How to Manually Place Wood Flooring With Pilot Holes

Snap chalk lines on the subfloor over each floor joist.

Position the first wood flooring strip in the corner of the room, along the wall with the long side of the strip perpendicular to the joists. Tuck 1/4-inch spacers between the wood strip and the wall on the side and the end. The grooved edge of the strip should face the wall, and the tongue edge should face into the room.

Fit a drill with a 1/8-inch bit, and drill pilot holes a 1/2 inch from the edge of the board nearest the wall. Drill straight down through the hardwood over every joist, but drill no deeper than 3/4 inches, which is the standard thickness of hardwood flooring.

Drive an 8d finish nail into each pilot hole with a hammer, and use a nail set to countersink the heads of the nails.

Drill another set of holes in the first flooring strip. Center this set of pilot holes over the joists as well, but instead of drilling into the flat top of the flooring strip, drill these holes at a 45-degree angle through the wood flooring.

Drive 8d finish nails into the last set of pilot holes and countersink the nail heads with a nail set.

Install the next strip of wood flooring at the end of the first strip. Butt the tongue-and-groove ends snugly together and nail the strip the same way you nailed the first strip. Continue installing wood strips along the entire first row in this manner until you’re ready for the last strip.

Measure and cut the length of the last strip of wood flooring to fit in the remaining space, leaving a 1/4-inch gap next to the wall for expansion. Nail the last strip as you did the preceding strips, then pick up the cut-off part of the strip, and use it to start the next flooring row at the other end of the floor.

Begin the second row with the cut-off strip from the first row, tucking a spacer between the strip and wall. Fit the grooved edge of the new strip over the tongue of the first strip snugly.

Drill pilot holes only in the tongue crease of the new strip and insert nails as you did for the strips in the first row. For the following strips, nail only through the tongue crease, which will be covered by the strips in the subsequent rows.

Finish the second row as you did the first, and carry the cut-off strip at the end of that row back to start the third row. Continue installing the strips in this manner until you reach the last row of strips.

Measure and cut the final row of strips to fit. This means, you’ll probably be cutting off the tongue. After fitting the last row of strips in place, snugging them against the previous row, drill pilot holes straight down, over the joists, 1/2-inch away from the wall. This is the same method you used to drill the holes on the first row.

Drive nails and countersink them in the last row of pilot holes. Remove any spacers that still remain along the walls, and install baseboard and quarter-round trim, which will cover the nail holes on the first and last rows of flooring.