Hardwood and Laminate Flooring Installation
Hardwood and laminate questions focus on moisture, acclimation, expansion gaps, fastening schedules and floating-floor limits.
Acclimation and moisture
- Solid and engineered wood: acclimatize in the room, typically 3-7 days; moisture content usually 6-9% depending on region.
- Hold indoor relative humidity roughly 35-55%; the subfloor should read within a few points of the flooring.
- Laminate: about 48 hours in the room, flat and unopened unless directed otherwise.
Subfloor and layout
- Flat to 3/16 in. in 10 ft; correct humps and dips before racking.
- Run boards perpendicular to joists where possible, or along the longest dimension for appearance.
- Rack out 3-4 rows first to judge the layout; stagger end joints at least 6 in., preferably more.
- Undercut door jambs and casings so flooring slides beneath.
Fastening
- Blind-nail through the tongue at about 45° with a 15.5-gauge stapler or 18-gauge cleat nailer, roughly 6-8 in. spacing with closer nailing at ends.
- Face-nail the first row where the nailer cannot reach, then set and fill.
- Glue-down engineered floors use the specified urethane or hardwood adhesive with full coverage.
Floating laminate
- Foam underlayment plus a vapour barrier over concrete; no fastening to the subfloor.
- Expansion gap 1/4-3/8 in. at walls and fixed objects; respect maximum run lengths and use T-moulds at doorways and large openings.
- Never trap a floating floor under cabinets or heavy islands.
Worked example
A laminate floor installed last summer is tenting at a doorway. Diagnosis: the installer ran the floor tight through the jamb with no expansion gap, and seasonal humidity made the panels grow. The repair is to cut back at the jamb, install a T-mould and restore the perimeter gap - not to sand or weight the panels.
Traps
- Butting boards to walls, causing buckling.
- Nailing too close to a board end, splitting the tongue.
- Skipping the vapour barrier over concrete.
- Installing over a floor that exceeds flatness tolerance and shimming only at the ends.