Bob Vila takes an early interior tour of the modular home. Bob is in a 15-foot-wide-by-48-foot long section. The flooring and walls are almost complete and much of the molding and cabinetry is laid out and ready to be installed. Bob points out an archway between the kitchen and breakfast nook�one of the pleasant design surprises that can be added to a custom modular home. The floors are Bellawood�s Northern Red Oak with a gunstock finish. The darker finish gives a more sophisticated and formal look to the room. The hardwood floors are installed in the modular home just as they wood be in a site built home. Mike Snyder from Mike�s Flooring, a flooring sub contractor in the Simplex plant, points out the quality of the Bellawood noting it has very few flaws and a durable finish. The flooring is left incomplete where two pieces of the modular home are to be attached. On site, quick work will be made of the few details left when the large modular sections are joined.

For proper installation, wood flooring should be allowed to acclimate to its surrounding environment before it is installed. Too much or two little moisture in the flooring can cause it to bow, buckle, split, or crack after it is installed. In the dining room, Brickman shows Bob two ways to measure the moisture content of wood. The first is a traditional moisture meter that is stuck into the floor. The second is the FloorWatch system, which can be monitored remotely. The FloorWatch system monitors moisture levels, temperature, and relative humidity. It can be accessed over the phone or via a Web site. Before putting the floor down, Brickman applies a vapor barrier that is similar to an ice shield used in roofing. A different floor fastening system is being used in this room; rather than the nailing technique used elsewhere in the house, Brickman uses screws and wood plugs.

Now that the WarmZone radiant-floor heat has been installed, it's time to put the finish flooring on. The homeowners selected a Bellawood white oak, tongue-and-groove floor with an oxidized finish for a 50-year guarantee. Since the flooring will be nailed over the hyrdronic heat tubing, it is critical to avoid puncturing the tubes. General contractor Tim Berky is installing the flooring perpendicular to the tubing, which allows him to see the Pex at all times and avoid nailing into it. Berky shows Bob how he began the installation with the second course cut to receive the supply and return pipes and sited half way over the first loop, which initially runs parallel to the wall and is hidden from view. By starting his courses this way, he can set the power-assist nailer to drive the two-inch galvanized staples at an angle just above the tongue without fear of puncturing the tubing. While Berky shoots the staples, Bob points out how the entire floor and substrate is effectively a green application since it is all wood, which is a renewable resource. The advantage, he says, is that trees are planted every time the resource is used, resulting in increased planting and forest protection. The wood floor will cover the entire space, even under the cabinetry and appliances, to create an even floor and provide full finish flooring should the homeowners wish to remodel in the future.

Tom Sullivan of Bellawood is in one of the four Mashpee affordable homes where they have donated hardwood flooring for the living room, dining room, and kitchen of each house. This 3 1/4 inch natural Maple flooring has color variations, tight knots, and more visual wood character than a select grade. Like the select and rustic grades, this Maple flooring is 12 percent harder than a Red Oak floor and will last a lifetime. Sullivan shows Bob a prefinished, micro-beveled plank that comes ready to install with a variety of lengths ranging from one to six feet. Bellawood provides a 50-year finish warranty on its flooring, which has eight coats of an aluminum-oxide based semigloss finish. Bob notes how the crew has positioned the pieces in advance to avoid lining up seams and to ensure an aesthetically pleasing layout. Sullivan points out that they have put rosin paper over the plywood subfloor and under the hardwood installation to combat squeaking.

With patience and attention to detail, installing a new wooden floor can be an easy home improvement project.

Bob meets lead carpenter Connor McKenna from Thorough Construction, who is working with the original floor joists in preparation for the hardwood floors. Bob remarks again on the hig-quality craftmanship of the original builders, but notes that the floor joists have been chopped up and hacked through for wiring, plumbing, or gas jobs over the years. McKenna explains that sistering the joists, or applying additional lumber to strengthen the existing timbers, will create a sturdy base and allow them to recreate a level floor. A laser level is used to project a level line throughout the apartment that will be followed for leveling all the new floors. McKenna applies panel adhesive to the tops of the new, sistered joists before laying four-by-eight sheets of Georgia-Pacific Plytanium Sturdifloor on top. This is a tongue-and-groove subfloor that is strong enough to serve as the only layer under hardwood flooring. Once affixed and locked in place, the Plytanium is nailed to the joists with traditional deck screws, never drywall screws, to create a stronger, better, quieter installation for the hardwood floors that will follow.

Wood floor expert Howard Brickman is on the job site installing White Oak hardwood floors from Carlisle Restoration Lumber. Instead of blind nailing the floors to conceal the fasteners, Brickman is using a screw-and-plug method. After locating the joists beneath the subfloor, the floorboards are pre-drilled about halfway through their thickness. Flooring screws are then driven into the pre-drilled holes in the floor, passing through the subfloor and into the joists. The result is a very secure installation. Finally, plugs, which were made from scrap flooring pieces, are inserted into the holes to conceal the screw heads. The plugs are tapped into place with a hammer, and then cut flush with the finish floor using a Japanese-style pull saw.

Pre-finished wood floors are a durable and environmentally sound alternative. It comes in a variety of styles and designs and it's a tongued and grooved product. The pieces are first laid out on the sub floor to ensure staggered joints. Then they are powered nailed.

Bob and Chris Vila work their way to the back of the apartment, through the hallway with its Victorian wallpaper, past the closet with original built-ins, and into the bedroom with high ceilings and a door to the back balcony. They are joined by architect Brian O'Keefe who shows the plans for the remodel. To take advantage of the light in the front of the building, O'Keefe has designed a live-in and eat-in kitchen that will move family space to the most desireable spot in the apartment, which is how people like to live today. The dining room is the next room toward the interior of the apartment and has the elevator that separates it from the large, open living area in the middle of the apartment. O'Keefe is looking for high ceilings and hardwood floors in this main living space. The master suite will remain in the back, with a reconfigured closet area, an updated bath, and French doors to the balcony.

Bob checks out the Shaw's Chateau wood flooring that David LaFossse and his crew are about to install in the great room. It's solid rock maple from Canada pre-finished with a clear, water-based finish. David starts the layout at the hearth as it's the room's focal point and to ensure he'll have full boards and full width around it. He makes a double border around the fireplace with a squared joint on the first row and a mitered one on the second. The first board of the field is placed up against the hearth border. The boards are picked at random based on their length creating a continuous piece from one end of the room to the other. Adding a spline gives the first board a tongue on both sides making it possible to lay boards in either direction. The crew lays out 100 boards at a time making sure that the joints are staggered before they begin nailing. One of the advantages of a factory pre-finished floor is that it is very resistant to abrasion and requires less maintenance than a traditional hardwood floor finished on site.