Hardwood Gym Floor Being Installed!

Step by Step, Inch by Inch ~ One plank at a time~
our hardwood gym floor is being installed.

Follow this sequence of photos to see how these floors are built.
On the right side of this photo is the concrete slab for the gym floor. On the left is the vapor barrier that lays on top of the concrete.
On the right above is the vapor barrier. On the left side of the photo is a foam cushioning pad.
Here the foam is turned up so you can see it is about 1/4 inch thick.
On top of the foam layers of criss-crossing lattice boards are installed as the sub flooring.
After the third layer is installed it is ready for the hardwood finishing boards.
The wood has been stored in the space it will be installed and has cured to the room atmosphere and moisture levels for several weeks.
This photo above shows the depth of the floor. It will rise above the concrete nearly three inches deep and equal to the bottom of this entrance door sill.

Hand tools are a part of some of the detailing bu the majority of the installation is with powered tools.
Once an edge is set the hardwood is driven into place and then nailed to the sub floor.
This photo shows all five levels in one shot. From left to right concrete, vapor barrier, foam padding, lattice sub floor, and hardwood surface flooring.
Once installed our wood is a beautiful sight. It is unfinished and that will come soon.
This floor features expansion joints every 3 feet to allow for the seasonal swelling and changes in moisture content and thus preventing buckling.
I have color adjusted this image to approximate the finish that will be seen on the floors. You can compare that to the unfinished raw maple in the above lighter wood photos.
This crew of installers works along a single line progressing from one end of the gym to the other while nailing in about a 6 board section at a time.
The heavy rubber hammer is used to strike the power nail gun that drive the nails through the hardwood and into the sub floor. Moving to the right he swings down to the floor and strikes the wood plank first to set it in place and without missing a beat swings high to the nail gun and drives the nails in rhythm.
The boards are all culled and placed in advance of the hammer crew working across the row to be nailed into place.
In about one day they completed the section show below.
No, don't be alarmed, we do not have crooked flooring! This is a sorted but un attached section of planks.
It is a beautiful floor and it is very springy when you bounce your heel on it. I look forward to many years of Pioneer Sports play in this gym.



click on the arrow above for "hammer time"...