How To Lay A Wooden Floor On Joists

While personal preference is a factor the direction in which you run hardwood flooring boards is governed by visual and structural guidelines.

How to lay a wooden floor on joists.

Set the first two planks against opposing walls. Keep joints that line up at least two rows apart. If you can feel some deflection you have two options. Install hardwood floors perpendicular to the floor joists parallel to the longest wall leaving a inch expansion gap around the perimeter.

Join the ends of the boards over a floor joist where possible avoiding joints that form an h. In cases where greater open spans are needed framers often use joist hangers which are u shaped hardware pieces that are nailed in to accept hold and support flooring joists. Another important thing to take into account when laying hardwood floors is the possibility that your walls aren t straight. Before starting calculate the width the last row will be.

Measure 16 inches from the center of one of the edge planks and then place the next plank across the plastic sheeting centered on the 16 inch mark. Lay the planks in place along the four inch side to serve as floor joists. It s like a mini bridge that s only supported at each end. The other option assuming you have access to the open joists from below is to install 2x4 blocking between the joists 24 inches on center.

If raising the floor height is not a problem you can install a layer of 1 2 inch plywood over the existing 3 4 inch plywood. Work in small sections until the entire floor is covered. Laying a solid hardwood strip floor is easier and faster if you choose a prefinished product to avoid the extra work of sanding staining and finishing. The correct direction for laying hardwood floors.

When possible begin installation from the straightest longest wall and install the flooring perpendicular to the floor joists. Besides solid wood joists systems such as i joists and flooring trusses provide other options for consideration when it comes to installing a flooring framework. Another thing to consider is floor joists. Installing hardwood floors with a few careful preparations elbow grease and a weekend you can have beautiful new floors.

If the uneven floor is due to floor joists that have warped or twisted over time or were incorrectly installed the only way to level the floor is to remove the subflooring and shim the joists. Make sure you ve got the right amount of flooring for your space.