Wood Flooring Installation Guidelines & Radiant Heat

Wood Flooring Installation Guidelines

Reclaimed wood floors and new wide plank flooring offer a one-of-a-kind look for your U.S. home. To ensure the best results, check out the links below for our recommended guidelines for installation. Whether you’re renovating a historic property or installing new flooring, we've got you covered with expert advice.

Installation Guidelines

Installation of solid ¾” random width, re-claimed antique or traditional new, solid plank flooring from K.D. Woods Company essentially requires the same tools and practices as followed in the installation of “standard”, nail-down wood flooring products.

Unless otherwise specified, our flooring is shipped in random widths of unequal linear feet each. Installation requires some thought but essentially only requires that the installer lay rows of the prevalent widths more frequently than the widths of which you have less flooring. A tally with the linear foot quantity of each width is provided with an order, when shipped, that may be an aid for flooring layout.

We kiln dry our products to, under 10% moisture content, typically 6-9%, prior to milling. This puts the flooring in the generally accepted mid-range of moisture content prior to installation nation wide.

Job site conditions are of importance, as the flooring may lose moisture or gain moisture dependent upon these conditions. It is not recommended that solid ¾” flooring, be installed in any below grade application or where any moisture intrusion is likely. The job site must be dry and the moisture content of the plywood sub-floor should be within 2% of the moisture content of the wood flooring. If the deviation is greater, (assuming job site is dry) acclimation of the flooring to the job site conditions is essential until balance is achieved.

Generally speaking, all moisture emitting trades (plastering, concrete, masonry etc.) should be through with their work and the products dry and cured. The job site atmosphere should be stabilized or conditioned with the cooling or heating systems, depending on season, operating for 2 weeks or more prior to flooring installation.

Random width planks in the 3”-6” range should be “blind” nailed through the tongue every 4”-8”, into a minimum 5/8” thick plywood sub-floor securely fastened to floor joists or dry concrete slab, leaving ½” clearance at walls and posts to allow for flooring movement seasonally. Red rosin paper or 15 pound felt paper is commonly used between sub-floor and flooring but should not be considered an effective moisture barrier. Some face nailing or hand nailing is generally needed to start the first few rows and to finish the installation of the last few rows. In widths of, 7” and wider, face (surface) nailing or gluing planks directly to sub floor with urethane adhesive is suggested in addition to “blind” nailing as noted above, to control seasonal movement to a degree and to help boards remain flat. End-matching is available upon request.

Generally, the flooring is sanded and finished after all trim and cabinetry is installed and painted. Any holes, fractured knots or voids can be filled at this time if desired. Following standard floor sanding procedures, we suggest 2 passes with floor sander, (or buffer with abrasive pad for “distressed” grades) beginning with 60-80- grit and ending with 100-120 grit paper, followed by a careful vacuuming and tacking. Floor finish of your choice can now be applied, with the finish type dependent upon use, area flooring is used in and desired appearance.

Maintain wood flooring by providing walk-off mats at entries, use of felt protectors on all furniture legs and regular vacuuming. Wipe all spills promptly. Most polyurethane finishes allow for damp wiping for periodic cleaning of dirt buildup. Please follow wood floor cleaner manufacturers instructions for cleaning.

All wood expands and contracts seasonally dependent upon ambient humidity. The flooring planks that lay tightly together in the summer may develop some gaps between the boards during the dry months or heating season.

We suggest that the practices of the wood flooring professional you have selected for the installation and finishing, with specific knowledge of local conditions, favorite finish types etc. may differ from these guidelines and should be given due consideration.

Installation Over Radiant Heat

These guidelines are recommended for consideration only in addition to K.D. Woods Company’s “Flooring Installation Guidelines”.

Heating system should be on and operating for a period on 2-3 weeks, or until substrate/sub-floor is dry, prior to bring flooring to job site.

Upon delivery, the flooring should be racked out on stickers to acclimated to job-site, with system operating, for an additional 1 to 3 weeks, or until equilibrium (sub-floor and flooring are at the same moisture content) is reached.

Installation of plank flooring of 5” or wider should be over minimum ¾” thick solid sub-floor. The t&g flooring planks should be “blind” nailed trough the tongue every 4” – 8”. (Flooring cleats or staples may need to be shorter than “standard” 2” lengths depending upon depth of piping). Narrower widths of 2-1/2” to 4” may be installed over “furring” or nailer strips @ 12” on center. Gluing planks to furring/nailers is recommended. Flooring should be ordered with end matched plank ends when installing over furring/nailers. Order approximately 25% more material for cutting if plank butts are to break over furring/nailers. NOTE: Wider width flooring is sometimes installed on nailer strips. (Some folks simply must have wider width plank flooring) Planks 5” or wider should be cut to “break on the nailer strips, glued to the strips with quality urethane floor adhesive and securely nailed.

Generally, plank flooring installed over radiant heat systems will show marginally more seasonal movement (gaps between planks and minor cupping due to radial nature of grain within the plank) during the heating season than flooring installed in areas heated by more traditional methods. Wider planks by nature will gap more noticeably than narrow planks during the heating season as a result of moisture loss in the plank. The percentage of moisture change in the planks is the same whether flooring plank is 2-1/2” wide or 12” wide.

In widths of 7” and wider, face (surface) nailing or gluing down of planks to subfloor is suggested in addition to “blind” nailing as noted above, to control seasonal movement to a degree and to help boards remain flat.

Practices of the wood flooring professional that you have selected for the installation and finishing, with specific knowledge of local conditions, practices, finish types etc., may differ from these guidelines and should be given due consideration.

Installation Addendum - Tavern OR Highlands Plank Grades

Our “Highlands” & “Tavern” Plank tongue and grooved floors are milled from carefully salvaged reclaimed lumber with original, old circle sawn surfaces. Not all reclaimed boards or beam surfaces are suitable for the look that K.D. Woods Company achieves with this exciting product line. Boards that are graded for these floors exhibit the rich, deep patina that is achieved only by many years of aging in the environment that is unique to old barns, agricultural buildings, and warehouses of a bygone era. Although the tongue and grooves are accurately “floor-matched” from the bottom of the board, the rustic surface of the planks as installed on the subfloor are not as flat as standard plank flooring because of the minor variations of thickness along the plank edges.

All “Highlands” & “Tavern” Plank flooring is surface lightly milled leaving 50% of the original saw kerf. After the installation and immediately prior to applying the finish, the floor should be carefully swept and vacuumed free of sawdust and any construction debris. Because of the natural texture of these grades, care should be exercised to minimize tracking of dirt or dust onto the flooring prior to finishing. (consider covering the flooring with builder paper or cardboard)

Finishing of “Highlands” & “Tavern” Plank flooring is similar to finishing other standard products, with a few exceptions. Unlike most flooring, these grades are lightly sanded or screened prior to applying the first (or sealer) coat, to keep the dramatic, rustic appearance. A brush or medium nap synthetic applicator works best for the application of sealer coat and finish. A light screening or buffing between the following 2 to 3 coats of the finish of your choice, (an oil based finish works best) is all that’s necessary to achieve a quality finished floor surface. We find that a matte or satin sheen works best. Ask your finisher to work with you on a small area of flooring or left over pieces of flooring to determine the best finish product and procedure.

Wood Flooring Installation Guidelines