Google doesn't seem to know anything about this. Or, I'm just not thinking of the right search terms. I'm trying to figure out how I would adjust the spacing by tiny amounts if the rows of flooring start going out of parallel as we install more and more rows. Kind of like roofing with shingles. Mark a starting line, and parallel reference lines every few feet up the roof. Then can measure to the reference lines to see if the rows are deviating. I can't find any info on how you would re-adjust if rows of wood flooring start to deviate from parallel. Shingles are easy. But wood flooring? The only thing I can think of is to use something like business cards as shims, shimming gaps between boards a bit at a time. What do pro installers do? What have you done? Or I the only one to ever need to do this? I've got about 36" width installed so far, 11 rows, and measuring to my reference line, I find one end to be 1/8" closer to the line. Which isn't terrible, but I've got 14 feet to go; I don't want 1/8" to turn into 2 inches. Basic info: Installing 3/4" solid tongue and groove hickory flooring, 3" wide, in our remodel. Subfloor is 1x6 boards diagonal to the joists. Supplemented solid subfloor with 1/2" plywood stapled. 15# felt underlayment under floor boards. Floor boards installed perpendicular to joists. Flooring nailed with 2" cleats with a typical pneumatic flooring nailer. Flooring has been in the house for several months.

Hi All, We just finished installing a 3/4", 3" wide Hickory wood floor for our kitchen/DR area last week. This week cabinets were installed and just completed yesterday. And then last night noticed that the floor buckled in one spot. Just one... couldn't believe it. It's nailed down with 2" cleats, and we used a layer of 15# felt paper under the hickory. One mistake we made was that even though the flooring has been in the house for almost a year, we did not have it out of the boxes. Most likely the buckling is due to changing humidity. But, I find it odd that our gap around the perimeter of the room hasn't changed. We left a 1/2" to 3/4" gap everywhere, and although the boards may be swelling from an increase in moisture content, it's not taking up any of the gap. And, in just one spot? One seam, for about 6 feet, is pushed up just slightly. Hardly noticeable until you move your foot across it. I have to wonder if that length of floor board didn't get nailed down. The Bostitch nailer I used doesn't lock out when the nails run out, it just keeps making an indentation in the tongue. I did catch myself a couple of times dry firing and had to go back a few feet and hit it again after I reloaded. So it's entirely possible I missed some nails. Has this happened to anyone else here where a limited area or areas buckled because they didn't get nailed down? It would be kind of a relief to know for sure that this is the case and we don't have to worry about the whole floor popping up. If it's limited to this small area and it is missing nails, would it be better to try to nail it from the surface, right into the seam, at an angle so the nail goes through the tongue? Or, having access from below, I could try driving some small screws into the board that's not nailed and pull it down that way. Don't know if doing that would restrict movement too much though, and possibly cause further problems. Thanks for any help! Keith