Nowadays, with several flooring
techniques at hand, floating still remains one of the most popular.
There are
some disadvantages that come with a floating hardwood floor, such as
the
feeling of mild instability when you walk over it, or the long term
problems
that may arise if you don’t install it properly.
However,
these disadvantages
are easily countered by the benefits of using floating hardwood floor:
ease of installation
and maintenance, low costs, the ease with which it can be changed and
the
comfort it creates for walking, since it uses cushioning between the
panels and
the sub floor.
Amongst all the types of wood that are popularly used
with
floating hardwood, oak is probably the best choice, so if
you’re planning to
use this kind of flooring, oak is the way to go. But let’s
take a look at what
you need in order to install it yourself.
How
to Install Floating Hardwood Floor – Tools and Accessories
Cutter
knife – you will need a cutter knife
for several reasons while you’re installing the floor, such
as for cutting open the panel boxes, making small adjustments to the
end panels that don’t fit, or scraping off bumps on the sub
floor. Keep it handy!
Cushion
surface – one of the things that
makes floating hardwood floor great is the fact that it uses cushion
surface between itself and the ground. The difference is noticeable,
since it is much more comfortable walking on a surface that is
cushioned rather than one that isn’t.
Saw –
you’ll need a saw for
cutting panels to fit perfectly, based on the guidelines you trace with
the
carpenter’s crayon.
Carpenter’s
crayon – this will be
one of your most precious tools, since there will be a lot of panel
cutting
involved. The deeper you get into the installation process, the more
you will
have to cut, since the pieces of panel will start to fit in weird
patterns,
you’ll have obstacles to make sure your panels avoid and so
forth. For all
these, your crayon will be essential.
Drill
and nails – in order to fix
your floor panels, you will have to nail them to the wall strips. Use a
pneumatic drill and make sure you don’t go too deep with the
nails, otherwise
you risk making the floor curl up in the long run.
Adhesive
– you can definitely connect the
panels without any adhesive, but in the long run that’s not a
very good idea. Simply use some adhesive on the tongue end of each
panel when connecting it to the next one, then clean up the excess
adhesive coming up from the joint.
Rubber
mallet – you’ll use this
mallet to get the panels to fit better, hammering them gently on their
ends. Don’t hit the panels too hard, or you’ll
damage the surface at the joint.
Claw
hammer – you’ll need a claw
hammer for areas where the mallet won’t be usable, for
example with tiles that are near the wall and you have no room for it.
Broom,
dust pan, soft cloth – for when it’s
time to do the dirty work and get everything cleaned up. This
doesn’t just include the finishing clean up, since
you’ll also need to handle the broom every now and then to
clear up saw dust and other stuff that will mess up the room and can
interfere with the installation or the well being of the hardwood floor
in the long run.
How
to Install Floating Hardwood Floor – Preparation
First,
set up your cushioning
sheet around the room’s floor, cutting it to fit around the
walls with the help
of your cutter. It’s best if you can cut smaller pieces of
substrate rather
than just applying one large sheet across the entire floor
(it’s easier to cut
and manage).
It’s
also a good idea to try and
make your initial surface as clean and as level as possible. Make sure
there
are no pebbles, pieces of wood or dust moulds on top of it, as they can
create
bumps later on, and even damage your flooring.
Ok, it’s not
as important as if
you were installing the hardwood floor using the glue down method,
where the
ground really needs to be squeaky clean and perfectly level, but
you’ll still
want to be safe about it.
How
to Install Floating Hardwood Floor –
Step by Step Instructions
Place
the cushioning sheet around the room. Cut it to pieces that go on the
same direction as you will place the panel rows and make it so the
cushioning sheet can hold 3-4 panel rows on its width. This way it will
be easier to manage.
Grab
a panel and position it with the groove ends towards the corner walls
(the ends that have the small cavity in them, not the ones sticking out)
Apply
adhesive on the width tongue of your initial panel
Connect
the next panel and secure it. Make sure you connect the second panel
close to when you applied the adhesive, or it will dry out.
Use
the mallet to gently press the panels together, or if you’ve
reached the wall and have no room to work around with the mallet, use
the claw hammer and gently pull the panel towards you, facing the wall.
When
you reached the end of the first row, cut the last panel so that it
fits in the remaining distance and use the piece that you have left to
start the next row (this allows you to avoid getting panels that are
lined up).
After a while, a problem might occur with this pattern: you
might end up having a cut piece that is close in length as the first
one in the row before it. You can just store this cut piece aside for a
while and start out with a new panel, because you don’t want
to ruin the connective joint alignment you worked so hard to get until
now.
After
connecting each panel, use a soft cloth to clean the adhesive that
might be coming out from the joints.
Once
the entire floating floor is finished and the room is covered, place
the wall strips and nail them to the wall and the floor, securing it
and making it more stable and aesthetic.
It’s very important
that you measured the distance of the floor panels inch-perfect now,
because if the panels don’t reach the strips half-way
through, you won’t have anything to connect them to. This is
not a problem for one or two rows, but it does become a real stability
problem if more rows are in this situation.
How
to Install Floating Hardwood Floor –
Clean Up
When
working with do it yourself
hardwood floors, making a mess of things is not unusual, but floating
floors
are extra messy, because you’ll be constantly cutting, gluing
and adjusting
stuff with your cutter.
A final clean-up is definitely needed, but
don’t forget
to clean up during the installation as well. This way, you can avoid
larger
chunks of wood to get beneath your panel, creating bumps in the long
run.
After
all is done, get a wet mop
and start cleaning the floor of dust particles and dirt. It’s
usually not safe
to leave water on your hardwood floor, because it might swell up or
create
bumps, so after mopping the floor, clear the water with a dry cloth
again.
How
to Install Floating Hardwood Floor –
Special Tips
Cut your cushioning sheets in rows that can fit 3-4
panel widths on top, in order to manage them easier.
It doesn’t matter if the cushioning sheets
overlap, nor if they are slightly separated.
Press each new panel down and fix it in position
properly before moving to the next. It’s a lot harder to
adjust your work later on, rather than have it done right in the first
place.
Be careful when fixing
panels…they’re rather fragile and you’re
working with mallets, claw hammers, nails and the likes. Avoid getting
the panel surfaces to “burst” at the connection
joints, because they can be pretty ugly and visible.
Panel surfaces that connect the rows horizontally are
less likely to burst because of a miss weighted mallet strike, but
don’t overdo it.
When you have to cut the last panel in a row to fit
it in a shorter distance, be very careful at which end you’re
cutting! It’s such a common mistake for newcomers to cut from
the wrong half and end up with two useless panel bits that they have to
throw away.
This is not just wasting your money, but if it happens with
several panels, you will run out of them and you will also be wasting
time traveling back to the shop to get more panels.
How
to Install Floating Hardwood Floor –
Conclusion
Floating
hardwood floor is easy
to install and remove, so it’s great as a temporary solution
or if you’re the
type of person that likes to change his décor a lot.
However, floating floors
are also quite comfortable, because of the cushioning they use, when
compared
to glued down floors for example.
We want to know what you think about your floating hardwood floor...
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