How to Lay a Floating Floor: 15 Steps

2024 Author: Samantha Chapman | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 09:13

The floating or floating floor is a type of covering that does not need glue or nails to be attached to the underlying surface. Deciding to lay a raised floor can be daunting, but with the right preparation and planning, any DIY enthusiast can do it. The costs of laying a parquet are certainly lower if done "at home"; a professional will take less time, but it will certainly make you spend more. Read the first step to understand how to get a professional result without investing a fortune.

Steps

Part 1 of 3: Preparation for Installation

Step 1. Think about where you want to lay the raised floor

First of all you have to measure the room, to know exactly how big the surface to cover is. Then, proceed with the purchase of the parquet: you can buy the exact quantity you need for the job, however it is better, especially the first time, to take a little more, for any errors or adjustments.

• To take the measurements you need a meter, because they must be precise (in the meantime, check that the walls are square), report the measurements, taken from wall to wall, on a sheet. Let's take an example: suppose the distance between two walls is 3.05 m.

  

• Then, we measure the distance between the other two: suppose it is 3.66 m.

  

• Now multiply the two measurements to know the total area to be covered with the floating floor. If we take the measurements in the example above into consideration, you have to multiply 3.05 x 3.06: the result shows that the total area is 11.163 square meters.

  

Step 2. If the surface to be covered is concrete or requires special insulation (acoustic or for insulation), before laying the floor it is necessary to cover the surface with a sub-floor

Absolutely to be avoided is the laying of the parquet directly on the concrete! Without an adequate substrate the insulation will certainly be less; then there is the risk of humidity, perhaps not that high, but it is certainly much better to have an insulating mat between the floor and the concrete. There are many possibilities when it comes to the subfloor, from chipboard to an infinite range of insulators (acoustic and thermal). Get advice at the store where you will buy the material. Based on the measurements taken, buy what you need to insulate and lay your floor.

Step 3. Prepare the environment for processing

Before you begin, check out a couple of points.

• With the help of a spirit level, check that the surface is smooth and that there are no sloping points or irregularities. If you find points that are not level with the remaining surface, use a compound to level.

  

• Smooth out any bumps on the surface.

  

• When you are done, take the vacuum cleaner and remove dust and debris from the floor surface.

  

Step 4. Choose your floating parquet

On the market you will find many variations that differ in size, thickness, length, color and style. Among the most common, many finishes use oak, cherry, maple and walnut. The choice is usually based on aesthetic preference.

Calculate how many boxes of floating parquet and how many rolls of polystyrene mat (for the sub-floor) you need to buy. Check the measurements of the material on the packages: to find out how many boxes to take, divide the total area (obtained from the multiplication made previously) by the area covered by a parquet or roll box

Part 2 of 3: Laying the Floating Floor

Step 1. Unfold the polystyrene mat to cover the entire surface, mark the remaining parts, and cut them with a small knife

Secure the various parts of the subfloor with tacks and adhesive tape, so that they are all joined and sealed.

Step 2. Now, decide how you want to place the floating parquet

Usually, the most used solution is to arrange the strips parallel to the longest wall (it is also the simplest solution to make), but if the room had an irregular shape, another arrangement should be thought of, for example an arrangement in diagonal.

Step 3. Place an 8mm spacer against the wall, as far away from the door as possible

Arrange the first square block of parquet with the interlocking side against the wall, so that it adheres perfectly to the spacer. Now place the next piece, checking that it fits in with the previous one.

Do you know why spacers are needed around the walls? The floating parquet, once laid, will expand and contract due to variations in temperature and humidity: by leaving a little space around it, it will allow it to "move" without breaking

Step 4. Engage the two strips using the tongue joint

Place the flat side of a pliers, or block of wood, against the end of the second piece, and hit the pliers with a hammer to make it fit correctly. Continue the work along the entire wall.

• If you have a rubber-headed hammer available, you don't need the pliers or the wooden block because this type of tool does not damage the wood.

  

Step 5. Cut the last piece to complete the row, but remember to leave enough "movement" space for the parquet (to expand and contract)

To cut the wood, use a hacksaw or circular saw.

• If you have difficulty placing the last piece of parquet against the wall, you may want to remove the penultimate lath and place the last one first. Once you have placed the last strip against the wall, fit the penultimate one.

  

Step 6. Proceed to the next row, but stagger the seams so they overlap

Cut the first strip of the next row so that the interlocking point is not parallel to that of the adjacent strips. This technique promotes the durability of the floor, and gives an aesthetic touch. Using pliers and a wooden block, or a rubber-headed hammer, try to fix each row of strips with the one on the side.

Step 7. Continue with the regular formwork installation (where the strips have the same size, and are arranged lengthwise so that the butt joints are in the same center line, or in any case in a constant position, with respect to each list of the previous row), until the room is completed

Step 8. Once the installation is complete, remove the spacers from the walls

To cover the free space between the wall and the parquet, insert a wooden skirting board around the perimeter of the room. When doing this, be sure to attach the skirting to the wall and not to the wood of the floor, to avoid cracking when the parquet expands.

Part 3 of 3: Solving Common Problems

Step 1. Refine the gaps when you can't fit under the parquet

For the installation around the doors, for example, you will notice that the parquet will not be able to enter well under the cavity. Smooth these gaps with a small precision hacksaw in order to position the parquet well. Hold the saw horizontally, leaning on a piece of parquet to get the right size, apply pressure on the saw and then on the gap to cut it. Try inserting a batten to check that there is now enough space.

Step 2. Outline the contours of corners or complex contours

To facilitate this operation you can use the gauge, also called two-pointed scribe (it reminds a bit of the compass), which is a very simple tool and widely used in carpentry to engrave a thin guideline at a constant distance on a flat wooden surface.. Thanks to this tool you can make really precise cuts.

Step 3. Use a blade puller to snap the battens together

Usually, you can attach one batten to the other with a few taps of the hammer. But what if the final piece is adjacent to the wall, and you don't have enough space to fit them together? In this regard, you can use a device called a blade puller, which consists of a metal bar with the two ends bent in opposite directions. Just insert the end of the blade puller that points down into the space between the wall and the last strip, and, with the hammer, hit the side facing upwards to fit the last two strips.

Advice

• It is a good idea to buy 5% more material than the measures taken.
• To find out how much to reduce the lower part of the cavity, use a batten to take the right size.
• Measure well before cutting the strips. First place them on the ground and mark the part to be cut with a pencil.