Hardwood floor installation can add class and enhance the natural beauty of your home. Hardwood floors can adapt to any place at your home and if properly taken care of, they can last for many long years. When it comes to your floor installation, you can choose from a number of classifications. They are classified from first, second, and third classes. You can also choose from birch, maple and oak - but the most common choice is the oak wood. Oak wood can be categorized from Clear, Select, Common No. 1 and Common No. 2. Clear woods have a clear and smooth surface, while Select wood has some little marks but is still has bright surface. Common No. 1 has some few marks and is uneven in color. Common No. 2 has a great number of marks and also some little holes; the color is uneven, just like Common No. 1.

Woods also have qualifications when it comes to their width. Strip floors should be 2-3/4 inches wide and plank flooring should 7 inches wide. Hardwood floor installation could be done horizontally or vertically. It could be placed over plywood or on the surface of a wooden floor. It could be installed using a hammer, nails, glue or stapler. There are even floors today that have strips of tape at the back. Below are the steps for successful hardwood floor installations:

First thing to do is to make sure the woods are dry. They should conform to the humidity of the room where they will be installed. If the weather is damp, put the woods indoor 3 days before they will be used.

The second step is to have all the materials that will be needed at hand such as a hammer, nails, pry bar, screws, and saw. Then you'll want to make sure that the surface where you will install the hardwood floors is smooth. You should place your sub-flooring before proceeding with your hardwood floor installation.

The fourth step is to create a reference line that will mark your installation beginning and ending. Make sure you have half an inch allowance to give room for expansion. Try fitting the boards to see if the floor will have the right form. Next, select the best and straight types of boards for your fist pieces of hardwood floor installation. These straight boards should be used at the door area and must be leveled and aligned. If you did your first rows perfectly, you can guarantee that the succeeding rows are also in perfect form. Nail your first sets on top and make some holes at the end using the drill. This will serve as guide for the rest of the boards.

The sixth step is to make sure that you place the succeeding rows accurately. Do not make any gaps on the boards, since it can ruin the flooring. Make sure that the boards are all perpendicular to one another. You'll also want to make use of the pry bar, and lock the last board on its position. Drill the place where the baseboard will be set and lock it with nails. Heavy nails are needed on each side on the third row's end.

The eighth step is to use ring shank nails on the end of the row. You will find difficulty in installing any additional rows of hardwoods on the end; ring shank nails can perfectly fit on to these places. You'll then want to screw the two last rows of your hardwood floor installation.

The tenth and final step in the process is to check whether the installation has any gaps. If all is set right, you can put in any decorative touches that you may want to add. Hardwood floor installations can be done on any areas of the house, although it is not recommended for the bathroom since the floors in this room tend to often be damp.

A hardwood floor installation can be done efficiently 3 to 4 hours of time. The secret to perfect flooring is making sure you put the first row accurately, then everything after that will literally fall (or rather, be perfectly set) into place!