Putting Hardwood Flooring On Walls

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Putting hardwood flooring on walls. It isn t critical whether you install flooring or paint the walls first in an empty gutted room but there are a few reasons why installing the flooring first might eliminate potential problems. That will leave a 3 8 gap for expansion and contraction when installing the piece. It may seem a bit of an installation challenge but putting up engineered planks on walls is actually easier than it seems the great thing about engineered hardwood flooring is that it is technologically innovative which means that you can install planks on walls anywhere even in areas where solid hardwood is not recommended. Install wood flooring on walls quickly and easily.

Then place a straight 2 by 4 board long enough to span the wall flat on the floor next to the wall leveling it by putting shims underneath it. Use 1 2 inch spacers to assist in maintaining the 1 2 inch expansion gap between the first row of flooring planks and the wall. Put one 1 2 inch spacer against each wall and slide the end of the board up against those spacers. The groove edge is the one with the underlap.

But laying out the laminate floor layout pattern ahead of time can still be complicated especially in an older home with out of square walls. Construction s a messy job and if you install the flooring first you ll spend more time on the walls because you ll have to be more careful not to drip joint compound on a new floor. When you run a floor sander around a room there is the possibility of scuffing up newly painted walls. When you make the mark butt it up against the baseboard and then mark at the end of that tongue.

If time is of the essence it s quicker to hang the drywall and tape out the walls first. The benefit of hardwood on the walls is the same as for floors since the wood is durable and can be stained painted sealed and finished with protective coatings. Installing laminate flooring in unsquare rooms is remarkably easy since most systems today are floating floors that don t require glue or nails. This must be done carefully because it will determine how straight you install the flooring.

You can use a scrap piece of lauan or other thin wood material against the wall to use as a spacer. Make sure when you make the mark to cut off the wall side not the room side. Put the first board up against the mason s line with the groove side facing away from the walls. Walls are put up first then the floor covering comes later.

Before nailing make sure to put at least two nails in every board. In new construction homes where no flooring has been laid yet this is the way it works. Measure out from the wall the distance of one floor board plus 1 8 to 1 4 inch 0 3 to 0 6 cm expansion room.