Flooring Tips from Woodlist:

	engineered
Some engineered floors and all Longstrip floors can be floated. This is a very fast, easy and clean method of installation. Floating refers to floors that are not attached to any subfloor.
A floating floor can be installed over almost any kind of subfloor.
For Glue down applications, make sure you have the correct adhesive cleaner on hand. Keep an eye on your working area. Clean any mistakes immediately, especially adhesive that may get on the baseboard or outside the working area.
In a basement use engineered flooring.
For best results on a glue down floor, make sure there is 100% contact between board and mastic.
developers choose engineered products for 40 percent of new wooden floors, especially for remodeling jobs.
engineered wood flooring's biggest appeal today is to homeowners who are living in the midst of renovations, since it eliminates on-site sanding and finishing.
Engineered flooring varies in its durability. Some kinds can be sanded and refinished when they become scratched and worn; others will need to be replaced.
The more plys, the more stable the floor will be
Engineered Hardwood are several plies of wood that a glued and laminated together to form a wood plank. Range in thickness from 1/4" to just over a half inch.
Longstrip Engineered are really an engineered construction but with a long and wider plank. This allows the top layer to splice 2-3 rows of thin hardwood strips into one plank.
Engineered flooring is produced by adhering layers of plastic laminate veneer with real wood.
Acrylic-impregnated wood flooring is infused with sealant and color throughout the thickness of the wood.
Engineered wood floors and parquets can be glued down. The wood is adhered to the subfloor with a strong adhesive
Some engineered flooring comes assembled in a panel for fast installation, but still offers the appearance of narrow floorboards
	general
It may be tempting to think about the endless design possibilities, but if you're going with the DIY option, you should probably leave the fancy stuff to the experts
To protect the floor's finish while you're completing the installation, make sure you have a towel or soft cloth available on which to set your tools and kneel.
The finish is also what gives the floor its color and luster.
Always saw with the teeth cutting down into the top of the board. Cutting from the top down helps protect the surface.
Never use a hammer or rubber mallet directly on a board. Always use the Tapping Block, and always place the Tapping Block against the tongue side of a board.
The end joint should be at least 20" from the end joint in the row before it
One distinct difference between solid wood and engineered hardwood flooring is that a solid wood floor can be refinished several times over the years, but an engineered floor can only be refinished once.
It's a good idea to open several boxes at a time and intermix planks from different boxes while installing prefinished wood flooring. This will help reduce blocks of noticeable, color variations
Because 3/4" solid hardwood floors are more susceptible to moisture, they are generally not recommended for basements, or installing over concrete slabs.
Don't use a $5 saw on a $10 board. When starting a new flooring project, replace your old saw blades with the a new one.
Remember to check for transition pieces that match your flooring
It is important to check the distance from your work to the finish wall fairly often, so that you can make corrections in small increments.
Make sure your flooring is recomended by the manufacturer for the area you plan on installing it.
Flooring experts find working left to right makes for an easier installation.
Framing floor obstructions, such as heating vents, with mitered joints gives a professional look
Remember that the quality of the subfloor will affect the quality of the floor.
To protect the floor's finish while you're completing the installation, make sure you have a towel or soft cloth available on which to set your tools and kneel.
Underlayment should be nailed to the subfloor plywood and not into the the floor joists below to make the underlayment and subfloor plywood work together uniformly.
Measure twice, cut once.
A stray hammer hit can leave a dent in the surface of unfinished flooring. To fix, place a damp cloth on the spot and apply pressure with a hot iron. This will raise the damaged surface of the wood back to the common surface.
Check sub floor for unevenness by putting a 2X4 diagonally across the room. Lay a level on top. If floor is uneven, purchase a self leveling compound from your local hardware store. It mixes with water and will automatically fill in all low spots.
Always read the manufacturer's install guides before installing. Failure to do so can result in voiding of the warranty.
Routine maintenance should include protecting the surface finish from moisture and heavy wear which creates scratches. This maintenance requires more than sweeping and vacuuming.
When installing subfloor plywood it is a good idea to glue it down with a construction adhesive to prevent floor squeaks.
Place walk off mats and area rugs in high traffic areas (make sure they stay dry and are cleaned underneath often)
Warranties by most manufacturers are VOIDED if oil soap cleaners are used
Protect your floor against direct sunlight or any intense source of artificial lighting. Over time,intense light will discolor exposed surfaces.
	laminate
Laminate floors are meant to be floated over a variety of sub floors and never secured directly to any substrate
Special polyurethane underlay is laid down prior to installing laminate flooring. This helps the floor to float freely over the top.
most laminate floors require a special glue to secure the planks together and help seal moisture from penetrating the core.
straps work much better than clamps at pulling plank rows together. Normally you need a strap set for every four feet in the starter rows.
tapping blocks are used to lightly tap two planks together.
Laminate floors are incredibly durable, easy to care for and come in a wide variety of realitic stone and wood flooring designs
Laminate flooring manufacturers use sophisticated, computerized technology to create realistic designs that are well protected by a tough outer coating that is imprevious to most stains, spills, burns and extremely scratch-resistant.
For the do-it-yourself homeowner most laminate floors have a specialized, glueless, tongue and grooved locking system that makes installation a snap
Laminate floors originally came from Europe and combine realistic hardwood and tile designs with a tough, durable finish that can be used anywhere in the home.
laminate is more scratch-resistant than any wood floor — but once it does scratch, the damage is permanent
laminate can be a good choice in laundry rooms or bathrooms
An edge glue Laminate is 3 times more resistant to pulling apart than a quick lock laminate.
There are two basic types of laminate flooring: direct-pressure laminate (DPL) and high-pressure laminate (HPL)
HPL is a commercial-grade product that's more wear-resistant and more expensive than DPL
One advantage DPL has, besides price, is that its manufacturing process allows surface embossing, which can be used to give the product a realistic wood, ceramic, or stone texture
The best quality, which is really a commercial-grade product, is 10 millimeters (13/32 inch) thick
a softer core material, such as medium-density fiberboard (MDF) rather than HDF is more vulnerable to both impact damage and indentation from heavy furniture.
All floors move with seasonal changes in temperature and humidity, if you have heavy furniture, there is a chance that a glueless floor will develop gaps.
laminate flooring contains no actual wood
	solid
Let the wood rest at the site before attempting to finish it
Hardwood floors require a minimum of three sandings. Each one with increasingly finer grades of sandpaper. Make sure you sweep and vacuum up dust thoroughly after each sanding.
You also get an extended factory finish warranty with pre-finished floors, but not with most job-site finished flooring
Oil-Based Urethane - The most common surface finish, oil-based urethane is applied in two or three coats and is available in gloss, semi-gloss and satin sheens
Water-Based Urethane - A good option for the DIY-er, this finish dries quickly and cleans up easily with soap and water
Moisture-Cured Urethane - Slightly more durable than others, this finish is most often used on commercial projects
Though pre-finished flooring can cost as much as $1.50 more per square foot than unfinished, it may save you some mistakes.
Most Manufacturers guarantee aluminum oxide finishes for 25 years (versus a likely life of 10 years for three coats of polyurethane).
If you want the rich look and charm of hand-made flooring check out the hand-scraped hardwoods.
Unprotected hardwood products should never be trucked, unloaded or stored in rain, snow or other wet conditions.
Sawblade cuts are usually about 1/8" wide and need to be included in all measurements.
Prefinish warranties are really just "wear-through warranties". Your floor will loose its sheen or luster and require refinishing long before you ever wear through the finish.
Concave boards can be easily installed by securing first the short end of the board into place. Then, move to the left end of the board, hold the board down, and tap into position.
Convex boards, set the short end in first. Then, while holding the center of the board down, tap the left end of the board into place.
Shellac is not practical as a floor finish without wax.
To avoid splitting when working close to edges and ends, pre-drill nail holes.
NEVER Wax a urethane finish
It's always preferable to nail through the thinner piece into the thicker piece. Driving the nail at an angle may not be attractive, but will give you a stronger hold.
Wood floors are NOT impervious to the day to day grit, food, spills, and water
When storing wood flooring and paneling, stacking the boards on stickers allows air space between rows and will help reduce shrinkage of wood joints.
Always give wood flooring and paneling a chance to acclimate prior to installation by storing it properly on the job for a 5-7 day period.
To resist cupping, install wood flooring with the growth ring's arc highest in the center and lowest at each edge.
When repairing floorboards, instead of drilling and chiseling damaged floorboards, use a plunge router. First, use a magnetic nail finder to be sure there are no nails in the way. Set scribe lines across the damaged pieces. Then, run the router across.
White oak - White oak is brown in color, but can have a grayish cast. The grain is similar to red oak with more burls and swirls. It is harder and more durable than red oak.
Red oak - Red oak is the most popular flooring option. Reddish in color, with a coarse grain, it's a stiff and dense wood that resists wear, but not as well as white oak.
Micro-beveled planks have a slightly shallower groove than most eased edged planks. The micro-bevel is meant to help hide minor irregularities, such as uneven plank heights.
Select & Better is almost clear, but contains more natural characteristics such as knots and color variations.
Clear is free of defects though it may have minor imperfections
# 1 Common has a variegated appearance, light and dark colors, knots, flags and worm holes.
# 2 Common is rustic in appearance and allow all wood characteristics of the species
Tavern/Cabin- A limited amount of unfilled/unfinished open characters admitted. A limited amount of pieces with finish irregularities such as bubbles, small skips, lines, stain/color variation, surface handling scratches, minor trash
Plain-sawn hardwood boards are produced by cutting tangentially to a tree's growth rings, creating the familiar "flame-shaped" or "cathedral" grain found in most hardwood flooring and millwork.
Quarter sawing means cutting a log radially (90-degree angle) to the growth rings to produce "vertical" graining. This method yields fewer and narrower boards per log than plain sawing, boosting their cost significantly.
Rift sawing at a 30-degree or greater angle to the growth rings produces narrow boards with accentuated vertical or "straight" grain patterns. Rift-sawn boards are often favored for fine furniture and other applications where matching grain is important.
Plain-sawn hardwoods of any species cost significantly less than a quarter-sawn counterpart. Rift-sawn hardwoods are very expensive and have limited species availability.
Use the range of hardwood product grades and costs to your advantage. Top grade, clear material is not always necessary.
Use long flooring strips at entrances and doorways. Scatter short pieces at random.