Installation Guide

be installed perpendicular to flooring joists, otherwise an additional of 1/2"
plywood must be added
• Sub-floor moisture check. Measure the moisture content of both the sub-
floor and the hardwood flooring with a pin moisture meter. Sub-floors must not
exceed 12% moisture content. The moisture difference between sub-floor and
hardwood flooring shall not exceed 2%. If sub-floors exceed this amount, an
effort should be made to locate and eliminate the source of moisture before
further installation.
• Sub-floor flatness. Subfloors must be flat to within a 1/4" in a 10 ft radius or
3/16" in a 6 ft radius
• Do not install over particleboard or similar product.
• Solid wood flooring is not warranted over radiant heat flooring systems
4 Installation
4.1 Preparation
• To achieve a uniform color and shade mixture across the entire floor, open
and work from several different cartons at a time.
• Stagger the ends of boards and maintain at least 6” between end joints on all
adjacent rows.
• Undercut door casings 1/16” higher than the thickness of the flooring being
installed.
• Start installation parallel to the longest unbroken wall. An outside wall is
often the best.
• Leave a minimum 3/4” expansion space around all vertical
obstructions.
4.2 Nail-Down Installation Guidelines
• Snap a working line parallel to the starting wall, allowing expansion space
as specified above.
• Lay one row of boards along the entire length of the working line, with the
tongue facing away from the wall.
• Top-nail using 6d or 8d nails the first row along the wall edge 2”-3” from the
ends and 10"-12" along the length of the board if top nailed or every 6"-8"
along the side if blind nailed. Counter sink the face nails and fill with
appropriate colored wood filler. To ensure proper alignment of flooring, make
sure the flooring along the working chalk line is straight.
• Blind nail at 45° angle through the tongue 1”-3” from the end joints and every
6"-8" in along the length of each subsequent board throughout the installation.