Jeff writes, “I am redoing an old house and need to make some tongue and groove flooring. What tools would I need? I will be using 1×4x8 pine thank you for your input.”
The easiest way to make replacement tongue and groove strips is to use a router mounted in a router table. You could route the tongue and grooves free hand. However, there is good chance of tipping or tilling the router as run the edge and accidentally messing up the edge.
Using a table mounted router install feather boards above to apply downward pressure to keep the board from lifting up while it is being run through the bit. Also install a feather board on the table to keep the board firmly against the router fence.
There are several tongue and grove router bits on the market to choose from. Most all of them are 1/2 inch shank. You might find a 1/4″ shank, but I would not use it. There is just too much load on the bit while you are routing the boards.
Installing a hardwood strip floor over a wooden subfloor
First off, you need to rent a pneumatic flooring nail gun. It is a big odd looking nail gun. Position the next strip and place the nail gun on the tongue side of the strip. Strike the nail gun with a heavy mallet, your 22 ounce framing hammer is not heavy enough.
The nail gun will do two things, first the hard blow with the heavy hammer will drive the strip of flooring against the previously installed one and then the nail gun will fire a nail in the newly positioned strip. After nailing you will notice that the nail is not completely counter sunk into the board. That is by design. The nail should be below the surface of the board. When the next board is put into place the board will be driven against the previous board’s nail and it will lock the two boards together, keeping both of the strips tight to the sub floor.
Are the nails sticking out above the surface of the board? Then you are not hitting the nail gun hard enough. Get a heavier hammer and hit the nail gun harder. Are you worried about breaking the nail gun? Don’t be, unless you are a huge body builder and are hitting it with a 50 pound sledge hammer. The tool is designed to work this way.
Installing a hardwood strip floor over concrete
The only way to secure the strips to the concrete subfloor is to glue them down. It is going to be a sticky, smelly task. Strip flooring is not designed to be free floating like some of the laminate flooring systems are.
Have fun enjoying installing your hardwood floor and enjoy its beauty for years to come.
