Circle sawn wood flooring adds value, warmth, beauty, and style to a room. With the right preparation, floor system, tools, and installation instructions, handling the installation process should be a manageable task.

Acclimate
Allowing the wood flooring to adjust to the humidity and temperature of the environment in which it is expected to perform is crucial if you want to achieve a flawless look. Acclimation should be done at least 10 days before the installation day and after the wood flooring is transported to the destined home. If the flooring is installed while at a higher moisture content or oversized, it might end up cracking, splitting or cupping if it shrinks later on.

Determine the Installation Starting Point
Consider the shape and size of the room that you will be working on. For large spaces, start with a good long run in the center of the room. Use the longest, straightest boards for the first rows. Start by striking a straight line, fasten sturdy blocking boards on the line to work against, then lay flooring towards one wall. Once you are done with one side, make a 1/4 in by 5/8 in spline and then nail it in a groove to start working in opposite direction.

It is often best to start along a wall if you are working on a smaller area; be sure to plan ahead and snap a good straight line to work from. Don’t rely on the wall - it might not be as straight as you think!

Nailing
It is necessary to observe safety measures when using a flooring nailer. Nailing should be done on a clean and leveled sub-floor. Until you have 4-5 courses completed, it's easy to accidentally move the flooring that you have down. Fit and hit the pieces gently to avoid knocking the blocking off the snapped line or the first courses of flooring out of place.

Use Quality Sealer and Finish
Don’t skimp when finishing your floor. Quality finish provides a lot of the protection for a Douglas fir flooring, creating great durability.

It is still worthwhile to use a sealer even if the circle sawn flooring is stained. The sealer fills the pores in the very porous fir, allowing the finish coats to setup on the flooring very nicely.

Once your floor is installed use a high-quality floor cleaner that doesn’t damage your finish or flooring.

Design your own Stair Treads and Risers
If you decide to design and install your own stair treads and risers, the first step that you should take is finding the total rise the stairs need to cover. Use narrow (1x4 or 1x6) flooring (T&G) material attached to the sub-floor to cover the tread. Make a riser using 1x8 boards so you don’t have to piece together flooring. Make a custom trim piece to cover the front of the tread and the top of the riser below. You can use a standard piece of circle sawn material for this trim and can chamfer or add a bull nose if desired. Ensure that you hide fasteners for a nice finished look.

More detailed installation instruction can be found HERE.

A great DIY project using these tips and our installation instructions so you can enjoy not only your new circle sawn wood flooring, but also your own handiwork!

Learn More About Our Montana Wood Flooring Products