Updated: April 02, 2025

Installing hardwood floors can dramatically enhance your home’s beauty and value. If you’re asking yourself “What tools do I need for hardwood flooring installation?”, you’re asking a smart question. Below is a comprehensive guide to all the tools and equipment – from basic to advanced – that you’ll need to install hardwood flooring in a typical U.S. home. This list is geared toward DIY homeowners who want to do the job right, as well as professionals looking to ensure nothing is forgotten.

(If you’re installing click-lock engineered hardwood or laminate, those require fewer tools – here we’re focused on traditional hardwood plank installation that’s nailed or glued down.)

Let’s get your toolkit ready!

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Before You Begin: Safety Gear and Prep Tools

Safety first!

Even if you’re an enthusiastic DIYer, it’s crucial to protect yourself and prepare the work area like a professional would. Hardwood installation involves power tools, sharp objects, and lots of kneeling, so gather these personal protective items and prep tools before diving in:

Safety Glasses/Goggles: Flying wood chips and dust are inevitable when cutting or nailing flooring. A good pair of ANSI-rated safety glasses or goggles will shield your eyes. (Regular glasses or sunglasses are not enough.)
Dust Mask or Respirator: Wood dust can irritate your lungs. Use at least an N95 dust mask to filter out fine sawdust. If you’re working with adhesives or finishes that have strong fumes, wear a proper respirator with cartridges for chemicals.
Ear Protection: Cutting hardwood with power saws and using nail guns can get very loud. Foam ear plugs or over-the-ear ear muffs protect your hearing during those noisy tasks.
Knee Pads: You’ll be spending a lot of time on your knees while laying hardwood, especially if you’re doing a large room. Contractor-grade knee pads with a soft, non-marring surface will save your knees from pain and injury. Look for ones that strap on securely and stay in place as you move.
Work Gloves: Handling wood planks and tools can be rough on the hands. A pair of heavy-duty gloves will protect you from splinters, cuts, and blisters. You might switch to thinner gloves or no gloves during delicate tasks, but have them for the heavy work.
Work Boots: Don’t install hardwood in sandals or flimsy sneakers. Wear sturdy work boots with good traction. Ideally, use boots with a safety toe (steel toe or composite toe) to protect your feet if you drop a plank or tool. Also, choose boots with slip-resistant soles – you’ll likely encounter slick sawdust on the floor.

Preparation Tools

With safety covered, let’s look at preparation tools for your existing floor and subfloor:

Pry Bar (Crowbar): To make way for new hardwood, you often need to remove old flooring, tack strips (from carpet), baseboards, or trim. A pry bar gives you the leverage to pull up old materials. Opt for a medium-sized pry bar made of high-carbon steel so it’s strong but not too heavy. Use it to lift plywood, gently remove baseboard molding (so you can reuse it), and prize out any old nails or staples from the subfloor.
Floor Scraper: After the old floor is out, you need a flat, clean subfloor. A floor scraper is a long-handled tool with a sharp blade for stripping off carpet glue, old adhesive, paint splatter, or debris from the subfloor surface. Pushing it across the floor will scrape away bumps and crud. This is important because any lumps left on the subfloor could telegraph (show) through the new hardwood or cause unevenness. For extremely stubborn residues on concrete subfloors, pros might use a concrete grinder – a power tool that grinds down high spots – but for most DIY situations a manual scraper works with some elbow grease
Hammer and Nail Puller: Keep a claw hammer handy to pull out any remaining nails in the subfloor or around the room perimeter. You may also encounter screws or nails that are hard to get; a dedicated nail puller tool or pliers can help yank those out.
Subfloor Fastener Screws (and Drill): This isn’t a separate tool, but as part of prep, check your subfloor for squeaks or loose spots. If you find any, drive deck screws into the subfloor and joists to secure it. A power drill or impact driver with appropriate bits will make this quick. It’s much easier to fix squeaky subfloors before the hardwood is installed on top!
Level and Straight Edge: Professional installers always verify that the subfloor is level and even. Use a 4-foot level or a long straight edge (like a straight 2x4 or aluminum screed) to check for dips and humps. Hardwood flooring can tolerate only minor height variations; a general rule is no more than about 3/16" deviation over 6-10 feet (check your flooring specs). Mark any uneven areas: you may need to sand down high spots or fill low spots (with a floor patch or leveling compound).
Moisture Meter: Here’s a tool that DIYers often overlook but professionals swear by: a wood moisture meter. Hardwood flooring must be installed at the correct moisture content relative to your home’s environment to avoid future problems. A moisture meter measures how much water is in the wood. Generally, hardwood flooring is kiln-dried and should read around 6-9% moisture content for most indoor conditions. Use the meter on a few planks of your flooring and on the wood subfloor. If the readings are high (say 12% or above) or if there’s a big difference between subfloor and flooring moisture (more than 3-4%), you should let the wood acclimate longer or address humidity issues.

📌 According to industry data, more than $2.4 billion million is spent each year on fixing flooring failures due to moisture issues (Source: I+S Design)

Hygrometer (Humidity Gauge): In addition to checking the wood, check your room humidity. Hardwood performs best in normal indoor humidity (around 30-50%, according to NWFA. An inexpensive hygrometer can tell you if the air is very humid or very dry. Extremely high humidity might require a dehumidifier before/during installation; very low humidity (in winter, for example) might mean you’ll need to leave a bit larger expansion gap.
Chalk Line: Before you start actual installation, you’ll use a chalk line (also known as a snap line) as part of prep/layout. We’ll discuss it in the layout tools section, but it’s listed early here because you might snap lines before laying underlayment, etc. Ensure you have one in your toolkit.
Vacuum and Broom: A shop vacuum (wet/dry vac) and a sturdy broom are must-haves throughout the project. During prep, you’ll use them to clear away all the debris you scraped up. Starting with a dust-free subfloor is important for adhesives to stick (in glue-down installations) and to ensure nothing crunches under the wood. During installation, you’ll constantly vacuum sawdust and wood chips to keep the work area clean.
Underlayment (if needed): Not exactly a “tool,” but note if your installation calls for an underlayment (e.g., rosin paper or felt paper for nail-down on wood subfloor, or a moisture barrier underlayment for installations over concrete). You’ll need a stapler or tape to lay these in place. For example, 15-pound felt paper is often rolled out over wood subfloors as a moisture retarder; you’d staple it down with a hammer-tacker. Make sure you have those supplies ready.

💡 Don’t Forget Acclimation: Along with tools, remember to acclimate your hardwood flooring. Store the wood planks in the room where they’ll be installed for several days (typically 3-7 days, or per manufacturer recommendation) so they adjust to the home’s temperature and humidity. Use your moisture meter to verify the wood has reached a stable state before you nail it down.

Layout and Measuring Tools

Precise measurements and a good layout are the backbone of a successful hardwood floor install. These tools ensure your flooring starts straight and stays on track:

Tape Measure: A quality 25-foot tape measure (or longer for big rooms) is indispensable. You’ll use it to measure the room dimensions, check board lengths, and figure out how to stagger your plank joints. Choose one with a locking mechanism so you can lock it in place when extended. As the saying goes, “Measure twice, cut once” – this definitely applies to flooring.
Chalk Line: A chalk line tool holds a string you can snap to leave a straight chalk mark across the floor. This is crucial for establishing reference lines. After you determine your starting point (often along the longest, straightest wall or sometimes down the center for certain patterns), you’ll snap a chalk line to guide the placement of the first row.
Carpenter’s Square (Speed Square & Framing Square): To complement your chalk line, have a carpenter’s square. A speed square is a small triangular tool useful for marking 90° and 45° cuts on boards and checking squareness on the fly. A framing square (L-shaped) or combination square helps ensure corners are true 90 degrees and that your chalk lines are perfectly perpendicular at intersections. You can also use a square to verify that your first row is at a right angle to an adjacent wall.
Pencil/Marker: Keep a pencil (carpenter’s pencil with a flat edge, or a mechanical pencil for finer lines) handy for marking cuts on the wood. Some installers prefer a fine-tip Sharpie marker for visibility on wood, but be cautious – marker lines are permanent and thick. Pencil is safer for marking cut lines on the boards; it can be erased or sanded off if you goof. You’ll use a pencil alongside the square to mark where to cut each piece, and also to label pieces (e.g., mark numbers on boards to remember order in a complex layout). It’s simple but vital.
Wooden Spacers: Yes, those little spacers are tools, too! These are small blocks or wedges (often plastic or wood) that you insert between the flooring and the wall to maintain your expansion gap. Hardwood expands and contracts with humidity, so you never install it tight against walls – a gap of about 1/4" (or per manufacturer spec) is left, then covered by baseboard or quarter-round later. Spacers ensure this gap is uniform around the room. You might use purpose-made spacers that come in installation kits or just cut pieces of scrap wood to the right thickness. Put spacers every few feet along the walls as you start laying boards. They prevent the row from shifting snug to the wall while you work, and thereby keep the gap honest.
Straight Edge (Optional): In addition to a level, a long straight edge or chalk line can help check that your rows of flooring are staying straight as you progress. This could be a straight piece of aluminum or a tightly pulled string. Every few rows, a pro will sight down the edge to ensure there’s no bow or gradual drift. If any adjustments are needed, it’s easier to correct early than later on.

Cutting Tools for Hardwood Flooring

Hardwood flooring projects involve a lot of cutting – every row typically requires cutting the last board to length, and you’ll also cut boards to stagger joints and fit around obstacles. Using the right saws will make this easier and give you cleaner results. Here are the cutting tools you’ll need:

Miter Saw (Chop Saw): A power miter saw is arguably the MVP of flooring cuts. It’s used for making accurate crosscuts (cuts across the width of a board). You’ll use a miter saw to cut the last piece in each row to length. It’s also great for cutting the first piece of every other row when you’re staggering joints. If you need to cut angles (for example, if your flooring meets at a diagonal or you have a unique pattern), the miter saw can be set to the exact angle. A 10-inch or 12-inch miter saw works for most hardwood planks. If you don’t own one, consider renting or borrowing – it will save you time and improve accuracy.
Table Saw: While the miter saw handles end cuts, a table saw handles rip cuts – cutting boards lengthwise. Often the width of the room isn’t an exact multiple of your plank width, so your last row will likely need ripping (cutting along the length) to a narrower width. A table saw makes this clean and straight. It’s also useful if you need to rip a board to a custom width for the first row (sometimes you rip the first and last rows to balance them). Additionally, if you’re doing any custom inlays or need to shave a bit off the tongue side of a board, a table saw is handy. Use feather boards and push sticks for safety when ripping narrow strips – you want those fingers safe. Set the fence precisely and feed the wood steadily for a smooth cut. If you don’t have a table saw, you can use a circular saw with a guide, but expect to spend more time ensuring the cut is straight.
Circular Saw: A circular saw is a portable power saw that can serve multiple purposes in flooring installation:
- It can do rip cuts if you clamp a straight-edge guide to the plank.
- It can also do crosscuts in a pinch (using a speed square as a guide to ensure a straight cut).
- It’s useful for cutting lengths of flooring in place: for instance, if you need to trim a door jamb or cut out a section of subfloor.
  
  Many DIYers might rely on a circular saw if they don’t have a miter or table saw. If you use one for crosscuts, use a sharp fine-tooth blade for wood to minimize splintering. Always secure the board being cut (with clamps or on a workbench) before cutting. For flooring, a circular saw can also be set to a shallow depth to undercut doorways in lieu of a jamb saw (more on that next).
Jigsaw (Sabre Saw): Not all cuts are straight. A jigsaw is perfect for cutting curves, notches, and odd shapes out of your hardwood planks. For example, if you need to cut a plank to fit around a floor vent, you’ll drill a starter hole and then use a jigsaw to cut out the vent opening. Or, when fitting around the rounded profile of stair balusters or perhaps an archway, a jigsaw can follow the curved line you draw. Use a sharp wood blade on the jigsaw (some are designed specifically for clean cuts in hardwood). Go slow to avoid splintering the wood, especially on the plank’s finished side – you can put painter’s tape over the cut line to help minimize chip-out. Jigsaws can also be used to shorten pieces lengthwise in a pinch, or to finish off a cut that a circular saw started (like in corners where the round saw blade can’t reach). They are one of the more DIY-friendly tools for detail work, since they’re light and easy to control with a bit of practice
Jamb Saw (Undercut Saw): One challenge when installing hardwood is making it neatly meet the doorways. Instead of cutting the hardwood to wrap around door frames (which is very tricky and looks imperfect), professionals undercut the door frame so the wood slides underneath for a clean finish. A jamb saw is made for this task – it’s like a saw that you run along the floor to trim the bottom of the door casing. There are manual jamb saws (basically a hand saw with a depth guide) and power ones that look like a small circular saw on its side. Using a jamb saw, you cut the door trim about 1” from the floor (the thickness of the hardwood plus a little clearance). Then you can slip your hardwood board underneath that casing for a polished look. If you don’t want to buy a dedicated jamb saw, an oscillating multi-tool with a flush-cut blade can achieve the same result, just a bit slower.
Handsaw and Miscellaneous Cutting Tools: Even with all the power tools, keep a good handsaw around. A small flush-cut saw is useful for trimming shims or spacers flat with the floor or cutting a little off a board in a tight spot. A coping saw might be used if you have to scribe a board to an irregular shape (though jigsaws handle most of that). And if you’re installing new trim or shoe molding after the floor, a miter box and hand saw can cut those if you don’t have a power miter saw handy.

Cutting Tips (from experience): Always cut with the finished side up on a miter saw or handsaw (to avoid top-side tear-out). For jigsaws or circular saws, note that the blade cuts upward (for jigsaws) or upward on one side (for circ saws), so in those cases, cutting from the back side of the plank can reduce splinters on the good side. Use scrap pieces to test your cuts and get comfortable with the tools before cutting your actual flooring pieces. And measure carefully – once you cut a board too short, you can’t stretch it! It’s better to cut slightly long and trim again if needed, especially for detailed cuts.

With all your pieces cut to fit, you’re ready for the actual installation. Now let’s equip you with the tools for fastening and assembling the hardwood floor.

Fastening and Installation Tools

Installing hardwood floors involves either nailing (or stapling) the boards to the subfloor, gluing them down, or a combination of both (and sometimes floating, which we’ll touch on). Which is better - nails or glue for hardwood flooring? The answer often depends on the type of hardwood flooring Which is better - nails or hardwood flooring glue - the answer often depends on the type of hardwood flooring you have. In this section, we’ll cover the tools needed for each method, plus tools that help get everything tight and secure.

Even if you’re DIY, many of these tools can be rented – which is common, since some are specialized and not used often outside of flooring projects.

For Nail-Down Hardwood Installation (Wood Subfloor):

Flooring Nailer or Stapler: This is the big one for nail-down installations. A flooring nailer (also called a flooring stapler or cleat nailer) is a specialized tool that drives nails or staples through the tongue of hardwood flooring at the perfect 45° angle. You cannot substitute a regular nail gun for this job – a flooring nailer has a special base that sits on the board and guides the fastener into the tongue without damaging the board’s edge. There are two main types:
- Manual flooring nailer: You hit it with a heavy mallet to drive each nail. It requires physical force but gives you control over each hit.
- Pneumatic flooring nailer: Hooks up to an air compressor; you still hit it with a mallet, but the air pressure drives the nail, so it’s easier on you physically and a bit faster.
  
  These tools can usually shoot either flooring cleat nails or staples, depending on the model. Solid 3/4" hardwood often uses 2” long L-shaped cleat nails or 15-gauge staples.

💡 DIY Tip: Rather than buying a flooring nailer (which can be $200–$600), rent one from a home center. Many places rent the nailer and compressor together for a day or weekend. Practice on a scrap piece first to get a feel for it. When nailing, ensure the nailer’s base is flush and tight to the board and hit the mallet firmly – this sets the board tight and sinks the nail. You’ll typically nail every 8” or so along each board and within 2-3” of each end (and also on every floor joist if it’s a subfloor over joists). This tool is what actually secures your floor, so take your time to use it correctly.

Flooring Nails/Staples: Along with the nailer, have the correct fasteners. Standard hardwood flooring cleats are usually 16-gauge or 18-gauge cleats or 15.5-gauge staples, in lengths from 1-1/2” to 2”. Follow your flooring manufacturer’s recommendation. They often specify cleats or staples and spacing. It’s wise to buy a bit more than you need so you don’t run out mid-project. Keep them within reach as you work.
Rubber Mallet: If you’re using a manual flooring nailer, it typically comes with a mallet (often with a rubber head or rubber coating) to strike the actuator on the nailer. For a pneumatic nailer, a mallet is still used to engage the mechanism. This rubber mallet serves double duty – you can also use it to tap boards into place without harming them. For example, if a board is slightly out of alignment, a mallet can gently knock it into line. It’s softer than a regular hammer, so it won’t dent the wood surface.
Hammer and Nail Set: There will be areas where the flooring nailer cannot fit, such as the very last few rows against the far wall, or sometimes the first row against a wall. In those cases, you’ll face-nail or angle-nail boards with a regular hammer. Use 2” finishing nails or specialty flooring nails for this. You’ll likely need to drill pilot holes (especially near the end of a board) to avoid splitting the wood. After tapping the nails in, you use a nail set – a small, pointed tool – to sink the nail head below the wood surface. This allows you to later fill the tiny hole with wood putty so it’s almost invisible. Have a couple of sizes of nail sets if possible (the smallest that can cup the nail head) and a good 16 oz. hammer for this detail work.
Drill (Cordless Drill) and Bits: A power drill is very useful for pre-drilling holes for the face-nails as mentioned. Use a drill bit slightly smaller than the nail diameter. A drill also comes in handy if you need to countersink screws for any reason or to tighten up any loose subfloor spots. If you have a right-angle drill attachment, it can help to drill or drive nails in tight quarters near walls. Make sure the drill is charged and you have bits (1/16” up to 1/8” bits cover most pilot hole needs in wood).
Flooring Jack (Lever Pull Bar): As you progress to the last rows, there’s no room to swing a mallet. That’s where a flooring jack (a jack or lever tool) helps. This tool braces against the wall and uses a hook and lever mechanism to push the last boards tightly together. You can then face-nail them while the pressure is holding them in place. It essentially provides the same “push” that you and a mallet gave the boards in the middle of the floor, but in a confined space. If you don’t have a flooring jack, a pull bar (described below) plus some shims or a second person’s prying force can substitute, but the jack makes it much easier to get a snug fit on those final pieces.

For Glue-Down Hardwood Installation (Concrete Subfloor or Glue-Assist):

Notched Trowel: When gluing hardwood, you spread the adhesive with a notched trowel, much like tiling. The notches (V-shaped or square-notched) ensure a consistent thickness of glue. Common notch sizes for wood flooring adhesive are 1/4" x 1/4" or 3/16" x 5/32" etc., but it depends on the adhesive. Check the adhesive manufacturer’s guidelines – using the wrong trowel could cause insufficient glue coverage or too much mess. Have the correct trowel ready (and a spare if doing a large area, since adhesive can start to harden on it). You’ll also want disposable trowel blades or a way to clean the trowel, because adhesive can be very hard to remove once cured.
Flooring Adhesive: Not a tool, but ensure you have the right adhesive for hardwood (often a urethane-based glue for hardwood). Also, glue remover wipes or mineral spirits and rags are key tools when doing glue-down – any adhesive that oozes up between boards or gets on the surface should be wiped off immediately per the adhesive instructions.
Floor Roller or Jamb Roller: Once the boards are laid into the adhesive, some installers use a weighted floor roller (like a 100-pound roller) to press the flooring evenly into the glue. Not all hardwood installs require this, but check your adhesive guidelines. A rental floor roller can usually be found (it looks like a giant metal roller on a handle). Alternatively, using your body weight and a hand roller or just stepping carefully on each board to set it works for many products.
Tapping Block & Pull Bar: For glue-down, you still may need to gently tap boards together to close gaps, since you can’t rely on nails to pull them tight. A tapping block and rubber mallet can be used to snug up tongues and grooves (being careful not to knock adhesive onto the surface). A pull bar is useful at the edges as with floating floors, since you can’t pry against a glued floor easily without potentially disrupting the adhesive bond.
Strap Clamps (optional): Some glue-down installers use flooring strap clamps – straps that go around the room or a section of boards and ratchet tight, pulling all boards together while the glue sets. This is more common in floating installs, but can be used if you have tricky areas in glue-down where boards want to shift.

For Floating Installation (Click-Lock Engineered Hardwood): (Briefly, if your product happens to be a floating type)

Floating floors need spacers (for expansion gap), a tapping block, a rubber mallet, and a pull bar. These help lock the tongue-and-groove or click mechanism fully and tighten each row.
No nails or glue are used on the boards themselves (only maybe a bead of glue in the groove in some cases), so installation is quieter and cleaner.

💡 Many manufacturers provide an installation kit with these tools for floating floors. Even though our main focus is nail/glue-down solid hardwood, it’s good to know this in case someone is using an engineered click product and reading this – their tool needs are simpler (no nailer, no big saws if pre-cut lengths, etc.), mostly the same as laminate flooring tools.

Tools for All Installation Types – Getting Boards Tight:

Tapping Block: Regardless of method, a tapping block is a block of wood or plastic you place against the edge of a plank (usually on the tongue side or the exposed edge of the last board in a row) and tap with a mallet. This helps nudge boards together without damaging them. Never hammer directly on the hardwood tongue or groove – you’ll splinter it. Instead, the tapping block sacrificially takes the hit and distributes the force. Some tapping blocks hook over the plank to stay in place; others are just a rectangle you hold. They’re especially useful for floating floor assembly, but also handy in nail-down to tighten up a joint before nailing. You can also use an off-cut of your hardwood as a tapping block (using the tongue side of a scrap piece to push the groove of the piece you’re installing, for example).
Pull Bar: This is a flat metal tool with a hook on one end and a part you hit on the other end. Use a pull bar to pull the last boards of a row or the boards next to a wall tight. You hook it over the far edge of the board (where a tapping block can’t be used) and tap the upright end of the bar with your mallet or hammer. The leverage pulls the board towards the adjacent piece. Pull bars are crucial for the final row along a wall – when you can’t use a floor nailer or tapping block, the pull bar brings the board into position so you can nail or glue it. It’s also useful if a board in the middle of the floor needs a little persuasion; you can hook a pull bar on it (if there’s space at end of row) to coax it. If you don’t have a dedicated pull bar, a large pry bar can sometimes be used similarly by bracing against a wall and levering the board, but a pull bar’s design is easier on the wall and your hands.
Pry Bar & Scrap Wood: Sometimes, to tighten a row, installers use a pry bar against a spacer at the wall. For example, put a piece of scrap wood against the wall and use a pry bar between the wood and the last board to lever it tight, then nail. This is an improvised use of the pry bar we mentioned earlier. It achieves the same result as a flooring jack or pull bar for final rows.
Compressor and Hoses (if pneumatic tools): If you’re using pneumatic nailers or nail guns, you’ll need an air compressor with the right capacity (typically a small pancake compressor works for one flooring nailer). Ensure you have a long enough air hose to reach across the room. The compressor itself is usually kept just outside the room to reduce noise and free up space. Keep an eye on hose placement as you work so it doesn’t scratch the new floor – some pros drape it over their shoulder or have someone manage the hose.
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💡 Remember to oil your pneumatic nailer as instructed and set the compressor to the correct PSI for the tool.
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Other Handy Installation Tools:

Finish Nailer / Brad Nailer: If you have a pneumatic finish nailer (typically 16 or 18 gauge), it can be useful for nailing trim or tricky spots. For example, some installers use a finish nailer to blind-nail the first few starter rows (shooting at an angle through the tongue) before there’s room to use the big flooring nailer.
Glue for Joints: Even in nail-down installs, pros sometimes put a dab of wood glue on the groove of the last few boards that can’t be nailed (instead of face-nailing, to avoid holes). This wood glue acts as extra hold where you can’t nail. So having a bottle of carpenter’s wood glue available can help in those final boards or when installing very short pieces that might split if nailed.

At this stage, you’ve got the floor laid down securely. The final phase is finishing touches – filling holes, sanding if needed, cleaning up, and eventually sealing or recoating if it’s unfinished flooring. Let’s gather the tools for that.

Finishing and Cleanup Tools

Once all the hardwood planks are installed, you’ll want to take care of the details that make the floor look seamless and beautiful. These tools and materials help with the finishing phase:

Wood Filler and Putty Knife: Inspect the floor for any small gaps or nail holes (from face-nailing). Using a wood filler or putty that matches the floor color, fill in those holes and gaps. Typically, you use a flexible putty knife or plastic scraper to press the filler into the hole and scrape it flush. For prefinished floors, use a color-matched putty or wax filler stick designed for that flooring (often provided by the flooring manufacturer) so it blends in. For unfinished floors to be sanded, you can use a filler that will dry hard and be sanded smooth. Filling holes gives the floor a continuous, professional look, as if there were never any nails at all

Sanders (if needed): If you installed unfinished hardwood, you have a significant sanding job ahead:

A drum sander (a large walk-behind sander) for the main floor area.
An edger sander (handheld disc sander) for the perimeter of the room.
Possibly a corner sanding tool for tight corners.

💡 These are specialized tools typically rented. Sanding an entire hardwood floor is a skill on its own – if you’re a DIYer, be prepared to practice or consider hiring this part out if you’re not comfortable. On the other hand, if the floor is prefinished, you won’t sand the whole floor (that’s the beauty of prefinished boards). You might just lightly sand any areas where you filled holes or if there are slight height mismatches between boards. For that, a handheld random orbital sander with fine grit (120-150 grit) works. Additionally, a floor buffer with a polishing or sanding screen might be used between finish coats or to buff the floor after installation to remove scuffs.

Vacuum (again) and Tack Cloth: After any filling or sanding, vacuum thoroughly. Even a tiny bit of leftover dust can spoil a finish. Pros often vacuum, then use a tack cloth or sticky mop to pick up the finest dust. If the floor is prefinished, you still want to remove dust so it doesn’t get underfoot or into the HVAC system. If the floor is to be coated with polyurethane on site, dust removal is critical for a smooth finish.
Mops or Cloths for Cleaning: A slightly damp mop or microfiber cloth can help pick up the last bits of dust. Be careful with water on unfinished wood (damp, not wet). For prefinished, you can use a hardwood-safe cleaner lightly. Essentially, prep the surface so it’s clean for whatever comes next (either moving furniture in or applying finish).
Finish Applicators (if finishing on-site): If you have unfinished wood, you’ll need tools to apply your chosen finish:
- Brushes for cutting in edges with stain or poly.
- Paint roller or T-bar applicator for rolling on polyurethane.
- Lambswool applicator or stain pads for spreading stain evenly.
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💡 Those are beyond the installation into the finishing process, but worth noting if you’re going the full DIY route on finishing. Each finish product will recommend certain applicators, so gather those if needed (including stir sticks, paint trays, etc.).
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Basic Tool Cleanup: Have a scraper or putty knife to clean off your tools (like scraping glue off the trowel, etc.) and a bucket for waste. As you wrap up, you’ll collect all the spent nails from your nailer, empty adhesive pails, cut-off scraps of wood, and other debris. A large garbage can or contractor trash bag is handy for cleanup.
Replacement Blades and Bits: During the job, you might need to swap a saw blade or drill bit if it dulls or breaks. It’s good to have spares – a spare saw blade for your circular saw or miter saw (especially if cutting very hard wood, blades can dull), extra jigsaw blades, and extra utility knife blades (for any hand trimming or cutting underlayment). While finishing up, a sharp blade in your utility knife can help cut away any underlayment edges or excess vapor barrier sticking out before you put the trim back.
Reinstalling Trim Tools: After the floor is down and done, you’ll likely reinstall baseboards or add quarter-round trim to cover the expansion gap at walls. For this, you’ll use:
- Your miter saw or miter box to cut trim at corners.
- A finish nailer or hammer to attach the trim to the wall (not into the floor, so the floor can still move a bit under it).
- A bit of caulk to fill nail holes or gaps in trim, and a caulk gun if using tubes.
- Maybe some touch-up paint for the baseboards after caulking.

Finally, clean up and final inspection: Once tools are put away and the floor is complete, walk the floor and inspect every inch. A pro will look for any gaps, proud nails, or imperfections and address them now. If a nail isn’t fully sunk, use the nail set and tap it down, then fill it. If a board has a tiny splinter, trim it or sand it. Wipe off any pencil marks that might still be visible. These little touches make the difference.

Professional Tips and Wrap-Up

We’ve covered a lot of tools – and it might seem daunting – but this comprehensive list ensures you won’t be caught off guard in the middle of your hardwood flooring project. As a quick recap, you’ll need to think about:

Safety and Prep: goggles, masks, knee pads, pry bars, moisture meter, etc.
Measuring and Layout: tape measure, chalk line, squares, spacers.
Cutting: miter saw for crosscuts, table/circular saw for rip cuts, plus a jigsaw for curves and a jamb saw for doorways.
Installation/Fastening: flooring nailer and mallet (for nail-down), trowel and adhesive (for glue-down), plus hammer, drill, pull bar, tapping block, and maybe an air compressor for pneumatic tools.
Finishing: filler, sanders (if unfinished), vacuum, and trim-fitting tools.

DIY Homeowner vs. Professional

If you’re a homeowner, you might not own all these tools – but many can be rented or borrowed. Rent the heavy equipment like floor nailers, large sanders, or table saws if needed. Invest in moderately priced items like a good drill, jigsaw, or circular saw that you’ll likely use again. Protective gear is inexpensive and absolutely worth it (no saved money is worth an eye injury or busted knee). Hardwood professionals likely have all these tools in their van, and if you as a DIYer equip yourself similarly (even temporarily through rentals), you’re setting yourself up for success. One thing pros also have is knowledge of when and how to use each tool – which this guide has aimed to share, so you can approach the project with confidence.

What Tools Do I Need for Hardwood Flooring Installation?