Installing engineered wood flooring is easy if you do the necessary prep and follow instrucions.
Installing engineered flooring is a manageable DIY project if you follow the manufacturer's installation instructions, particularly the subfloor preparation. Ignore the prep on a flawed subfloor at your own risk -- you will fight the floor throughout the project, board seams will not match up correctly and creaks and bouncy spots will most likely be obvious throughout. Once the floor is level with no obvious high and low spots, choosing to nail the floor down, glue it together or use a snap-together option is the toughest decision you'll have to make.
Instructions
Preparation
1. Read all of the manufacturer's instructions, paying special attention to the pre-installation job site and subfloor requirements. Most instructions recommend acclimating the wood for up to five days, while other manufacturers, such as Kahrs, demand that boxes stay untouched until ready to install. Not only can skipping these instructions hurt the quality of the job, it can void the warranty on the flooring.
2. Make sure acceptable subflooring is in place where you'll install the engineered flooring. The most important requirement is that no more than a 1/8-inch difference exists over an 8-foot radius. Other common requirements include CDX-grade plywood that is at least 5/8-inch in thickness, underlayment grade particleboard, 3/4-inch OSB (oriented strand board), concrete slabs, existing wood floors that are smooth and level, and lightweight gypsum for floating floors only.
3. Perform a moisture test on the subfloor to ensure it meets acceptable standards. A calcium chloride test, generally available where you purchased the wood, will typically meet the manufacturer's expectations.
Installation
4. Choose the type of installation you want to perform. Snap-together engineered flooring floats on top of the subfloor. Standard engineered planks either glue together while floating over the subfloor or staple down to the subfloor if it is plywood. If your subfloor is concrete, gypsum or an existing vinyl floor, you need to glue the planks and float the floor for the best results.
5. Lay a floating floor pad with a moisture barrier or a minimum of 6 mil polyethylene beneath concrete subfloors for a vapor protection. Although recommended beneath flooring going over plywood and wood subfloors, it is not necessary and might void some warranties if not completed.
6. Begin laying planks parallel to longest wall, starting in a corner with the tongue facing the wall and the groove facing the room. Place spacers between the wall and planks to ensure an expansion gap, and finish the entire first row. If using snap-together flooring, hold the second board at about a 45-degree angle to the first and snap it into place. Use a tapping block if necessary to snap it in correctly. If gluing, put a bead of glue across the seam and fit the boards together. Clean up any excess glue immediately. If stapling down, face nail the entire row to the floor.
7. Start the second row by using a cut piece that will stagger the seam from the first row by at least 12 inches. Continue laying boards for the next row in the same manner when applying snap-together and glue-down methods, using the tapping block to ensure all joints snap together. If stapling the floor, use the tapping block to put the plank into place, then staple it every 6 to 8 inches using the pneumatic gun.
8. Trim any excess padding or polyethylene and install baseboard and trim to cover the expansion gaps.
Related posts
Framing is a useful and money-saving skill set.When most people think of building homes or rooms, or even just adding a wall in their homes, they immediately think of hiring a contractor. However,...
A bathroom being prepared for new bathtub installation.Installing a bathtub can be a complicated job if the circumstances aren't just right. Replacing an old bathtub can be a simple matter of pryi...
There are many types of wood floor underlayment available, and they each have differing properties that affect the proper use of the product. The most common types of underlayment include plywood...
Stainless steel adds flair to a kitchen.Kitchen walls are often exposed to grease, cooking fumes and oils and occasional splashes of liquids. If you want to protect your kitchen wall and at the sa...
Snap together laminate flooring can be installed over almost any surface.Snap together laminate flooring is one of the easiest types of flooring material you can work with. It is also one of the m...
