Materials you'll need:

· Particleboard flooring
· Flat headed galvanized nails
· Scrap timber for stacking boards
· Sandpaper
· Clear polyurethane finish
· Carpenters pencil

Tools you'll need:

· Hammer
· Saw
· Measuring tool
· Drill
· String line
· Nail punch
· Paintbrush

When laying a conventional hardwood floor, here are some tips to assist you.

• Cut the boards so the ends fit over the thickness of each joist. (Don't have joins over open space)
  
• Cramp and nail a few boards at a time into position. Do not try to cramp too many at a time (usually about 6), or you will lose time trying to line up the joints.
• When cramping, hammer on the surface to help jar the boards into place. Fix the first board to a curve, bringing it nearer to the walls at the ends to compensate for any hollowing of the boards as you cramp them. As you work to the centre of the room, the boards will have straightened.
• When fitting the last board, measure the width at intervals, mark the board and cut to fit
• To cut end-matched boards, try to cut them through a doorway at one end of the room, using cut-offs at the other end of the room to start another board. If no doorway is handy, place marks the length of the room apart outdoors and cut the boards to these.
  

Particleboard flooring.
It is recommended when laying a particleboard floor that the Australian Standard Code of Practice AS 1860-1976 should be obtained and followed. Local building regulations should also be complied with.

1. Before laying sheets.

Stack them with timber between on the site keeping them level and away from excessive heat and damp. Ensure floor joists are level (cheek with a string line) and that there is adequate sub-floor ventilation. (At least 7500 sq mm per lineal meter of wall) The under-surface of floor should not be closer than 40Omm from ground surface.

2. When laying sheets

Lay the sheets in a staggered pattern with the branded side down. Finish non-tongue and grooved ends on a joist or trimmer.

Push all edges up tight, but do not over-cramp. Square edges of boards should be cantered on joists. For cut-in floors, allow 5mm between walls and edges of sheets. For platform floors, drill 19mm drain holes near edges which will later be covered by skirting.

3. Nailing

Use only flat headed galvanized nails as follows:

Hardwood joists 5Omm x 2.8mm diameter
Softwood joists 75mm x 2.8mm diameter. Nail at 15Omm centre (distance from the centre of one nail to the next) at edges of boards and 20Omm centre on intermediate joists. Nail no closer than 1Omm to the edge of the board. Do not punch nails until building is completed and ready for sanding. Allow floors to dry out completely before sanding then punch nails just before sanding. Clean up with 40 grit paper to remove stains etc. and finish with 80-120 grit to produce a smooth clean finish.