Installing Solid Wood Flooring

You can read the condensed installation over solid wood flooring excerpt from our full installation guide on this page, or you can download the full installation guide below.

Do not install solid wood floors over under floor heating systems or where the screed sub floor is in direct contact with the soil.

Solid wood floors can all be nailed down and/or glued. Solid wood floors up to 160mm width can be glued down using Ted Todd MS Flex adhesive.

Solid wood floors cannot be floated.

Site Checks

Before commencing installation ensure the requirements have been met for:

  • Jobsite Conditions (Chapter 1)
  • Moisture Testing (Chapter 2)
  • Acclimatisation (Chapter 3)

You can read these sections by downloading our full installation guide at the top of this page.

Acceptable Sub Floors

  • Concrete
  • Panel
  • Plank
  • Joists (for 20mm wood floors only)

Installation Guidelines

Always check with the customer that the correct product has been delivered and to make sure the customer is absolutely satisfied with the product. To do this, open several packs at a time and mix the boards to ensure a good degree of board selection so that the installation is visually well-balanced.

Choose a starting wall according to the most aesthetically or architecturally important elements in the room, taking into consideration fireplaces, doors, cabinets and transitions, as well as the squareness of the room. The starting wall will often be the longest unbroken wall in the room.

Solid wood floors up to 160mm width can be glued directly to the sub floor. 20mm floors can be nailed to timber sub floors.

For glue or nail installations where the maximum width exceeds 8m, extra expansion should be allowed in between the rows of the boards allowing 1mm of extra expansion for every meter exceeding the maximum width. For example, a 10m wide room will require an extra 2mm of expansion distributed across the floor.

Where possible, expansion gaps should be left though doorways/archways and covered with T sections to break up large areas of installation – a minimum expansion space of 15mm must be left around the perimeter and all vertical obstructions.

Distribute lengths, avoiding “H” patterns and other noticeable patterns in adjacent runs. Stagger end joints at least three times the width of the boards, as product allows.

Glue Down Installation

Apply 2 coats of Ted Todd Primerfast liquid damp proof membrane before all installations over concrete screeds.

If the solid wood boards are over 160mm wide, it is necessary to nail andglue the floor. If the wide board installation is over a concrete screed a ply sub floor will be required to be installed prior to installation.

See chapter 4.2 acceptable panel sub floors in our full installation guide for more information.

Tiled sub floors will require abrading and quartz crystals applied to an application of wet Ted Todd Primerfast before installation.

Snap a working line parallel to the starting wall, the width of the board, plus the tongue and recommended expansion space.

Install a starter board along the edge of the working line and begin installation.

Alternatively, lay one row of plank in Ted Todd MS Flex along the length of the working line and allow to cure before starting the installation.

Spread the adhesive as instructed up to and along the working line. Use tensioners to maintain a tight floor.

Please refer to Ted Todd MS Flex and Ted Todd Primerfast data sheets for technical information.

Nail Down Installation

All nails and fastenings must comply with BS8201-2011.

Only 20mm thick solid wood floors can be nailed. If the boards are over 160mm wide, it is necessary to nail and glue the floor. If the installation is over a concrete screed then a ply sub floor will be required to be installed prior to installation.

This can be over any wood sub floor (refer to chapter 4 wood subfloor guidelines in our full installation guidelines for more information).

Our 20mm floor are ends matched, when installing over joists at 450mm centres there is no requirement to support head joints on a joist for normal domestic installations. If heavier point loading is expected all header joints should be supported.

If installing over solid sub flooring, planks must be laid at 45 or 90 degrees to subfloor boards or add a layer of minimum nominal 12mm Class1 plywood underlayment to the existing sub floor.

Always use Sisalkraft underlay withall nail down installations. Overlapping the seams by min 100mm and returning up the wall.

Snap a working line parallel to the starting wall, allowing 15mm expansion space. Lay one row of plank along the entire length of the working line.

Top-nail and blind-nail the first row (hand-nail if necessary), using appropriate fasteners. Denser species may require pre-drilling. Each succeeding row should be blind-nailed wherever possible.

a. Joists subfloors – Blind nail in each joist

b. Plank or Panel subfloors – Nail every 200 – 300mm

During installation of flooring pieces, push or gently tap boards flush to the previous row. Tap against the tongue; tapping the groove may damage the edge. To prevent damage to the finish, avoid tapping the face of the board with a rubber mallet.

For Wide Rooms In Excess Of 6 Meters, Use The Following Installation Method:

Find the centre of your room, measuring off the two longest walls, and snap a line down the centre of that room.

Install a starter board on the line then fasten that to the floor using wood screws. Nail the first row of wood flooring against the starter board – do not move the starter board when nailing. The groove of the flooring should be against the starter board.

Drill and hand-nail the first three rows through the tongue. DO NOT USE TOP NAILS.

Use a blind nail to install the remaining rows of wood flooring and use the nailing practices described earlier in this chapter.

After installing in one direction, remove the starter board and start rows going in the opposite direction.

Then, install a false tongue in the groove of the board that was against the straight edge. Put wood glue down the entire length of the groove before installing the tongue.

Install the remaining rows in the opposite direction. Use the nailing practices described earlier in the chapter.