Hi you all Gurus, need some help on some basic hardwood installation butterflies.
1. Can a compound miter saw cut along the solid hardwood 2 1/4" wide strip along the length? Or do I need circular/table for length cutting and miter only for angled cuts?
2. I understand I can use 8D 2.5" inch nails for nailing down? Is there a specific one that I get ....meaning galvanized etc to use with a pneumatic nailer and for finishing....face nailing the first and last rows.
3. People at HomeDepot/Lowes tell me that I need to keep 1/4" gap for expansion between the end of hardwood and baseboard. I have exisiting baseboard but they are not high enough for hardwood to slide underneath. The guys at Homedepot told me to leave it as it is and leave only 1/4" and cover with quarter round. I opened my Bruce hardwood box and in its installation guide, Bruce mentions 3/4" as expansion width. 3/4" gap cannot be covered with a quarter round. So if I want to leave 3/4" gap, I would have to remove the exisiting baseboard and reattach a little higher for hardwood to slide underneath?
4. Now a little tough one...We have a fireplace hearth and I want to first picture frame with hardwood and then start from the fireplace lower down. So instead of starting from wall, I want to start from the fireplace. Again I believe I would have to leave atleast 1/4" gap for expansion between marble hearth sides and hardwood. To cover I would use quarter round and to attach use liquid nail. When using liquid nails, do I apply the liquid only to marble aide or to both the marble and hardwood sides of the quarter round? Meaning if I also bind the hardwood side, would it hinder the possible expansion and cause to buckle?
5. What specific liquid nail do I use ....for between marble and wood and for wood to wood?

Thanks for your time.

Dilipvh,
Do Not use a miter saw to make rips!! Save yor fingers and use a table saw. Take the base off the walls. Use a razor knife to cut along the top of the base to cut the caulking that the painters use. Then push a pry bar down between the wall and the base and pull away from the wall. If you pull up on the pry bar you will punch holes in your sheet rock. Pull out the nails in the base from the back with pliers or side cutters. Number the base and put corresponding numbers on the wall. It will not take long to rehang the base since they are already cut to length. Buy your senco nails, I use any ones that are at least 2 inches. To attach the base shoe at fireplace, I would use silicone attached only to the marble. It will allow the floor to move. Use some blue painters tape to hold it in place untill it sets up (approx. 12 hours) You can get the clear silicone (sic?) at H.D. for around $5 a tube. On all your shoe, attach only to the base not the floor. This allows the floor to move.
Hope this helps, Danny[/b]

Danny:

Thanks for helping out. Care to tell us a little about yourself?



Best to use fasteners that are designed for 3/4" solid hardwood flooring. Cleats or staples. Some products to look at would be..

Stanley Bostich
Powernail
Primatech

Those people at the big box stores are confusing laminate and hardwood floors. Though I haven't touched a laminate floor in awhile I think they spec for 1/4" expansion minimum. Depending on the size of the layout(small rooms etc) you can get away with 1/2" for solid hardwoods.

Ken,
Been doing floors for 28 years. From Canada originaly, Moved to San Francisco Bay Area. Worked for 3 shops there until I got fed up with the traffic. Sold our house which went for unreal money, got my contractors license and moved to the Northern California mountains 5 hours away. I'm the only hardwood guy within 100 miles and this area is booming. We,ve been here for 4 months now and I'm booked up until March /05. Can charge more than Bay Area prices because there are no trip charges like the guys from Reno. Million dollar retirement and summer homes going in all over the place and people are finding out about alternatives to Pergo. Lots of homes with floors that need refinishing. Have already got accounts for recoating while the summer people are away. Thought I'd semi retire but I'm busier than I was in the Bay Area. Have been union for all my 28 years and went to apprenticeship school for the first three years. Safety was always stressed and I carry no scars except for the knee surgery from 16 years ago. Have been lurking for awhile and decided to put in my 2 cents worth. Hope to get enough time off this winter to go snowmobiling and teach the wife to cross country ski. She's never been in snow country before.
Danny

Hi Danny, Ken,
Thanks for the responses. I am putting maple hardwood in a 17'x13' area. Can I get away with upto 1/2" expansion gap? The reason I am asking is that even in the pictures on the sample hardwood at HD, I see that the hardwood plant does not go under the baseboard. And also I have on this site that quarter rounds are for covering the expansion gap.

Thanks..

Dilipvh,
If you're using 2 1/4 x 3/4 inch solid wood, and you keep your humidity level fairly constant, 1/2 inch expansion is satisfactory. Just remember to acclimate your wood in the room you will be laying, for a week. Solid wood floors expand very little length ways, but will expand across the grain, width ways. You can probably just use the shoe moulding to cover the expansion gaps instead of taking off your base. Or... you can take off the base and reinstall and do away with the shoe (quarter round)
Danny