You can install hardwood floors on concrete slabs, over existing wood floors or over plywood subfloors. When laying wood on concrete floors, it is important to control moisture, which can be managed by placing a film barrier over the concrete.

It will be necessary to screw or nail the engineered subfloors into place. After placing the subfloor, it has to be sanded, smoothed and filed so that the surface is level and ready for the hardwood. Whether you use a stapler, hammer, board nailer or gum, the process of installing hardwood floors is the same.

It is best to start from the focal point of the room, by laying decorative borders on the floor. Be sure to snap a chalk line before laying the first board, as a reference point.

Tip: Use chalk lines for alignment of boards

Aligning the first row of boards using a chalk line ensures that the subsequent rows are straight. While securing boards to the subfloor, it is important that you test fit the boards in sections to ensure that all its points are staggered. Joints should preferably be a foot apart.

It is better to use blind nailing of tongue and groove boards as it helps hide the fasteners. With this procedure, each fastener is driven through a board's tongue to be covered by the next, adjacent board.

In other installations, face nailing is used, to where you drive the nail through the top of the board. It is also possible to glue down boards or use boards with adhesive strips on its back.