DIY Network

Hardwood Floor with Tile Inlay: Hardwood Floor and Tile Inlay Installation From "Weekend Remodeling" episode WKR-208

	Before: This dining room with parquet flooring and carpet looks fine, but is a bit bland.
	After: The new hardwood is a stylish addition, and the tile inlay provides a focal point to draw attention to the dining area.

After removing the carpet and old flooring, framing the tile inlay area and laying hardwood around the frame, host Fuad Reveiz moves on to the surrounding hardwood and tile inlay installation.

On a scale of 1-5, with 5 being most difficulty, this project rates a 2.

Materials:

Roofing felt
Hardwood flooring
Shoe molding
Cement Board
Screws
Tile
Spacers
Grout
Drill
Circular saw
Floor hammer
Mallet and regular hammer
Level and framing square
Chalk line
Nail gun and nails
Flat pry bar
Notched trowel
Tape measure and pencil
Couple of buckets
Water
Soft rubber float
Rags
Sponge
Utility knife
Pliers
Rubber gloves

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	Figure A
	Figure B
	Figure C
	Figure D
	Figure E
	Figure F
	Figure G
	Figure H
	Figure I

Tip: Position a new rack of flooring boards in front of you as you work so you can keep moving across the floor during the installation.

1. Pull back any carpet at the room's perimeter and tack the carpet down out of the way. Use an old chisel to cut off tackless strips at the room's edge.

2. Align the ends of the new boards with the ones along the wall (figure A). Keep the ends flush as you work across the hallway opening. Near the door, cut the bottom of door trim to allow flooring to fit underneath.

3. Face nail the boards closest to the wall using a trim nailer. Use a flat pry bar and scrap piece of wood to force the final boards snugly onto the "tongue" (figure B).

4. With the boards now installed across the hallway, nail a tackless strp to fit across the opening, trim the carpet to fit the new area and press the carpet into place (figure C).

5. In this example, Fuad notches pieces to fit around the kitchen doorway. He slides the pieces under the jamb (figure D) before hammering them into place. Finish the installation by installing boards at the kitchen entryway and down the length of the kitchen wall. Cut to proper width with saw and face nail to secure using a trim nailer.

6. Install new shoe molding all the way around the room to give the installation a finished appearance, securing the molding in place with a brad nailer.

7. With the hardwood surrounding the tile inlay in place, it's time to set the tiles. Before adding cement board to the tile inlay area, remove the felt inside the frame (figure E).

8. Use a 1/8" notched trowel to spread thin-set inside the framed area and directly over the sub-floor (figure F). Position cement board over thin-set (figure G) and secure to sub-floor using 1-1/4" screws. Place the screws about 6-8" apart.

9. Use a utility knife to cut the cement board to fit and continuing securing to the inlay area.

10. To set the tile, spread thin-set over the cement board using a 1/4" trowel (figure H), keeping the grooves running in one direction. Keep the trowel at a steep angle as you work -- so the ridges are the highest possible (this allows of adjustment of tiles to match the height of the surrounding wood floor).

11. Add 1/8" spacers (figure I) to evenly space the tiles and keep the grout lines small. Work one row at a time, positioning the tiles and sliding them into space. Repeat the process one row at a time until the final tile is positioned.

RESOURCES :

Armstrong Brichall Flooring Information

Armstrong Floors
Website: www.armstrong.com

Crossville Ceramics Porcelain Stone/USA
Website: www.crossville-ceramics.com/