Tips For Installing A Floating Hardwood Floor

Planning on purchasing engineered hardwood flooring material for your home and considering a DIY installation? It will help to know these tips so that the whole process goes smoothly.

Let Your Flooring Acclimate To The House

It's very important that you let the floorboards acclimate to your home for a few days before you do the installation. Wood can shrink and expand based on the humidity of a home, and you do not want to install floorboards before this happens. If the flooring shrinks, you'll end up with gaps between the boards that cannot easily be fixed. If the flooring expands, the boards will press up against each other and move upwards in places.  

Mix Up Your Floorboards

Be aware that your floorboards may have a different look between boxes. You'll actually want to open all the boxes up and sort them by color before you get started. You may realize that there are a lot of boards that are darker in color in one box and lighter in color in another box. If you installed these all in a row as they were taken out of the boxes, it can lead to a section of the floor looking notably different than the rest. By sorting the boards by color, you can cycle through them and get a variety of colors as they are placed on the floor, which will not make the variances stand out as much.

Install An Underlayment Material

It's important to have an underlayment beneath the floor to protect the wood. Not only does it make it quieter to walk on the flooring, but it acts as a vapor barrier as well. You can place this underlayment material on the floor and secure it together with tape so that it doesn't move. 

Stagger The Boards 

You'll want to install the boards in such a way so that the seams are staggered as you place them on the floor. Lay the first row of boards like normal with the board flush against the wall, but for the next row make sure that the first board has about one-third of it cut off. Do the same with the third row, but cut off two-thirds of the board's length. This will stagger the seams so that they are not all near each other on the floor, making the flooring look great once it's down. 

Seems too difficult to do? Hire a professional flooring company like Akins Floor Service to handle the installation for you. 



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We Won't Tread Lightly Here! This is a blog about flooring. And no, we won't tread lightly here. We will assume we have a really strong, structural floor under our feet — like one made from concrete or tile. From that position, we will dive into all sorts of deep topics, like the nature of various flooring materials, the pros and cons of different installation methods, and ways to fix an ailing floor. if you're ready to tread heavily with us, then we encourage you to dig in and start reading. You might be surprised how interesting the topic of flooring becomes when you approach it from so many angles.

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