the occasional DIY’er—certain
to justify the expense in time
and labor saved, when compared to hand-nailing.
Follow this process from row
to row until you reach the end of
the room, continuing to stagger
the joints and using spacers
along the wall. A jigsaw works
best when you need to notch a
board to fit a corner or make a
cutout for a vent register. You
may also need to undercut door
jambs to allow the thickness of
the new floor. This can be done
with a flush-cut saw or even a
hand saw, using a scrap of flooring as a cutting guide.
You will probably have to rip
the final row to width before
installation. To install the final
row, I used a table saw to cut off
the lower edge of the groove so
the boards would easily drop
over the exposed tongue of the
preceding row. Nail and glue the
last row in place. A hammer and
pull-bar will help to close
For the final row of boards, I
ripped off the lower edge of the
T&G groove so the boards would
fit easily over the exposed
tongues of the last row. If using
this method, secure the joint with
glue and nails. Another option is
to pre-connect the T&G joint of
the last two rows and then install
them together as a single piece.
The expansion gap around the
perimeter of the flooring can
later be concealed with base
moulding.
