How To Lay A Wooden Floor On Joists

If you can feel some deflection you have two options.

How to lay a wooden floor on joists.

Before starting calculate the width the last row will be. The correct direction for laying hardwood floors. Laying a solid hardwood strip floor is easier and faster if you choose a prefinished product to avoid the extra work of sanding staining and finishing. Join the ends of the boards over a floor joist where possible avoiding joints that form an h.

Lay the planks in place along the four inch side to serve as floor joists. When possible begin installation from the straightest longest wall and install the flooring perpendicular to the floor joists. Keep joints that line up at least two rows apart. When learning how to install hardwood flooring there are a few tips to keep in mind.

Set the first two planks against opposing walls. Lay down 3 4 in 1 9 cm tongue and groove plywood panels over the joists then use wood glue or panel adhesive and galvanized flooring nails to secure each panel around its edges. Work in small sections until the entire floor is covered. The other option assuming you have access to the open joists from below is to install 2x4 blocking between the joists 24 inches on center.

If raising the floor height is not a problem you can install a layer of 1 2 inch plywood over the existing 3 4 inch plywood. While personal preference is a factor the direction in which you run hardwood flooring boards is governed by visual and structural guidelines. Another important thing to take into account when laying hardwood floors is the possibility that your walls aren t straight. Make sure you ve got the right amount of flooring for your space.

In cases where greater open spans are needed framers often use joist hangers which are u shaped hardware pieces that are nailed in to accept hold and support flooring joists. It s like a mini bridge that s only supported at each end. Install hardwood floors perpendicular to the floor joists parallel to the longest wall leaving a inch expansion gap around the perimeter. Measure 16 inches from the center of one of the edge planks and then place the next plank across the plastic sheeting centered on the 16 inch mark.

Floor joists are used to support a floor over an open area like a basement crawl space etc. Besides solid wood joists systems such as i joists and flooring trusses provide other options for consideration when it comes to installing a flooring framework.