Wood floor
Floors & tile

Hardwood and laminate floors

DIY OK
Install solid or engineered hardwood or laminate, or sand and refinish an old wood floor.
Sheet A-1 · Wood floor

12′ × 12′ floor

DIY OK
Boxes
8
20 sq ft each
Floor
144
sq ft
Gap
¾″
at the walls
Method
Nailed
solid
11–16 h of work
A day or two for a bedroom, after the boards settle in the room (often 3 days or more).
Draft
The rules behind this Sheet are waiting for a licensed pro’s sign-off.

Drawing

Plan + wall detail
1
Expansion gap ¾″ at every wall, hidden by the trim. Exaggerated here.
2
Staggered joints End joints at least 8″ apart row to row; no H pattern.
3
Starting line Snapped ¾″ off the straightest long wall; the first row follows it.
4
Joists below Nailed boards run across the floor joists (16″ apart here).
5
T-molding Finishes the floor at the doorway.
6
Cleat Through the tongue at 45°, every 6–8″, into the subfloor.
7
#15 felt Vapor retarder under nailed wood (NWFA), seams overlapped 4″.
8
Shoe molding Covers the gap; nailed to the baseboard or wall.
9
Solid board ¾″ thick, 3¼″ wide.
Wood moves with the seasons: the gap at the walls gives it room.

What to buy

9 items · 1 if needed
Save to your jobs to check things off in the store.
Fasteners
Finish nails (15 or 16-ga)
2″, 15-ga
1 box
Face-nail the first and last rows where the flooring nailer can’t reach. Pre-drill hardwood.
18-ga brad nails
1¼″
1 box
For quarter-round and baseboard.
Paint
Painter’s acrylic caulk (paintable)
1 tube
Fills gaps between trim and wall.
Flooring
Solid hardwood flooring ¾″
20 sq ft per box, 3¼″ boards, prefinished
8 boxes
Solid boards, nailed down over plywood or OSB. Sold by the box, prefinished or unfinished.
Asphalt felt #15
36″ × 144′ roll (432 sq ft)
1 roll
The vapor retarder under nailed wood floors over plywood or OSB (ASTM D4869). Not plastic: wood needs a retarder that breathes a little.
Floor patch / self-leveler
If needed
as needed
only if needed
Keep the receipt — return it if you don’t use it.
Fills dips before flooring.
Flooring cleats or staples
2″ cleats or staples
2 boxes of 1,000
Fasteners for the flooring nailer, sized to the boards: 2″ for ¾″ solid, 1½″ for thinner engineered. Boxes of 1,000.
Quarter-round molding
shoe or quarter-round, 8 ft lengths
7 pieces
Covers the expansion gap. Nail it to the baseboard, not the floor.
T-molding or reducer
T-molding, matching
1 piece
Bridges to another hard floor at a doorway.

Tools

You own 0 of 18 must-haves
Tap the ones you already own. That builds your Tool Shed as you go — no setup.

Must have

The job stalls without it.

Rent it

Costly to buy for one job. Rent it for a day.

Nice to have

Faster or cleaner, not required.

Order of work

11–16 h of work
01
Job site ready: heat or air conditioning running at living conditions (60–80 °F, 30–50% humidity) for at least 5 days, and drywall, paint and other wet work done and dry (NWFA).
Check first
Windows and doors in, the heat or AC running, and no wet work left: wood takes on the moisture of the air it sits in.
02
Let the wood adjust to the room: open the boxes and spread the boards out, then read the boards and the subfloor with a moisture meter each day until the readings stop changing.
Check first
Write down the meter readings for a few boards and the subfloor each day: within 4% of each other (2% for boards 3″ and wider) before you start.
Wait 3–7 days — wood adjusts to the room (acclimation)
No set number of days (NWFA): the boards are ready when the meter readings stop changing and they’re within 4% of the subfloor (2% for boards 3″ and wider). Many makers say 3 days at least. Prep meanwhile.
03
Prep: pull the baseboards (or just the shoe molding), undercut the door casings and jambs, and scrape, sweep and vacuum the subfloor.
04
Check the subfloor: screw down squeaks and loose spots, flat within ¼″ in 10 ft, and plywood or OSB at 12% moisture or less, within 2% of the boards (NWFA).
Check first
A 6–10 ft straightedge across the floor in every direction: sand high seams, fill low spots before anything goes down.
05
Roll out #15 felt across the floor, seams overlapped 4″, stapled flat.
06
Snap a starting line ¾″ off the straightest long wall, across the floor joists, and check it for square.
Check first
Measure the room’s width at both ends: if the walls aren’t parallel, split the difference so the last row isn’t a taper.
07
First rows: face-nail along the line (pre-drill), then blind-nail through the tongue until there’s room for the flooring nailer.
08
Lay the field from several boxes at once: end joints at least 8″ apart, no H pattern; cleats every 6–8″, 1–3″ from each end.
Check first
Boxes opened and mixed so color and lengths spread out; no end joints closer than the Sheet says.
09
Last rows: rip the final board to leave ¾″ at the wall, pull it tight and face-nail it.
10
Transitions at the doorways, then the trim — nailed to the wall or baseboard, never down into the floor.
Check first
Trim nailed to the wall or baseboard, not down into the floor.

Mistakes that ruin the job

4 mistakes
1
Skipping the moisture check
Boards laid wetter or drier than the subfloor cup, gap or buckle within a season. Meter both, and wait until they’re within 4% (2% for wide boards).
2
No expansion gap
Wood moves with the seasons. Leave ¾″ at every wall, pipe and cabinet, hidden by the trim.
3
Boards from one box at a time
Color and length bunch up in patches. Open several boxes and mix them as you go.
4
Boards along the joists
Nailed boards run across the floor joists (or diagonally) over a single-layer subfloor, or the floor sags between joists (NWFA).

Plan it

The load

To haul
420 lb
from the store to the room
On your knees
8–12 h
wear knee pads
Helpers
0
a solo job
Heaviest
Solid hardwood flooring ¾″ · 8 boxes · 384 lb
Asphalt felt #15 · 1 roll · 33 lb
Rent: Hardwood flooring nailer, Air compressor + hose

When you’ll finish

Pick when you can start and how many hours you have.
Hours you can work
Each weekday evening
0
h
Each weekend day
8
h
Saved for every Sheet. Waits run overnight and on days off; work only fills the hours you have.

DIY vs hiring it out

Estimate
Typical US store prices and labor rates, not a quote. A real price can differ a lot.

Do it yourself

Materials
$830–$1,100
Tools to buy
18 must-haves you don’t own
Tape measure (25 ft), Carpenter's pencil, Chalk line, Moisture meter, …
Rentals
2
About $40–$90 a day each
Your time
11–16 h
Total
$830–$1,100 + tools

Hire a pro

Materials + 15%
$950–$1,300
Pros mark up what they buy
Labor
5.9 h × $65–$95
$380–$560
Their time
5.9 hours
Permits
usually none
Total
$1,350–$1,850

Before you go

0 of 7 checked
The small stuff that causes a second trip to the store.

Rules used

5 rules · Draft
Every number on this Sheet comes from these rules. A licensed pro reviews each one before a Sheet is marked verified.

Save, share, print

Project
Wood floor
Sheet
A-1
Date
Scale
Not to scale
DIY time
11–16 h
Rules
Draft — pending pro review
Other common sizes
10×10
10×12
12×14
14×16
16×20
12×12 refinish
12×14 refinish
14×16 refinish