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Engineered Floating Wood Flooring
Engineered floating wood flooring gets better every day. There are more choices in color, style, texture and finishes now than ever before. They are easy to install and to maintain, sometimes even easier than wood flooring. And the price is often less than what you'll see for wood flooring.
Have you been procrastinating about putting a new floor down in one of the rooms in your home? Maybe the flooring in there is glued down and you are just unsure of how to remove the flooring. You do have options that can give you the beautiful flooring that you want without much of the headache that is associated with removing existing flooring. You can install engineered floating wood flooring in this room to help make it into the showplace that you want.
As long as the existing flooring is smooth, you can install a floating floor on top of it. A floating floor is flooring that is installed without the aid of glue or nails. In most cases, it uses a click and lock system to join the flooring pieces to help it stay stable. This flooring can be one of many different kinds including tile, engineered wood, or laminate flooring. How do you install engineered floating wood flooring?
Installing engineered floating wood flooring is very simple. You first need to clean and sweep the area where you are placing the flooring. It is very important that the area be smooth and level so that your floating floor will lie flat. After you have swept the area thoroughly, then you need to install a moisture barrier on the floor. In most cases, this is simply a thick layer of foam-like material that helps keep the moisture away from your flooring and it also helps to add cushioning. This is a simple process of rolling the foam out and cutting it to fit the area with scissors or a razor blade.
Now that you have the underlayment ready, you are ready to install your engineered floating wood flooring. Before you begin installing, determine how to lock the flooring boards together. Then you are ready to start placing the flooring planks. By alternating where the seams are, you can make the flooring stronger and it will look more authentic. You will need to cut some of the flooring planks to fit, but this can be completed easily with a circular saw in most cases. You don't have to cut them so that they fit snugly against the wall. In fact, you want to leave a little gap for flooring expansion. Tapping the flooring with a rubber mallet may be needed to help get the planks seams butted up against each other. Installing this flooring may take some time, but it is not really difficult and the rewards when you have completed the floor will make your time and effort well worth it.
You are now ready to do the finishing touches, such as reinstalling your floor moldings, etc. You can walk on your beautiful flooring as soon as you have finished installing it. It many need a quick cleaning to help remove dust and dirt from you crawling around on it. Clean it as directed by the manufacturer and you are sure to have beautiful engineered floating wood flooring that will last you for many years to come. Or use Bona, an environmentally friendly and low VOC (volatile organic compounds) cleaner to maintain clean and beautiful floors.
Engineered floating wood floors are good for remodelled and new construction homes and offices. It's fine over in-floor radiant heat too. It comes in pre-finished and unfinished planks. I've had good and bad luck with the pre-finished engineered floors, telling me the manufacturer you select will make a difference in your satisfaction with pre-finished engineered wood floor. The finished product is beautiful and durable. You can't beat that!
Comments
Remember to use overlap transition pieces for your job. Your floating wood floor will eventually become one whole piece that will expand and contract under the overlap moldings.
Winston at January 29, 2008 01:00 AM
Where do you start? Against the wall? A few feet from the wall? In a closet?
Ron at June 24, 2008 09:25 AM
Hi Ron, And the answer is..... none of the above! You start out almost against the wall. Head on over to Home Depot's website at www.homedepot.com, click on Know How at the top of the page, select your project and see it step by step or video. Hopefully that'll answer most of your questions and save me a whole lot of typing! ;~)
If you do have more questions after that, feel free to come back in and we'll give it a whirl!
The Flooring Lady at June 24, 2008 01:25 PM
we had a little water damage from an upstairs toilet, since that happened we want to change from carpet to wood-not sure what kind of wood we want (laminate, engineered, hardwood), we have stairs, living/dining room, master bedroom and "catwalk". we are confused by the different things we are told at each place-"you have to use (insert whatever they want to sell us)". our installer wants to use laminate-we are assuming because of ease. can you use laminate on the stairs with good long term results? does the product we use have to be glued on the stairs or can it be "floated"? we also have animals two dogs and a cat, plus a pool-things to consider. have been reading and seem to only be getting more confused! please help!
wendy at July 25, 2008 09:34 AM
Hi Wendy,
Yes, laminate can be used on stairs with good results - there are many accessories for laminate as well to assure you that you'll get good results. I don't know if it needs to be glued to the stairs or not, it will depend on what the manufacturer recommends. You'll want use the bullnose strips that go on the step edges, and the strips that go on the inside corners of the steps so that it looks attractive.
I don't know what the people are trying to sell you, but there are other things that are needed besides the flooring itself in order to get excellent results.
Whether you choose laminate or wood, try to clean up water messes as quicky as possible and be sure to keep your dog's toenails trimmed so that the pooch doesn't scratch the flooring surface. Cat's aren't usually a problem as they control what they scratch on, and it usually isn't floors. ;o)
The Flooring Lady at July 25, 2008 11:07 AM
