How to Lay TrafficMaster Hardwood Flooring

Move your TrafficMaster flooring into the room where you plan to install it and allow it to acclimatize for at least five days. The manufacturer recommends a room temperature between 60 and 78 F, and a relative humidity level of between 35 and 65%.

Remove dirt and debris from your subfloor with warm water and detergent. If you have a wooden subfloor, remove any nails or tacks with a claw hammer. Hammer any nails or tacks below the surface of your floor if your can't remove them. You must remove any existing hardwood or laminate flooring before installation.

Level your subfloor. If you're working with a wooden subfloor, use a sander and a wood-filling agent to eliminate any discrepancies. If you're working with a concrete floor, use self-leveling cement. Check your flooring with a bubble level to make sure it's level.

Allow your floor to dry completely if you've used a filling agent or a leveling compound.

Lay your underlayment over your subfloor. If you're using a basic foam underlayment, you'll need to lay a polyethylene film underneath it to act as a vapor barrier.

Remove any wall moldings or skirting boards from the perimeter of your room. Then, measure the thickness of your boards and cut the bottom from any architraves around your doorways using a saw. You can then slot your boards under these instead of cutting them to fit.

Place plastic spacers around your room to create an expansion gap between your flooring and your wall. The size of the expansion gap will depend on the type of flooring you are laying.

Lay your first board in one corner of your room with the tongue facing the wall. Then, create your first row of flooring by connecting the tongue section of additional boards to the groove section you've just laid. Place the tapping block against your boards and tap it with hammer to make sure your flooring is firmly in place.

Measure the gap between the last full-length board you can lay before reaching your wall, and cut a plank to fit the end of your first row using a measuring square and a jigsaw. Remember to account for the expansion gap.

Repeat the process across your room. Make sure the joins between your boards are no more than 12 inches apart between rows.

Measure the gap between your last full row of flooring and your wall, and cut your final planks to fit.

Remove the plastic spacers around the perimiter of your room, and replace them with cork expansion strips.