How to Install Brazilian Cherry Wood Flooring

When most people think of home improvement, one of the first things they usually think about is installing hardwood flooring. Along these lines, one of the most beautiful types of flooring is Brazilian Cherry wood flooring. For these reasons, we will discuss how to properly install hardwood flooring without the help of professional floor installers.

Before we begin though, since hardwood flooring is a difficult task, you may wish to consider hiring a professional flooring installer to complete the job. While you may save a few dollars by installing the flooring yourself, it may not simply be worth it. However, once you decide to proceed on your own, you should take the following steps.

First, you will need to prepare the floor for the installation. If you need to, you will need to remove the old flooring. To make this task easier, you can cut up the wood panels into smaller pieces and then remove them using a scraper. Once the panels have all been removed, you need to ensure the subfloor is clean (by vacuuming it) and the floor is even (no low spots).

After you have done this, you will want to make sure the sub flooring is structurally solid. Failure to do this can easily lead to a poorly installed floor. Once you have verified that the subfloor is good, you can proceed to the next step.

Next, you will want to mark (with chalk) the location of the floor joist on an area of the wall above the subflooring. Then, you will mark the center of the room width wise. Lastly, you will mark the last line at an ½ inch from the opposite wall, to allow for expansion.

Once you start laying the Jatoba flooring, you will want to lay the longest or widest boards first. First, drill and nail the holes near the wall (where they will be covered by the baseboard). Just as a tip, you may want to use a wood spacer to ensure you leave an ½ inch from the wall.

Now, you will install the remaining wooden panels by marrying up the tongue and groove of each board. These wood floor panels should only be nailed in the tongue. To aid you make the installation look more professional, you should use a mallet to help ensure the panels are tightly interlocked.

Once you come to the last row, you may require a pry bar and block to slide the last row tightly into place. Additionally, you will nail the wood (not on the tongue, but close to the wall) underneath the baseboard, so the nails are not seen.

While the installation process may sound very easy, in all reality, it is an extremely labor intensive process. Therefore, you are going to want to very carefully consider whether you want to install the panels yourself or if you are going to hire a professional hardwood floor installer.

If you have any other questions about Brazilian Cherry Hardwood Flooring, please feel free to continue looking around this guide.