How to Install and Caulk Wood Floors
- 1). Roll out your paper underlayment in courses, letting the edges overlap by an inch or so. Cut them with a razor knife to fit in the room. Staple them down.
- 2). Snap a line half an inch out from the longest edge of the room, using your chalk snapline. This will be your starting line for the flooring. (Note: You will keep a half-inch gap by the walls throughout, to allow the floor to expand with climate changes.)
- 3). Lay a prefinished hardwood floor board along the line, at one end, with the groove side facing the wall. Leave half an inch between the end of the board and the wall. Use a floor nailer to shoot nails down through the surface of the board, every foot, along both edges.
- 4). Lay a second floor board off the end of the first, linking them by their milled fittings. Nail it as before. Lay the rest of the first row in the same manner, top-nailing all the boards as you go. Cut the last board on a miter saw to fit at the end with a half-inch space left.
- 5). Set the second course in place alongside the first course, linking the boards at their sides. Nail them down through the sides of the boards rather than the tops, shooting in the nails at an angle.
- 6). Work your way across the whole floor, nailing the boards through the sides and cutting the last board of each course on the miter saw. Set the boards so their ends don't line up between courses.
- 7). Cut the last course of boards along their lengths on your table saw. Leave a half-inch gap at the wall.
- 8). Measure, cut and install your pre-finished floor trim around the perimeter of the room, using your miter saw and trim nailer. The trim should hide the half-inch gaps.
- 9). Run a smooth, thin bead of caulk around the perimeter of the floor, where it meets the trim.
