Hello!
I am installing Bellawood Brazilian Teak 3/4" x 3-1/4" in several rooms. The main room is 13' x 19' with 3/4" cdx subfloor. The floor joists run parallel with the 13' room width, so the flooring will installed running length of the 19' room. I am using 2" L-cleats and pneumatic nailer. Also using 15# roofing felt underlayment.

1) Would a spline be required or maybe preferable with the first board starting in the center of the room (at 6-1/2')?
2) Or maybe my question is at what dimension should I be concerned concerned about the brazilian teak expansion?
3) Does it matter what type of wood I use to create the spline (e.g. oak or fir strips from the home store)? I plan to glue the spline to the groove using gorilla glue with tight fit.

Thanks, Dan

Not such a big room you need to switch directions I think. Watch out for that gorilla glue, it's like pure urethane and swells quite a bit. Least thats what I heard.

for splines I usually use the scraps of the flooring and just use regular wood glue along wit nails. The Gorilla Glue does expand, I used just one drop while reinstalling spindles on a job and it oozed out of each one.

Ya, If you dont use the flooring scraps you run the risk of the spline not seating correctly,( it can peak the seam of the adjoining row).

Thanks for the advice! I skipped the spline in the first room, but it was unavoidable in another room so I used scraps and wood glue as recommended (instead of gorilla glue).

Great site, which helped with my DIY questions. I will recommend it to friends considering hardwood flooring.

Thanks, Dan

Spline is only necessary for back laying. Just make some out of whatever type of flooring you are using.

Hope it is ok to jump onto this tread and ask a followup question....

If I start in the middle of the room and plan to use a spline to reverse direction, should I:

- glue the spline into both joining grooves, or just one?
- add the adjoining board while the glue is wet on both sides so the spline can move? - I worry that if the spline is not perfectly aligned the adjoining piece may not lay flat on the floor.

- Is it possible to nail the spined side of the board (through the spline) before installing teh adjoining piece?

Appreciate any comments.

you can nail the spline in. the trick is to use a scrap piece as alignment tool so the spline will sit in the right spot/angle. Without the piece holding it up it usually wants to toe down when you nail it.

Resurrecting this old thread because I am doing my first big hardwood job on my house and have the same questions about spline. Some great info in this thread but it never got finished up. A poster toward the end asks:

- glue the spline into both joining grooves, or just one?
- add the adjoining board while the glue is wet on both sides so the spline can move? - I worry that if the spline is not perfectly aligned the adjoining piece may not lay flat on the floor.

- Is it possible to nail the spined side of the board (through the spline) before installing teh adjoining piece?


What kind of glue to use? Gorilla glue seems over kill.

I plan to put some glue in, insert the spine then blind nail it down with a finish nailer using a piece of scrap to hold it in place while the nail goes in. I wasn't going to use the floor nailer for this. I wasn't planning on using any glue on the other side.

Am I on the right track? Thanks!

You do not need to glue the spline into the slot of the first plank laid. If you use another piece of flooring to hold the spline in the right position by sliding it next to where you are nailing as you fasten it in place with your nailer it will hold the first laid row down on both sides and also the spline. Glue doesn't hurt, though, for the spline. Use a short piece and slide it along as you go right next to where you are nailing.I use sub-floor adhesive under the first row of flooring, no glue for the spline. If you hold the spline in the right position when nailing, you do not have a reason to glue the spline.

If a mechanic would like to start in the middle of a large room and lay the floor in both directions a spline is necessary. The spline will fit between the rows after the starter board is fastened in place with the next board held in place with the spline before it is fastened to the first row.