Wood strip flooring is a traditional solid wood product. It's usually referred to as hardwood flooring, but it's also available in softwood species like pine. The process for installing wood strip flooring is really simple, but it does require patience and close attention to detail. A pneumatic nailer and a flooring nailer make the project go much faster. If you don't own these tools, we strongly recommend that you consider renting them.

1.   LAY OUT THE FIRST ROW
Prepare the subfloor as shown on page 80. Mark the walls to show the location of the floor joists. Cover the floor with 15-pound felt paper. For strength, run the strip I flooring perpendicular to the joists. Start your layout at 1 the longest uninterrupted wall that's perpendicular to the I joists. At each end of the wall, measure out the width of al floorboard, plus 3A inch, and make a mark. Drive nails ina the marks and stretch mason's line between them to lay I out the first row.

2.  PREDRILL FOR NAILS
The first and last rows of flooring have to be nailed through the face of the hoards. All the other boards are nailed through the tongue only. To prevent splitting face-nailed boards, drill 1/16-inch-diameter holes for the nails, 1 inch from the grooved edge. Space the holes so the nails hit a joist, or as directed by the manufacturer.

3.  FASTEN THE FIRST BOARD
Align the first board with the layout line, with the tongue facing into the room. Put a 3A-inch spacer against the adjoining wall, and slide the end of the board against it. Drive 6d or 8d flooring nails through the pilot holes, then drill additional pilot holes through the tongue. Countersink all the nails.

 3 a.  NAIL GUNS
Nail guns make quick work of the countless nails you'll need in a wood floor. But quality is a benefit as well as speed. A pneumatic nailer will drive the nail at the same angle and to the same depth every time. Driving nails by hand, you're bound to leave a few nails a bit high in the tongue-making it difficult, if not impossible, to install the next board. Drive the nail a bit low, and you may as I well not have a nail in the board at all.

3 b.  You'll need two kinds of nailers—a face nailer and a side nailer—and given the cost, you may want to rent them. The face nailer is the tool you'll use on the first and last few rows of flooring, when there isn't enough room to use the side nailer. The side nailer, which drives the nail at an angle into the tongue, is the tool you'll use on the rest of the floor. Both use barbed flooring nails made especially for the job, so make sure you get them while you're at the store.

4.  CONTINUE THE FIRST ROW
Put the next board in place along the layout line. Seat the end tongue and groove into each other, and push the two boards together for a tight seam. Nail down the board, moving down the row until you reach the side wall. Cut the last length to fit, leaving a 3/8-inch expansion gap, and nail it in place.

5. TRACK THE FLOORING
Spread the boards from several bundles across the room. Mix bundles, and mix shades, colors, and lengths, using the natural variety in the wood to create a random pattern. Lay out the boards in the order you'll install them. Pros call this racking the boards. Flooring bundles tend to be uniform in color, and if you don't rack them, you'll create noticeable light and dark areas in the floor. Make sure you finish the process by arranging the joints so they are sufficiently offset across the floor.

6.  I INSTALL THE NEXT ROWS
Put the first board of the new row in place. Cut it, if necessary, so the end is offset from the end of the board in the previous row by a minimum of 6 inches. Put the end against a 1/2-inch spacer and seat the edge snugly against its neighbor. Drill pilot holes in the tongues, then nail and countersink them through the tongues (but not the faces) to hold the boards in place. Work your way down the rows, one row at a time.

7.  USE A FLOORING NAILER
Switch to a flooring nailer as soon as you can. After installing the second or third row, you'll have enough room to get a flooring nailer between the  wall and the board you're placing. Position the nailer so it will drive a nail through the tongue of 1 the board, then hit it with a mallet to shoot the nail through the tongue.

8.  INSTALL THE REMAINING ROWS
Work your way across the room, row by row, power-nailing the boards through the tongue. Leave a 3/4-inch expansion gap between the end board and the wall. Stagger the ends of the boards in adjoining rows by 6 inches and rack additional bundles as you go.

9.  STRAIGHTEN BOWED BOARDS
Even the best flooring comes with pieces that are not perfectly straight. Set these aside initially; these end up as extras, you won't have to use them. If you must use a slightly bowed piece, drive a chisel into the subfloor and pry against the edge of the bowed strip to straighten it. If the piece is badly bowed, screw a piece of scrap to the floor about 1 inch from the strip. Tap a wood wedge into the gap, as shown, to straighten out the board.

10.  FRAMING OBSTRUCTIONS
Often a floor will meet an obstruction such as a fireplace or counter. If so, miter boards to create a border that frames the obstruction. Position the boards so the tongue or groove mates with the rest of the floorboards. Cut off the tongue if it's on ! the edge that meets the obstruction. Apply the rest of the floor as you normally would, fitting the pieces into the frame as you go.

11.  CUTTING CORNERS
Where the flooring meets a jog in the wall or a similar obstacle, cut corners to fit. Snug the piece of flooring against the obstacle and lay out the cut by marking where the edge of the obstacle meets the board. Allow for a 1/2-inch expansion gap at the end of the board and a 3A-inch gap along the edges; make the cut with a jigsaw.

12. FACE-NAIL THE LAST ROWS
Once you approach the wall on the far side of the room, it becomes difficult to use the flooring nailer. Once you don't have enough room to swing the mallet, begin drilling pilot holes for 1/8-nailing, but nail only when you've laid down the boards.

13.  CUT THE LAST ROW TO FIT
You probably will have to cut the width of the boards in the last row to fit. Measure the space and subtract 3A inch for the expansion gap. Cut the boards to width on a tablesaw. Put the boards in place. Pry against a piece of scrap on the wall to seat the boards and close any gaps between them. Face-nail to hold the boards in place.

14.  I INSTALL THE TRIM
Install the baseboard and shoe molding to cover the expansion gap. Keep the lower edge of the baseboard even with the top of the floor, and nail the baseboard into the wall. Once the baseboard is in, set the quarter-round shoe molding on a piece of paper to keep it just a hair above the floor. Nail it to the baseboard, not to the floor or subfloor. Nail threshold or transition strips in place where the edge of the floor is exposed.