How to Install a Pier & Beam Hardwood Floor

Place the floorboards in the room for five days before you begin installing them so that the wood can become acclimated to the climate inside the room.

Remove the original floor surface. If the floor was made of tile, chip it up with a hammer and chisel, and remove any bits of grout and mortar that remain on the floor. If it was carpet, remove all carpet padding and tack strips. Wash the subfloor with a mild cleanser.

Inspect the panels of the subfloor for signs of rot, mold, cracks or other damage. Replace any damaged boards, and nail down any loose boards.

Vacuum the subfloor to remove any debris on the surface.

Cover the subfloor with 15-lb. roofing paper. Lay the paper in the same direction that the floorboards are being laid, and overlap the edges of the paper by an inch. Staple the paper to the subfloor every 4 inches with a hammer stapler.

Place 1/2-inch spacers along the base of the walls around the perimeter of the room. Keeping the space between the floorboards and the walls allows the wood to expand and contract.

Lay the first course of floorboards against the spacers on the far wall. Position them so that the tongue on the floorboards is facing out at you. Cut a board to fit along the end, if a full board will not fit.

Press a straightedge against the boards in order to push them tightly against the spacers along the wall. Nail the boards into place, using one nail every 8 inches.

Drive 1 1/2-inch brads through the tongues of the floorboards every 4 inches. Drive the brads down at a 45-degree angle when doing this.

Saw a floorboard in half to be used as the first board in the second course. Doing this allows you to stagger the courses, which improves the appearance of the floor while making it stronger.

Lay the second course of floor boards by sliding the groove on the flat edges of the boards over the tongues of the boards in the first course. Begin laying this course with one of the cut floor boards.

Place a tapping block against the back of the floorboards in the second course, and tap the block with a hammer to tighten the boards in the second course. Nail the second course to the subfloor with the 1 1/2-inch brads.

Finish installing the floorboards in the rest of the room until you reach the other end, stopping when you reach the point that you can no longer install full-sized boards on the floor. Stagger the floorboards in alternating courses as you lay them.

Cut floorboards to fit between the back edge of the last course of boards you laid and the tile spacers.

Place the cut floorboards into the space along the back row, and nail them to the subfloor every 8 inches.

Remove the tile spacers from around the perimeter of the floor.

Nail trim to the base of the wall.