getting ready with all the necessary apparatus. We are not talking about the tools, but about the safety equipment that you first need to make sure that the job is safely performed. We recommend the following safety accessories:

  • Safety Goggles: Eye injuries can occur anytime and can be detrimental. Wear safety goggles as a safe practice.
  • Dust mask & vapour respirators: They are extremely important to ensure that you are protected from wood dust. Make sure to use a NIOSH N95 rating and the one that has letters N95 printed on the mask.
  • Earplugs: Prolonged exposure to loud noise such as drilling machine, power saws, etc., can result in permanent or temporary loss of hearing. Remember to protect your ears from them using ear plugs.
  • Knee pads: Use contractor grade knee pads to protect your knees from getting bruised. As these pads have a softer out layer, they will also not damage the flooring.
  • Safety boots: Make sure that your boots are covering your feet well and have clean and well defines treads, else they can be slippery. Opt for the ones with ASTM standards for compression and impact testing of I-75/C75.
  • Heavy Gloves: We cannot stress enough on the importance of wearing the right kind of gloves for flooring jobs. As a majority of the work involved handling complex and heavy equipment, sharp edges and metals, we highly recommend not proceeding with your DIY project without safety gloves.

Tools

Once you have all the important safety gear and wish to proceed with the project, here are some tools to ensure you can finish your DIY project, easily, safely and efficiently.

Electrical testers

Keep an electrical tester handy so that you can check the presence and the amount of current in an outlet. This will help you to decide whether the outlet has enough voltage to operate certain machines through that outlet.

Wood moisture meter

One of the most critical tools of hardwood flooring DIY project is the wood moisture meter. Reportedly, more than 500 million dollars are spent by homeowners every year to repair or reinstall badly installed wooden flooring. This is because the wood has not been checked in terms of its moisture content. Most wood can eventually result in cracking, cupping or bucking up, making your wooden flooring uneven and a safety hazard. You can use pinless meters or pin style meters to check wood moisture, as per your preference. A concrete RH system can also provide an accurate reading for wood moisture content.

Tape measure

One of the most inexpensive but high on utility tool is the tape measure. For every stage of hardwood floor installation, you will need a tape measure to cut the wood in accurate dimensions.

Spacers

Spacers are tools that help you to maintain a breathable distance between the wooden floor and the perimeter of the room. This distance prevents moisture from getting trapped in the flooring leading to expansion or contraction of the wooden flooring.

Saws

A saw set is important to cut through the wood as per required dimensions. One can choose between different kinds saws. There a several manual saw options that serve different purposes:

  • Standard hand, crosscut and rip saw
  • Backsaw, a shorter, fine-toothed saw
  • Coping saws
  • Hacksaws and mini-hacksaws
  • Jamb saws

Power saws come in different types like a circular saw, reciprocating-type saws, and band saws, each of them serving a different purpose.

Nail set and nailing machines

Nail sets look like awls, helping to achieve precision and least damage when inserting nails in the wooden flooring. Nailing machines help to minimize the time spent behind nailing each nail.

Apart from those enumerated above, we recommend many more tools and accessories to get a top-notch DIY wooden flooring job done as per individual home needs. Get in touch with us today to know how we can help you get your wooden flooring done, hassle free, efficient and fast.

The contributor is an expert in wooden flooring from Milton Hardwood specializing in hardwood installation and retail. They offer affordable, efficient and reliable wooden flooring solutions with premium quality hardwood and impeccable service. Contact us for any other flooring-related questions, or check out our current flooring promotions for a great selection of hardwood floors at excellent prices.