How Do You Lay Down Oak Floors?
Oak floors are milled with tongue-and-groove connections on the sides, so they will fit tightly together during installation and stay that way afterward. Most of the floor is laid with a pneumatic floor stapler, which is designed to knock the boards tightly together with the swing of a mallet while driving a flooring staple through the board and into the plywood below. Start with a bare plywood subfloor or underlayment, and no floor trim. (The trim will be installed at the end, to cover the gap between the flooring and the wall.) Roll flooring paper out along the floor next to the longest wall in the room. Staple it down with a staple gun, placing staples every few feet. Cut it at the end with your razor knife. Roll the next course in the same manner, overlapping the edges slightly. Continue until you’ve covered the whole floor. Lay your first piece of flooring alongside the long wall with the grooved side facing the wall and setting it 3/8 inches out from it, leaving a gap. (This “exp
