Video by Wickes. This guide draws on the popular "How To Fit a Solid Wood Floor" tutorial from the Wickes YouTube channel, which covers the key stages of a solid wood installation neatly and clearly. Worth watching alongside reading the steps below - seeing the secret nailing technique in action is far more useful than any written description of it.
1. Acclimatise the boards before you do anything else
Solid wood moves with humidity. Leave the boards lying flat in the room they are going into - still in their packaging - for at least 48 to 72 hours. Longer is better if the room is particularly dry or damp.
Do not stack them upright against a wall. Flat, with airflow around them. This is the step most people skip and most often regret.
2. Prepare the subfloor
The subfloor needs to be flat to within 3 mm over a 1.8 m span. Check this with a long spirit level or a straight batten, and mark any high spots or dips.
Sand down high spots on timber subfloors. Fill dips with self-levelling compound on concrete, and let it cure fully. Any grit, nails, or old adhesive left behind will cause problems later.
3. Check the moisture content
Solid wood and damp are a poor combination. Use a moisture meter on the subfloor before you start. Concrete should be below 75% relative humidity, timber subfloors below 12% moisture content.
If the reading is too high, stop and find the source. Laying over a damp subfloor is asking for the floor to lift, cup, or gap within a year.
4. Lay an underlay or vapour barrier
On concrete subfloors, lay a polythene damp-proof membrane first, with the sheets lapping up the wall by about 50 mm. On timber subfloors, a thin foam underlay helps with minor unevenness and reduces noise.
Tape the joints between sheets. This is not glamorous work, but getting it right here prevents moisture from wicking up into the boards.
5. Snap a chalk line and start the first row
Decide which way the boards will run. Parallel to the longest wall usually looks best. Leave a 10 to 15 mm expansion gap around the entire perimeter - use offcuts of board as spacers.
Snap a chalk line a board-width in from the starting wall to keep your first row perfectly straight. The first row sets the angle for everything that follows, so take time to get it right.
6. Secret nail each board
Drive a flooring nail or staple at 45 degrees through the tongue of each board into the subfloor. This is called secret nailing - the groove of the next board conceals the fixings.
On concrete, you will be gluing rather than nailing. Use a flooring-grade adhesive applied with a notched trowel. Either way, tap each board tight with a rubber mallet and a tapping block before fixing.
7. Work row by row, staggering the joints
Offset the end joints between adjacent rows by at least 300 mm. A random-looking stagger is what you are after - a pattern of short boards all lining up looks cheap and weakens the floor.
Use a pull bar to close up the last board in each row without damaging the edge. Mind you, this is where most people start to rush. Do not.
8. Fit the final row and finish the edges
The last row will almost certainly need ripping down on a table saw or with a circular saw to fit. Measure carefully - the gap to the wall will not be uniform if the wall is not perfectly straight.
Fit timber beading or Scotia moulding around the perimeter to cover the expansion gap. Nail the beading into the skirting board, not into the floor, so the floor can still move freely underneath it.
9. Fit threshold strips at doorways
Where solid wood meets another floor surface - carpet, tiles, another room - fit a threshold strip to cover the joint and protect the board ends. These come in various profiles: flat bar, T-bar, ramp, and reducer. Match the profile to the height difference between the two surfaces.
When to call a handyman
Call Richard if the subfloor is seriously uneven, if the room is large or awkwardly shaped, or if you are unsure about moisture readings. Solid wood is one of those jobs where confidence in the prep stages makes the difference. Getting a professional in for the groundwork can save a lot of expensive mistakes on the boards themselves.
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The Sandwich Handyman can help with solid wood and engineered wood flooring installation, subfloor preparation, and finishing across Sandwich, Kent.
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