How To Lay A Floating Floor Over Floorboards

If the tiles are in good condition laying a laminate or another type of floating wood floor over tile isn t much different from laying it on a bare subfloor.

How to lay a floating floor over floorboards.

To install a floating floor diy you ll need to buy a floor laying installation kit 25 underlay 45 duct tape 5 and the floorboards. Engineered flooring goes down over a thin foam sheet which provides cushioning and sound dampening. To lay 20sqm of flooring at about 30 per sqm will cost about 670. This is to prevent any residue left on the floor such as small rocks and sand from causing dimples in the flooring and to give it a cushion.

Lay out the unopened boxes of laminate planks in the room. Once your flooring is down install shoe molding to cover the expansion gap between the flooring and the base trim. That could create problems in doorways and at transitions to other floors. If you re trying to install flooring around doors for example you might find that the floating floor doesn t quite fit beneath the casing.

However you ll want to keep track of how much height the new flooring adds. Floating floors are an easy mess free way to install new flooring without necessarily having to remove the existing flooring. Trim these door casings with a flush cut dovetail saw if the flooring doesn t fit underneath the casings. Be careful not to pin the flooring down in the process.

If you are installing the flooring below grade or in a room like a basement with high humidity or moisture lay down a vapor barrier before you install the flooring. Typically old softwood floorboards will be warped and or cupped making the surface irregular and therefore not the best support for your investment. The first if the existing floor is not too uneven is laying the new solid wood floor over the existing boards at a 90 degree angle. This will allow them to acclimate to the room s temperature and humidity.

Finish the molding to match the trim not the flooring. Shoot 1 1 4 inch finish nails through the shoe and into the base trim. Most padding and plastic is all in one but if yours is not then cover the plastic lining with a foam floor padding. If laying a floating floor over a new slab leave it for one month per 25mm thickness to ensure the concrete has completely cured.

There are basically two options you can consider. You need to leave a 5 16 inch gap between the flooring and the baseboard or wall around the perimeter of the room to allow the floor enough space to expand. They should acclimate for at least 48 hours.