DIY Network

Repairing a Spooky Floor The rescue crew removes the old flooring and installs the new. From "DIY to the Rescue" episode DTTR-105

The DIY to the Rescue crew takes on a frightfully disorganized home office. The crew helps homeowners Steve and Julie Bowman eliminate damaged hardwood floors, organize the office, and achieve a Frankenstein theme to house Steve's memorabilia and love of all things spooky.

The team plans to:

• install new hardwood flooring;
  
• create an eerie wall mural to fit the room's new theme;
  
• create unique shelving to house memorabilia;
  
• organize the closet with a shelving unit that will house supplies; and
  
• add window treatments and finishing touches.

Cartoonist Steve Borman finds his creativity blocked by the uninspiring, cluttered office.

Boreman takes a closer look at the water damage left behind by the home's previous owners.

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But first, the crew tackles the hardwood floors.

Hardwood Floor Installation

Materials:

(Note: Hardwood flooring 1-1/2" white oak pre-finished hardwood floor had to be specially milled as this is an unusual width--270 square feet was ordered for this small room (approximately 186 square feet in size) and used less than 215 square feet of wood.)
safety glasses
crowbar, ply bar and/or ripping chisel
nail-puller or pliers
circular saw (optional for removing old flooring)
saw to cut board lengths (hand or power)
vacuum (optional)
rubber mallet
pneumatic Nail Gun (or hammer, drill and flooring nails)
flooring Nail Gun (with air compressor) ñ these can be rented for about $50/day. Get flooring nails/staples when you rent.
table Saw to rip-cut the last row of boards
nail punch
wood putty (matching the floor color)
measuring Tape
broom and large trash container for old flooring boards

	Figure A
	Figure B

1. First, figure out how much flooring you’ll need by measuring the room, figuring out the square footage and then adding 15-20 percent to make up for scraped wood and mistakes. Some wood may also arrive in imperfect condition or the grain won't match. Having extra pieces on-hand will allow for different scenarios.

2. Select the installation method: nail-down, glue down or floating. We opted for nail down because this room has no sub floor (common in older homes such as the Boremans'), so we must nail the floor directly to the joists. The strength of the hardwood boards and the tongue and groove installation make this strong enough to use directly over the joists. Such a floor needs to be installed perpendicular to the joists. Most manufacturers do not recommend this type of installation for boards less than three quarters of an inch thick

3. Open the packages and allow the wood to acclimate to the temperature and humidity of the house. (The wood is organic and will expand and contract depending on the levels of average moisture in the air. You need to let it adjust to your own house so it will go in already containing the level of moisture in your house. If you did not do this, and the floor came from a dry place, like California, the floors could theoretically expand enough to buckle slightly. Or vice versa: if your wood came from someplace humid, it could contract and leave a gap!)

4. Next, begin removal of the existing flooring. Use ply bars and ripping chisels to pry the old boards up (figure A). If you decide to use a circular saw to start the process, adjust the blade to the thickness of the floorboards--in this case, 3/4". You never want to saw through the floor completely into the gap underneath. Pre-measuring the depth of the old floor prevents sawing through wires or plumbing that is in between the joists.

Tip: To figure out the thickness of your flooring, remove an air vent to inspect and measure the boards.

5. Remove any nails that are still in the joists, then remove the molding around the room. You can salvage it or replace it with new molding.

6. If you are laying the new flooring directly over the joists, you may not want to rip up all of the old flooring as you’ll need some flooring to stand and work on. You can rip it all up and then lay down plywood to work on--or remove only as much as you are immediately working on. Be sure not to step into the open area between the joists, as the layer below is only the ceiling of the room below and you can easily break through the ceiling. With the old flooring and nails removed, you may also want to vacuum the area between the joists.

7. If you have a sub-floor, at this point you should inspect it and make sure it's level, flat and in good condition. If there is any water damage, replace that with clean, dry plywood. If you find a squeak, screw a long drywall screw into the sub-floor and joist where the squeak occurs.

8. Set the new floorboard in place with the groove of the new board set into the tongue of the existing board (figure B). Use a rubber mallet to tap it in and snug.

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