How To Install Nail Down Hardwood Floors On Concrete

Solid hardwood flooring only can be installed on or above ground level with a plywood subfloor.

How to install nail down hardwood floors on concrete.

Plan to nail down the engineered hardwood flooring when you have a wood subfloor. Engineered flooring can be installed above grade at grade and below grade level do not install hardwood flooring in bathrooms. When installing a basement hardwood floor the concrete must be flat so the tongue and grooves of the hardwood meet and connect. It s best to use shorter cleats than you would for a wood floor to ensure they sink in all the way.

How to install a nail down subfloor over concrete. Get a comprehensive breakdown on which materials to use what to take into consideration and what steps to take for four subfloor systems. Plywood subfloor panels of 5 8 thickness or higher are recommended. It follows the same method as staple down installation but you use a wood flooring cleat rather than a stapler.

Nail installation is a method commonly used for solid hardwood floors. To begin stagger panel joints and use 1 8 spacers between panels. Lay the 1x4s perpendicular to the direction you intend to install the floor planks. Floated subfloor alternate subfloor glue down sub floor and the nail down subfloor system.

Always check with the manufacturer s instructions to determine if your hardwood floor can be installed over an in floor radiant heat system. You need to fill any large cracks and be sure that the entire floor is level. If you re installing engineered hardwood floors please refer to the staple down instructions. Old basement slabs can crack and buckle in places.

Gluing works well when you are installing engineered hardwood over a concrete subfloor but be sure you clearly understand the manufacturer s application instructions before you glue that floor. Align the first board with the layout line with the tongue facing into the room. Learn how to install beautiful hardwood floors over a concrete slab. Here s how to install flooring using the nail down method.

And for do it yourselfers the preferred method is the floating floor installation which. Treated plywood to the concrete with concrete screws spaced every 16 in. Other products are better suited for a nail down installation where they are secured to a wood subfloor with nails or staples. Some engineered wood flooring products are designed for a glue down application when installing flooring over a concrete slab.

Alternatively screw rows of treated 1x4s to the concrete 16 in. You simply nail the boards with a flooring nailer. Then nail the flooring planks with a standard flooring nailer see photo for details.