Richard I am three days older than dirt and worked in the building trade as a carpenter and trained others as well, I just wanted to say to you that I always tried for perfection as well but never achieved it. I always said you have to strive for perfection in order to get something acceptable. I can rest easier at night knowing that folk like you and many of your subscribers are striving to carry on and do things right. It gives me great satisfaction-Godspeed!
SleepCheek I don’t know a lot about installing floors and been trying to learn. From the research I’ve done, this is one of the best videos I’ve found. As of 09/14/20, there are some videos with a LOT of views on this site with VERY bad advice on installing hardwood on a slab. Most of them are not putting down any barriers or a subfloor- which is just incredible. Some of those people are professionals. I’m glad you talk about those dangers here. Thank you for making this video.
Love your shows. As and old guy who been at this a life time. As noted square the room. Then measure the width and divide the by the face side of the flooring. This will give you the number of boards and the left over. If the left over is less than 2 inches add to the width then start with half that width. This will give equal board width on both sides of the room and eliminate a start or end board that runs to zero. Works with tile or any paneling.
Funny how I've watched so many hardwood install videos yet I feel like I get a lot of empty talk and never all the info I need. You answered everything with none of the extra and even gave me tips.
I know tons of people are getting projects done around the house. Using time wisely. Right on man. Thanks for the video. Floor looks great I like the rustic oak
The rustic oak might not be for everyone, but I for one love it. When you installed the floors upstairs, & had the close up’s highlighting the grain characteristics, I said to myself, “that’s the floor for my cabin.” Thank you Richard, keep you & your family safe.
The rustic oak might not be for everyone, but I for one love it. When you installed the floors upstairs, & had the close up’s highlighting the grain characteristics, I said to myself, “that’s the floor for my cabin.” Thank you Richard, keep you & your family safe.
Good thing you know the homeowners on that 2nd floor install. Also, you can get router bits that cut the tongue or groove as needed. This is especially useful when you do patterns or inlays.
Floor looks great man. Discovered your channel a few months ago and have binged on your videos. I build cabinets and do trim work for a living and thought I knew a decent bit but man your videos are helpful tips.
Hey man you are my hero. You have given us so many great tips and took the time to give us excellent videos. I was looking for your video on how you prepared the floor prior to installing the hardwood flooring but was unable to locate it. Please keep posting.
Richard, I am Native American with the Navajo Tribe. I just happened to get hired by a former special forces guy. I did two different side jobs.for him. On recent occasion he asked me to do a crown molding job and it was my first attempt. I been watching your videos ever since.
Love the channel Richard. Using your laser level to send a straight line across the floor can really help keep you going straight. It also allows you to measure to the wall at a bunch of places before you start nailing cuz sometimes it's the wall that is crooked.
Man. Do I want to see that ripped down 1/2 to 3 1/2 piece...lol... Again man. You're vids are like a lesson taught by a teacher. I've learned so much practical things that I've applied to my own house. Keep doing what you do my dude. Tip of the cap
I've done more than a couple hardwood floors, VLP floors and laminate (pergo) floors, and installed them all the same way, I did not know about those insert tongues! I snap a "connection" line reference where they merge and measured from both walls to see where I needed to cheat square, then started at the same theoretical wall of both rooms and joined the two smaller rooms to the bigger room or hallway or whatever. Great content!
This video was filmed at height of pandemic; your commentary was hilarious. I, too, made few adjustments.. This information is very valuable, thanks much.
I remember about 10-15 years ago my uncle and I were doing hardwood flooring and I remember him removing that white shoe on the bottom of the stapler in order to go in the other direction.
I would like to say that I love your videos. Your videos gave me the confidence to tackle crown molding for the first time ever. I have always been intimidated by doing it, but thanks to you, I was able to get it done. I used your tips on the mitre cuts and your tip on how to get invisible seams when joining 2 pieces of crown for a long wall. My seams came out invisible and my cuts came out great. Thanks again!!
Love the spline idea.Thanks for sharing that. I think you should be leaving a 3/8" expansion gap (minimum?) around the edges(walls) to allow for expansion due to humidity. For the same reason,I believe you should never go more than 10 m (especially across the boards) before leaving a 3/8" break,covered by a dividing strip before resuming the covering. For this reason it is usually best to do individual rooms separately so the room dividers/thresholds are found in the doorways,under the doors. If you do that,then you can change orientation and direction of lay from one room to the next. In other words you should have removed the skirting/baseboard first then started 3/8" from the walls and then relaid the baseboard over the flooring to hide the essential expansion gap.
Glued engineer wood to my slab just cause I hate the flimsy cheap feel of a float. Only thing I regret is not using the self leveler for the corners of 1 or 2 areas . Every now and again I will walk right on top of a soft spot. Still urks the hell out of me 6 years later.
Thank you for sharing your journey Richard. Lengthwise, boards move less than width. However, one should never install any wood product without an expansion gap. I saw you place the board you were installing during the installation video right up to the baseboard / wall. With less expansion and contraction through the seasons lengthwise, you may be safer but it's essential to ALWAYS have an expansion gap on all walls throughout a space.
yes you are right, for solid hardwood, you should not use the staples as he is using. Use the 2 inch serrated cleats to eliminate vertical movements of the boards after installed. Using staples will void any warranty from the mill.
Older video but cement on grade hardwood flooring its easier to use a urethane adhesive. If you're really worried about moisture you could grind the concrete and use an epoxy selfleveling "system" and glue to that your floor looks great though just got here from the finish video looks good keep up the content
Great looking floor! I started doing floors (carpet, hardwood, tile) as a kid with my dad and moved into being a GC as I went along. I guess you could say I “started from the bottom now I’m here”. I’d have used toggles to hold it all down, but other than that you did great. 😂
Yep, I have done the same mistake as you when you didn't measure from the remote wall. I even had to do it twice before I realized that it wasn't the floorboards that weren't straight, but rather that it was my work methods that were faulty. But hey, my tapering jig for the tablesaw got a lot of workout. But that's how it goes when you let a hobby woodworking computer programmer loose on renovation projects.
It's easier with the floating tenons if you start in the middle of the room. I use a chalk line for this. If you place that line well then you also don't have the extreme tapers, as these are split across both sides of the room.
My man Richard. I love your videos your a supper honest overall great guy. I learned tones from your with trim work. I’ve been doing flooring for a long time and I heard you say there is no reason to let the glue dry before you nail the spline in. The reason why you have to wait for the glue to dry is so the spline won’t be pushed down slightly by the staples at the very least right were the staples hit it. When you go to put the next piece in, it Typically won’t sit flush with the other board because the spline is slightly lower thus forcing that piece to sit lower. Most people won’t notice the difference as it’s small. I was also wondering if there was a reason you didn’t glue it directly to the slap using some kind of urethane adhesive that blocks moisture if any. Anyways brotha keep up the good work I watch your videos all the time and if I forget UA-cam recommendations remind me 🤙
i love my little flexvolt compressor, i managed to frame a 15*15 deck with it. its a bit slow but i do almost exclusively finish work so the batteries last forever
yea man great job. I myself am not a flooring guy by trade. I did it to save money and my ego ("I can do that, cant be that hard"). I took out 800SqFt of carpet and pad. But of course it wasnt as simple as just laying down the floor after. I had to get raise the subfloor 1/2" so glue and screw that down, adjust some duct work, and last but not least under cut a brick wall and hearth on the fireplace in order to have the flooring going underneath the brick. There was no other way to make that look good, I wasnt going to be able to get a scribe tight enough. Also another challenge is we used "cabin grade" hardwood flooring, probably something along the lines of what you used. Lots of imperfections, some shorter pieces, some longer pieces, and welllll some pieces were unusable. Looks awesome man. BTW Ive used a lot of your videos to help me with trim work and transitions, especially with that above listed job. Thanks for the all the insight and taking the time to make these videos. My brother works solely on UA-cam so I know how much time and effort it is to make and edit the videos.
I usually will place a line of of planks parallel to eachother all the way to the other side of the wall without nailing them so I have a real vision where my last plank will land and adjust the first row accordingly. Measure and measure, and when ready, put my first row by the wall and go for it.
Surprized you would like something so rustic, thought you were more of a clean look finish guy, i love rustic looks like that.Never saw a battery operated compressor before. Good job.
Hey man, how did you secure the subfloor on the slab? I’m curious. Residential is fine but usually the condo board doesn’t allow nailing to the concrete. Anyone else run into this issue?
5/8 subfloor on slab plus 3/4 flooring? Neat idea alternative to glue but can you show what your exterior door transition looks like when matched to so much build up? Did you have to trim the bottom of any interior doors?
@@erikmedina7535 I guess that leads to the next question, Why not glue down engineered hardwood to the slab? That is what I did. And the glue/trowel combo automatically makes the moister barrier. Also does not build up too much thickness to match up to other flooring and don't need to cut doors.
@@blaster-zy7xx yes you can glue down engineered flooring to concrete slab. We usually put a moisture barrier before like mvp and then vapor lock from Bostik. I was saying you can’t glue solid hardwood directly on to concrete. We usually put tar and then two layers of 15 pound roofing paper and then we can nail 3/4 in plywood with a special concrete nailer with have. And then you can install the solid hardwood on top.
hey, looks like a great job,,, you have great perfection in mind and that will make the job come out perfect... were always learning.. so great video and great job..
Not that the compressor is bad in any way, the price got me. So I picked up a dewalt powerstation for my work last june, made all the corded tools I already had "cordless". Tablesaw, miter saw, compressor, hammer drill, I certainly have a fair amount of the cordless but I would highly recommend one just for the battery charging ability alone, the tool use is just a huge bonus. If dewalt would just make a 23guage flexvolt already I could do away with my compressor almost completely
Had to install 2200sf of bamboo... I got 1/2 way through one room, and went out to grab that cordless Dewalt floor nailer. Rapid fire from then on! 😃💪🏾
I think he was saying the two "parallel" walls were not parallel. It's easy to assume two walls are parallel when they are 10, 12, or more feet apart. Therefore, If you start placing your flooring parallel to the starting wall and the far wall is not exactly parallel, the difference will become painfully obvious. The problem is also very apparent when tiling a floor. The fix for situations like this involves splitting the difference and/or making very minor corrections with every course of the flooring.
So you put ⅝ OSB as subfloor, did you have any transition issues at external doors? Also, the felt you put down, was that a decoupler for tile flooring?
Yo Richard I do Hardwoodfloors for a living and it’s so sick watching you install your floor I hope you and your family and everyone watching is safe during this time.
Woohoo. Ya did a nice job. I love the word SPLINE... It sounds like a disease. Lol. Been doing HW floors for 15 yrs ya did good.. And always remember ur KNEE PADS. I get young guys on the job, tell them put on their knee pads... Young guys dont listen... They will learn the hard way.. Nice job
Really like your channel, always learn something new. Great video, learned about using splines! One question I had and couldn’t tell from the video- did you allow for wood movement? When I installed my floors way back in the 80s, my contractor made sure I stayed an inch off all the walls to allow for movement. That gap was covered with baseboard and quarter round. Maybe that’s not necessary anymore, not sure and I’m not a pro installer.
3/8" expansion gap is adequate for a 30' distance across the boards.This is then covered by the baseboard. Always put a break (3/8") between rooms,even with concrete floors ,using a matching room divider strip.
Ummm.... you have it backwards. The cleats have ridges to prevent them from coming out or moving in and out or squeaking. The staples are smooth. Just like using screws is better for decking, instead of smooth nails. As a carpenter you should know that lumber, flooring, wood. expands and contracts with humidity. Shoot a staple /smooth fastener in, later the flooring shrinks on a dry day...... thus the hole opens to allow squeaking. With a cleat the ridges help keep it in place. The ridges are angles to prevent them from coming out.
Oh yeah I hear ya. Did flooring in my place for the first time. It turned out good bit like you were saying all those little things I wish I knew when I started
I have encountered several of those long runs comimg out of a room and around a corner. use a stringline along the last installed course to determine the location of the starters extending into the unknown territory. I also find that very few homes are square.... Interior layout more than exterior walls.
Your flooring nailer sounds like it needs oil badly. Usually when you can hear it shoot, then retract. Its starving on oil. Put a good 10 drops in the air inlet
Do you use a finish nailer 18 gauge or a framing nailer 15 gauge to shoot the last two rows against the wall. And if you do use a framing nailer should I get the Milwaukee 30° or straight framing nailer. Thank you much you’re the best
Richard- I’ve been a fan boy of your channel for years. Being a DIYer I need knowledge & experience. Your channel brings the knowledge and I have to be slow and meticulous to make up for lack of experience. I found your channel when I was searching for tips regarding installing a coffered ceiling. The ceiling turned out pretty good for a DIYer. Unfortunately I found your channel about hardwood over concrete but I didn’t see the process of your layering. Other videos show gluing the wood to concrete but you installed a subfloor. How thick was the layering? You have the 5/8 subfloor how much did the extra layers add? Any other tips you learned for installing hardwood over concrete? I wish you showed how to pre measure the bare room to get a good result. How do you compensate for rooms out of square? Do you just leave small gaps on edges near the wall and install baseboard over it?
good stuff bro! just started doing flooring and finishing last year. learning lots from you man! being out 3 inches on a floor would drive me bonkers haha gotta learn somehow though
The dewalt flexvolt compressor is awesome. I built a cart on wheels for mine and it's way more portable. I'll send you a picture on IG if you want some inspiration.
I am working on my flooring and had some questions you answered some of them for me, Thank you. I do have another. How did you secure your subflooring?
Thank you for the explanation of layers under wood floor. I have oak over concrete. I also have carpet mixed in. I imagine that the extra layers add height to this. Only way to get the right height would be to add subfloor then do wood and carpet? This sounds like the best approach. Let me know your thoughts.
Problem with concrete whether new or old is it is porous and water will wick up through it. Best product I have found for installing floors over concrete is called DMX 1 step underlayment. It is antimicrobial so you never get mold and there is an air gap so you do not retain moisture. Now if you need to install hardwood over it then you simply add a subfloor and do it like any regular hardwood install.
Did you have to replace the doors too? Doing a remodel soon. Taking out carpet, putting in hardwood. Seems like the sub floor + flooring would be too tight against the doors. How did you work around that?
You are very helpful. No room in any house is going to be square,right?So,you can measure a 100 times, you will almost always cut the floor board at the wall on an angle of some extent,correct?
![Lp. Сердце Вселенной #60 РОЖДЕНИЕ ЛОЛОЛОШКИ [Финал] • Майнкрафт](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/YoR0pAV9FVQ/mqdefault.jpg)
Richard I am three days older than dirt and worked in the building trade as a carpenter and trained others as well, I just wanted to say to you that I always tried for perfection as well but never achieved it. I always said you have to strive for perfection in order to get something acceptable. I can rest easier at night knowing that folk like you and many of your subscribers are striving to carry on and do things right. It gives me great satisfaction-Godspeed!
Honestly man, you're lessons are 10 times better than what I have paid for at trade school. Good for you for doing this. I really appreciate it.
This guy is easy to listen to. It doesn’t come across rehearsed, just real.
Your total honest about your mistakes. Is so refreshing. You are a very good carpenter. Please keep up on the videos. They are amazing !!
Never heard of the spline to reverse the direction. That solves my problem . Thanks.
I use that for every my hardwood job here at Canada 🇨🇦
Home depot i think now $4 a piece
I just rip them from scrap
SleepCheek
I don’t know a lot about installing floors and been trying to learn. From the research I’ve done, this is one of the best videos I’ve found. As of 09/14/20, there are some videos with a LOT of views on this site with VERY bad advice on installing hardwood on a slab. Most of them are not putting down any barriers or a subfloor- which is just incredible. Some of those people are professionals. I’m glad you talk about those dangers here. Thank you for making this video.
Love your shows. As and old guy who been at this a life time. As noted square the room. Then measure the width and divide the by the face side of the flooring. This will give you the number of boards and the left over. If the left over is less than 2 inches add to the width then start with half that width. This will give equal board width on both sides of the room and eliminate a start or end board that runs to zero.
Works with tile or any paneling.
Funny how I've watched so many hardwood install videos yet I feel like I get a lot of empty talk and never all the info I need. You answered everything with none of the extra and even gave me tips.
I know tons of people are getting projects done around the house. Using time wisely. Right on man. Thanks for the video. Floor looks great I like the rustic oak
The rustic oak might not be for everyone, but I for one love it. When you installed the floors upstairs, & had the close up’s highlighting the grain characteristics, I said to myself, “that’s the floor for my cabin.” Thank you Richard, keep you & your family safe.
The rustic oak might not be for everyone, but I for one love it. When you installed the floors upstairs, & had the close up’s highlighting the grain characteristics, I said to myself, “that’s the floor for my cabin.” Thank you Richard, keep you & your family safe.
Thank you for your vulnerability on things that you did wrong, so we all could learn from it! Thank you!
I appreciate your honesty about your mistakes. Things happen then you find a solution. Can't wait to see the next video.
Good thing you know the homeowners on that 2nd floor install. Also, you can get router bits that cut the tongue or groove as needed. This is especially useful when you do patterns or inlays.
Steven Foust nice. Good to know. Though I doubt I will ever do a pattern or inlay but it’s still good information. Thanks!
I am not a carpenter. I do things around my house. I appreciate the presentation, clear description and presentation. Much thanks and keep at it.
Floor looks great man. Discovered your channel a few months ago and have binged on your videos. I build cabinets and do trim work for a living and thought I knew a decent bit but man your videos are helpful tips.
Hey man you are my hero. You have given us so many great tips and took the time to give us excellent videos. I was looking for your video on how you prepared the floor prior to installing the hardwood flooring but was unable to locate it. Please keep posting.
Richard, I am Native American with the Navajo Tribe. I just happened to get hired by a former special forces guy. I did two different side jobs.for him. On recent occasion he asked me to do a crown molding job and it was my first attempt. I been watching your videos ever since.
I'm 16 and am currently working on installing hardwood stairs. The only flooring iv done is VCT in schools. I guess we all start somewhere lol!
And get urself the best knee pads u can get.. U want a leather style
Thanks for another great video. With the quarantine going on, it’s awesome to have your videos to look forward to in order to pass the time.
Love the channel Richard. Using your laser level to send a straight line across the floor can really help keep you going straight. It also allows you to measure to the wall at a bunch of places before you start nailing cuz sometimes it's the wall that is crooked.
It seems like all walls are crooked around my way haha
Man. Do I want to see that ripped down 1/2 to 3 1/2 piece...lol... Again man. You're vids are like a lesson taught by a teacher. I've learned so much practical things that I've applied to my own house. Keep doing what you do my dude. Tip of the cap
I've done more than a couple hardwood floors, VLP floors and laminate (pergo) floors, and installed them all the same way, I did not know about those insert tongues!
I snap a "connection" line reference where they merge and measured from both walls to see where I needed to cheat square, then started at the same theoretical wall of both rooms and joined the two smaller rooms to the bigger room or hallway or whatever.
Great content!
This video was filmed at height of pandemic; your commentary was hilarious. I, too, made few adjustments..
This information is very valuable, thanks much.
I remember about 10-15 years ago my uncle and I were doing hardwood flooring and I remember him removing that white shoe on the bottom of the stapler in order to go in the other direction.
I would like to say that I love your videos. Your videos gave me the confidence to tackle crown molding for the first time ever. I have always been intimidated by doing it, but thanks to you, I was able to get it done. I used your tips on the mitre cuts and your tip on how to get invisible seams when joining 2 pieces of crown for a long wall. My seams came out invisible and my cuts came out great. Thanks again!!
Appreciate you sharing your mistakes. It's where you learn the most
Love the spline idea.Thanks for sharing that.
I think you should be leaving a 3/8" expansion gap (minimum?) around the edges(walls) to allow for expansion due to humidity.
For the same reason,I believe you should never go more than 10 m (especially across the boards) before leaving a 3/8" break,covered by a dividing strip before resuming the covering.
For this reason it is usually best to do individual rooms separately so the room dividers/thresholds are found in the doorways,under the doors.
If you do that,then you can change orientation and direction of lay from one room to the next.
In other words you should have removed the skirting/baseboard first then started 3/8" from the walls and then relaid the baseboard over the flooring to hide the essential expansion gap.
Awesome video. I love that I’m not the only one who has several projects going on at once. Should get a chance to catch up on them now.
Glued engineer wood to my slab just cause I hate the flimsy cheap feel of a float. Only thing I regret is not using the self leveler for the corners of 1 or 2 areas . Every now and again I will walk right on top of a soft spot. Still urks the hell out of me 6 years later.
I get a positive vibe from Finish Carpentry TV
Thank you for sharing your journey Richard. Lengthwise, boards move less than width. However, one should never install any wood product without an expansion gap. I saw you place the board you were installing during the installation video right up to the baseboard / wall. With less expansion and contraction through the seasons lengthwise, you may be safer but it's essential to ALWAYS have an expansion gap on all walls throughout a space.
Staples vs cleats: cleats are necessary for hard flooring (Brazilian woods like cumaru, jatoba and ipe will curl up high percentage of staples)
yes you are right, for solid hardwood, you should not use the staples as he is using. Use the 2 inch serrated cleats to eliminate vertical movements of the boards after installed. Using staples will void any warranty from the mill.
Hey, love your work. I appreciate you owning your upstairs mistake. We all make em as we expand our skill set. Keep up the great work.
How big is the expansion gap around the edge
Always love seeing your new Dewalt tools , that compressor is awesome!
Older video but cement on grade hardwood flooring its easier to use a urethane adhesive. If you're really worried about moisture you could grind the concrete and use an epoxy selfleveling "system" and glue to that your floor looks great though just got here from the finish video looks good keep up the content
Great looking floor! I started doing floors (carpet, hardwood, tile) as a kid with my dad and moved into being a GC as I went along. I guess you could say I “started from the bottom now I’m here”. I’d have used toggles to hold it all down, but other than that you did great. 😂
Yep, I have done the same mistake as you when you didn't measure from the remote wall.
I even had to do it twice before I realized that it wasn't the floorboards that weren't straight, but rather that it was my work methods that were faulty.
But hey, my tapering jig for the tablesaw got a lot of workout.
But that's how it goes when you let a hobby woodworking computer programmer loose on renovation projects.
I normally used a laser level and snap a line and apply to old trick 345
Another great video, admitting when you make a mistake is never easy but learning from it is the key. Well done.
Good info! I respect the sincerity and explanations on past mistakes! Definitely will keep in mind before I start my project thanks!!!
I'm not doing floors but I have learned something from. Thanks bro for sharing. 👍
Hopefully you are putting backer rod between the wall and the floor? So the floor can expand and contract without cracking or causing waves later.
Awesome floor choice. Love it dude. Looks great
This guy is great! I love his videos. I have learned so much!
The last two roses where you cant get the stapler, we glue them down with PL 400 or PL premium. Flooring installer here.
It's easier with the floating tenons if you start in the middle of the room. I use a chalk line for this. If you place that line well then you also don't have the extreme tapers, as these are split across both sides of the room.
Yeah, you can do it that way for sure as long as you have splines to reverse directions.
My man Richard. I love your videos your a supper honest overall great guy. I learned tones from your with trim work. I’ve been doing flooring for a long time and I heard you say there is no reason to let the glue dry before you nail the spline in. The reason why you have to wait for the glue to dry is so the spline won’t be pushed down slightly by the staples at the very least right were the staples hit it. When you go to put the next piece in, it Typically won’t sit flush with the other board because the spline is slightly lower thus forcing that piece to sit lower. Most people won’t notice the difference as it’s small. I was also wondering if there was a reason you didn’t glue it directly to the slap using some kind of urethane adhesive that blocks moisture if any. Anyways brotha keep up the good work I watch your videos all the time and if I forget UA-cam recommendations remind me 🤙
i love my little flexvolt compressor, i managed to frame a 15*15 deck with it. its a bit slow but i do almost exclusively finish work so the batteries last forever
yea man great job. I myself am not a flooring guy by trade. I did it to save money and my ego ("I can do that, cant be that hard"). I took out 800SqFt of carpet and pad. But of course it wasnt as simple as just laying down the floor after. I had to get raise the subfloor 1/2" so glue and screw that down, adjust some duct work, and last but not least under cut a brick wall and hearth on the fireplace in order to have the flooring going underneath the brick. There was no other way to make that look good, I wasnt going to be able to get a scribe tight enough.
Also another challenge is we used "cabin grade" hardwood flooring, probably something along the lines of what you used. Lots of imperfections, some shorter pieces, some longer pieces, and welllll some pieces were unusable.
Looks awesome man. BTW Ive used a lot of your videos to help me with trim work and transitions, especially with that above listed job. Thanks for the all the insight and taking the time to make these videos. My brother works solely on UA-cam so I know how much time and effort it is to make and edit the videos.
Good your test staple didn't go through the subfloor. Gutsy demo. Thanks for the video.
Floor looks great and I myself figured out the only way to learn is sometimes by our mistakes !!
Funny to see trim guy doing flooring!
Looks great Richard!
no biggie you an awsome carpenter sir
I usually will place a line of of planks parallel to eachother all the way to the other side of the wall without nailing them so I have a real vision where my last plank will land and adjust the first row accordingly. Measure and measure, and when ready, put my first row by the wall and go for it.
That spline you have is called a flip srtip!!! Great stuff. Thanks!!
Surprized you would like something so rustic, thought you were more of a clean look finish guy, i love rustic looks like that.Never saw a battery operated compressor before. Good job.
Hey man, how did you secure the subfloor on the slab? I’m curious. Residential is fine but usually the condo board doesn’t allow nailing to the concrete. Anyone else run into this issue?
What type of underlayment subfloor would you recommend? Meaning the size from smallest to biggest. I’m wanting to put 3/4 solid hickory Wood. Thanks
I'm working on my house this week, finally started putting in the shower I bought all the stuff for last year.
That’s normal for me. I usually have to buy parts that I’ve lost in the meantime!
😂🤣😂
5/8 subfloor on slab plus 3/4 flooring? Neat idea alternative to glue but can you show what your exterior door transition looks like when matched to so much build up? Did you have to trim the bottom of any interior doors?
Cody Richman yes you have to trim the door/ change the threshold. It works out good if done right
Finish Carpentry TV why not just use glue what’s the advantage
John Smooth can’t glue down solid hardwood to slab. Only engineered flooring
@@erikmedina7535 I guess that leads to the next question, Why not glue down engineered hardwood to the slab? That is what I did. And the glue/trowel combo automatically makes the moister barrier. Also does not build up too much thickness to match up to other flooring and don't need to cut doors.
@@blaster-zy7xx yes you can glue down engineered flooring to concrete slab. We usually put a moisture barrier before like mvp and then vapor lock from Bostik.
I was saying you can’t glue solid hardwood directly on to concrete. We usually put tar and then two layers of 15 pound roofing paper and then we can nail 3/4 in plywood with a special concrete nailer with have. And then you can install the solid hardwood on top.
That floor is beautiful!!
hey, looks like a great job,,, you have great perfection in mind and that will make the job come out perfect... were always learning.. so great video and great job..
Looks pretty good man !!!!!!
Your awesome man keep up the good work and the videos, I learn a lot!!
Not that the compressor is bad in any way, the price got me. So I picked up a dewalt powerstation for my work last june, made all the corded tools I already had "cordless". Tablesaw, miter saw, compressor, hammer drill, I certainly have a fair amount of the cordless but I would highly recommend one just for the battery charging ability alone, the tool use is just a huge bonus.
If dewalt would just make a 23guage flexvolt already I could do away with my compressor almost completely
Had to install 2200sf of bamboo... I got 1/2 way through one room, and went out to grab that cordless Dewalt floor nailer. Rapid fire from then on! 😃💪🏾
Can you elaborate on the measurements you were describing relating to the walls to avoid the issues you had with ripping the boards at an angle?
I think he was saying the two "parallel" walls were not parallel. It's easy to assume two walls are parallel when they are 10, 12, or more feet apart. Therefore, If you start placing your flooring parallel to the starting wall and the far wall is not exactly parallel, the difference will become painfully obvious. The problem is also very apparent when tiling a floor. The fix for situations like this involves splitting the difference and/or making very minor corrections with every course of the flooring.
So you put ⅝ OSB as subfloor, did you have any transition issues at external doors?
Also, the felt you put down, was that a decoupler for tile flooring?
Looks great Richard, thanks for the info !
Would like to know how you do the pieces next to the wall.
It’s also a good idea to glue the spline and board together before nailing
Yo Richard I do Hardwoodfloors for a living and it’s so sick watching you install your floor I hope you and your family and everyone watching is safe during this time.
I am from Houston but living in Mississippi temporarily!
Woohoo. Ya did a nice job. I love the word SPLINE... It sounds like a disease. Lol. Been doing HW floors for 15 yrs ya did good.. And always remember ur KNEE PADS. I get young guys on the job, tell them put on their knee pads... Young guys dont listen... They will learn the hard way.. Nice job
Really like your channel, always learn something new. Great video, learned about using splines! One question I had and couldn’t tell from the video- did you allow for wood movement? When I installed my floors way back in the 80s, my contractor made sure I stayed an inch off all the walls to allow for movement. That gap was covered with baseboard and quarter round. Maybe that’s not necessary anymore, not sure and I’m not a pro installer.
3/8" expansion gap is adequate for a 30' distance across the boards.This is then covered by the baseboard.
Always put a break (3/8") between rooms,even with concrete floors ,using a matching room divider strip.
Ummm.... you have it backwards. The cleats have ridges to prevent them from coming out or moving in and out or squeaking. The staples are smooth. Just like using screws is better for decking, instead of smooth nails. As a carpenter you should know that lumber, flooring, wood. expands and contracts with humidity. Shoot a staple /smooth fastener in, later the flooring shrinks on a dry day...... thus the hole opens to allow squeaking. With a cleat the ridges help keep it in place. The ridges are angles to prevent them from coming out.
Honest man, I am subscribed
When I saw the comment about social distancing, I exited this video immediately!!
Oh yeah I hear ya. Did flooring in my place for the first time. It turned out good bit like you were saying all those little things I wish I knew when I started
I really like your videos and Technics i am surprised you would do a depth test above your finished floor thanks keep up the good work
I have encountered several of those long runs comimg out of a room and around a corner. use a stringline along the last installed course to determine the location of the starters extending into the unknown territory. I also find that very few homes are square.... Interior layout more than exterior walls.
I’ve never worked on a perfectly square house. Glad you got to experience it
Your flooring nailer sounds like it needs oil badly. Usually when you can hear it shoot, then retract. Its starving on oil. Put a good 10 drops in the air inlet
Steven Bartholomew thanks I was wondering what that was
No it’s just not a good quality nailer.
millwalkie box cutter; impressive!
Awesome job richard!!!!
Frank Stover thanks!
Do you use a finish nailer 18 gauge or a framing nailer 15 gauge to shoot the last two rows against the wall. And if you do use a framing nailer should I get the Milwaukee 30° or straight framing nailer. Thank you much you’re the best
Richard- I’ve been a fan boy of your channel for years. Being a DIYer I need knowledge & experience. Your channel brings the knowledge and I have to be slow and meticulous to make up for lack of experience. I found your channel when I was searching for tips regarding installing a coffered ceiling. The ceiling turned out pretty good for a DIYer. Unfortunately I found your channel about hardwood over concrete but I didn’t see the process of your layering. Other videos show gluing the wood to concrete but you installed a subfloor. How thick was the layering? You have the 5/8 subfloor how much did the extra layers add? Any other tips you learned for installing hardwood over concrete? I wish you showed how to pre measure the bare room to get a good result. How do you compensate for rooms out of square? Do you just leave small gaps on edges near the wall and install baseboard over it?
Would like to see how the subfloor was attached to concrete floor
Mikey N tapcons
good stuff bro! just started doing flooring and finishing last year. learning lots from you man! being out 3 inches on a floor would drive me bonkers haha gotta learn somehow though
The dewalt flexvolt compressor is awesome. I built a cart on wheels for mine and it's way more portable. I'll send you a picture on IG if you want some inspiration.
I am working on my flooring and had some questions you answered some of them for me, Thank you. I do have another. How did you secure your subflooring?
Thank you for the explanation of layers under wood floor. I have oak over concrete. I also have carpet mixed in. I imagine that the extra layers add height to this. Only way to get the right height would be to add subfloor then do wood and carpet? This sounds like the best approach. Let me know your thoughts.
Problem with concrete whether new or old is it is porous and water will wick up through it. Best product I have found for installing floors over concrete is called DMX 1 step underlayment. It is antimicrobial so you never get mold and there is an air gap so you do not retain moisture. Now if you need to install hardwood over it then you simply add a subfloor and do it like any regular hardwood install.
Did you have to replace the doors too? Doing a remodel soon. Taking out carpet, putting in hardwood. Seems like the sub floor + flooring would be too tight against the doors. How did you work around that?
Nice job on the flooring.
I would cross nail as you do on trim so it will have more holding with the press board!
Your not making mistakes you r learning as we do from u!
You are very helpful. No room in any house is going to be square,right?So,you can measure a 100 times, you will almost always cut the floor board at the wall on an angle of some extent,correct?
What would be a better solution for upstairs? it's out of square so you would have to cut some at weird angles anyway?
Gluing it on top of the subfloor is another option I think. There are special glues for that. Plus uising a stapler or nailer as a double fixing?
HAHA. I guess I lived in quarantine my whole life too...lol
Omg so funny!!!
So...what kind of compressor did you use?? Name/brand?? Flexible is how captions announced what you said about it.
YEAH MAN!!! Hope you love your flexvolt compressor as much as I love mine