How To Install A Floating Engineered Wood Floor?

If you want to have new floors in your house but do not want to go too overboard on budget and effort, a floating floor is the best idea for you.

Engineered floors are quite durable and sturdy and will offer you a lifespan of a decade or two at a reasonable price.

This makes them a suitable flooring option which you can have to adorn the appearance of your house.

Besides, using the floating floors method, you won’t have to do as much effort or pay too much labor costs.

Therefore it becomes the perfect way to have a reliable flooring option on an economical budget. Here’s how to do it:

To install a floating engineered wood floor, clear the surface, trim door casings, and remove baseboards. Lay out planks, using a tapping block and mallet to fix them together for a stable flooring platform. This creates a strong and durable structure capable of handling daily foot traffic.

If you also want to know more about the process, keep on reading as each of the points is mentioned below in detail. Therefore, you wouldn’t want to miss out on anything important.

Why Should You Install A Floating Engineered Wood Floor?

The best reason to do so is the ease of installation and the quick method that it provides.

Many people have been against the floating floor methods initially, but over time, it has proven to be a suitable way to install engineered wood floors and give them an easy yet reliable installation over your surfaces.

Let us tell you if you don’t know why floating floors are so common. Firstly, the comfort level of engineered hardwood floors is increased greatly with the help of floating floors.

The floating floors welcome compression and allow the boards to bend slightly to create a cushioning effect when you step on them.

While you might spend hours planning and installing the usual wooden floorings, these are much easier to install.

All you must do is snap the boards into place, and if you want a sturdier solution, apply some glue to make them stick to the surface so they do not come off or move from their place.

Besides, adapting the usual installation methods is very hard and expensive. When discussing various methods to install wooden floors, you must factor in the prices of adhesives, nails, and screws.

As the floating floors do not rely on any of these, they are much cheaper and do not put extra strain on your budget.

Besides, as they are easier to install, you would have to pay a lesser amount of labor cost as compared to other conventional methods.

Another benefit of having floating floors in your house is that they are very easy to repair if damaged.

In the case of glue-down or nailing installations, you would have to hire a professional every time, as the slightest imbalance of pressure exerted by you can destroy the wood.

Similarly, you would have to remove the planks to repair glued planks.

However, this is not the case with floating floors, as they do not restrict you from getting the boards stripped off to repair any issues.

While these have many benefits, many must learn how to install them correctly.

Despite being the easiest installation of all methods, many people are still unaware of how to carry out the process.

Plus, I have also written a whole guide on installing engineered wood floors over tile that I encourage you to read if you have a tiled floor.

How To Install A Floating Engineered Wood Floor?

Once the floors are ready, underlayment installed, and door jambs trimmed, it is time to install your floating engineered wood floors without any hurdle.

You do not have to worry about getting into a complex process, as floating floors are fairly easy to install. Below is an easy guide for you to follow.

Get The Right Number of Planks

Before starting the installation process, you must buy the right flooring amount. This won’t take much time if you have decided which floorboards you like.

Look at the process below to find out how much flooring you need.

• Measure the area of the room in square feet.
• Divide this by the area of the flooring plank or the number printed on the box. You can add 0.2-0.4mm of spacing on each side of the plank and then find out the area to give room for expansion.
• This will give you a rough estimate, and it is recommended to get 10% extra flooring to be on the safe side and have stock for future replacements or repairs of a floating engineered wood floor.

Even if you do not want extra flooring, it is better to have 10-15 extra planks, as they will always come in handy when something gets damaged, or the floors need replacement from certain areas.

Wait For Wood To Acclimate

Wooden floors are very fragile if they are not handled with utmost care.

Though engineered wood is quite strong and features many composite materials, it still needs to acclimate a bit to match the moisture level in the air.

Therefore, once you have bought your desired flooring in the recommended amounts, it is time to let the engineered wood acclimate so that your wood will not cause any future irregularities in your floors.

While one idea is to open the boxes so they can breathe in the air and adjust accordingly, some people claim it is unfair.

What about the planks at the bottom of the box? That’s why it is recommended to lay out the planks and allow them to adjust.

You might put them in piles in the corner of the room, but at least they will get to breathe the air.

Besides, this will also give you ample amount of time to work on the other necessary procedures.

The exact acclimation time might vary depending on the wood type and environmental conditions, but you should wait for 1-2 weeks.

After this, a precipitation meter can be used to know the correct moisture content in the wood. This will let you know precisely if the wood has acclimated or not.

Knowing that wood has acclimated, you can move towards the installation process.

You can also learn to install engineered hardwood flooring over plywood by following our comprehensive guide and turn your dream into reality yourself.

Removing Baseboards

While the wood is getting acclimated, you can carry out another process. Baseboards are the wooden footings installed perpendicular to the flooring along the wall.

Removing them from their place is necessary, or you won’t be able to install the engineered wood planks underneath them.

However, this process is relatively easy and can be done in simple steps.

• Use a utility knife to remove the baseboards and separate them from the wall but be gentle.
• If it is hard this way, try cutting the seal of the baseboard, which attaches to the wall using a baseboard.
• After this, you can use your hands, a putty knife, or a pry bar, in the worst cases, to separate it from the wall.

In the entire process, you must be very gentle as there is a high risk that the baseboard will crack or the wall will get damaged by scratching.

Prepare For Moisture

If you’ve ever had any wooden floorings, you would know how bad moisture is for the wood.

Whether below or above the planks, it can destroy the wooden surface and make it a cup or buckle.

Therefore, while you check the moisture levels of the wood using moisture meters, you must also check the amount of moisture in the area.

Remember that both moisture extremes are harmful to engineered wood floors.

Too much moisture will cause problems related to expansion, while too less moisture might result in shrinkage and other such problems.

Therefore, you must only proceed if the levels are optimum. If not, use humidifiers and cooling to increase moisture.

You can use heaters, dehumidifiers, ventilation, and other measures to decrease it.

If the moisture is too high, you need to take a step back from this installation process, as there is a high chance that you will get your boards ruined quickly.

However, if you live in a dry area with less moisture, you might be able to carry out this process even below grade.

This sums up the moisture above the surface, but you must also prepare for the one below the surface. You can get an underlayment made from rubber, foam, or felt.

The underlayment will protect the wood from underneath and provide various other benefits that help increase its lifespan and overall comfort.

Also Read: How to Install Engineered Hardwood On Concrete Floating?

Trim The Door Jambs

While this process might not be necessary in all cases, it is better to check beforehand.

If you plan to extend the flooring from one room to another and cover the galleries, this step will be crucial.

In some houses, the floors are built a few inches lower than the doors so that the door can easily meet the level once the flooring is installed.

However, if this is not the case or you install the planks over an existing floor, the height will surely increase.

Therefore, you need to trim the jambs and casings of the door to allow for the planks to be installed. Follow the process mentioned below to get it done:

1. Check the height of the engineered wood plank and note it down.
2. Add their height to get a collective figure if you use any underlayments.
3. Add 0.5 – 0.75 inches to this figure.
4. Mark the area and shorten the door jambs and casing to that point.
5. If the door is also not high enough, repeat the same process for the door too.
6. Make sure to perform this after you unhinge the doors.
7. Sand it down afterward and use lacquer to restore the original appearance.

Install The Planks

After these factors have been taken care of, you can easily lay down the planks and start the installation. As mentioned before, this is the easiest part due to the floating floor method.

Let us dive quickly into the process without delaying it any further:

• Start placing the planks in the first row and start from the corner.
• Take the wooden plank with the long and short side design and click them together to form a firm grip.
• Use a tapping block and mallet to apply the required pressure.
• Cut the extra length of the planks to fit in cheeky spaces and corners.
• Repeat the process to ensure that an entire row has been installed.
• Press each lock firmly to fix it into its place.
• Repeat this process to cover the entire floor in one room and then move to the next one.

Bottom Line

Floating engineered wood floors are among the most commonly used flooring types these days due to their low costs, high reliability, and ease of installation.

If you are also thinking about getting it in your newly-built house, you would certainly make a wise decision which will benefit you for many years to come.

However, there are still people who do not know the right way to handle this process and take help from professional services.

Even if you are a newbie to this field and have no prior experience in flooring or DIY methods, you will be astonished as to how easy this method is.

Follow the guide above and make sure to perform the steps precisely as mentioned to get the most suitable results.

If you do, let us know how your experience was, and what you found as most challenging in the entire process.