Thinking about doing your own hardwood flooring? Before you learn how to install hardwood flooring, you need to choose the type of flooring you want first. There are dozens of options for kinds of flooring these days, some of which are installed traditionally, and some of which snap together.

The nice thing about laminates and snap-together hardwood flooring is that they come with installation instructions. If you want to install traditional hardwood flooring, you'll want to follow these steps.

First, you need to put down a flooring base. You want the subfloor to be dry, clean, and level. Before you begin, remove the baseboards.

You want the wood to get acclimated to your house first, so whether you pick up the flooring yourself or have it delivered, time it so that it all gets stacked somewhere in your house for a few days or so. Wood naturally expands and contracts in different temperatures and humidity levels, and if you don't allow it to adjust to your home, it will not fit properly.

While you're figuring out how to install hardwood flooring, determine which direction the floor joists/supports run. Once you do that, mark the position at the base of the walls so you have a handy reference. Get some 15-point asphalt felt and layer it down on top of your subfloor.

This will minimize creaks and squeaks, and it also provides protection against moisture. If you're installing the hardwood floor in your bathroom or kitchen, this step is especially important.

To indicate the position for your first board, mark the centerline of your room. Leave a 1/2 inch gap at the walls as you're installed the flooring.

To avoid marring and indenting your wood with your hammer, make sure to use a nail set when you finish hammering in each nail. Even if you're using a pneumatic flooring nailer, you should nail the first three boards or so by hand. This helps prevent things from shifting.

Learning how to install hardwood flooring isn't all that difficult. However, it takes time and requires precision.