How to Install a Floating Wood Floor

Floating wood floor installation allows you to install flooring into your home, business or other type of building that is not nailed to the actual floorboards in your home. Often, they simply snap together or sometimes are glued in place. This easy to install flooring is fast to put in place, goes over the top of any hard material floor and often can be purchased in real wood (called engineered flooring.)

Things You'll Need

• Floating wood flooring planks
• Nails (if necessary)
• Circular saw
• Measuring tape
• Foam underlayment

Instructions

1. Remove all flooring necessary from the floor you wish to place the floating wood floor on, which includes removing carpeting, padding, nails or staples that would cause the floor to be uneven. While you do not have to remove the floor modeling in the room, doing so will give you a tighter, more professional fit.

2. Lay the foam underlayment, which is a plastic like paper that is simply rolled over the top of the existing flooring. Simply unroll the plastic onto the wood floor board, remove the sticky tape on the underlayment and press into place. This gives the floor a more comfortable feel as you walk on it.

3. Install the first row by laying the initial floating wood floor planks in place, against a wall. Fit them snugly up against the wall or under the modeling if not removed. Work on one full row across the room at a time, positioning each piece on the right or left of the current piece snuggling and tapping into place.

4. Interlock each piece in place as you go for interlocking types of floating wood floors. If nailing into place, nail the pieces down once a full row has been put into place.

5. Measure and cut the last piece as needed to fit into the remaining room. Since most boxes of floating wood flooring comes with various sized pieces, you may find one that fits correctly. If not, measure the right size (from the wall to the end of the row) and use a circular saw to cut the piece being as precise as possible.

6. Begin the next row after the first row has been put into place by going back to the initial piece and interlocking the next piece of floating wood flooring into place. Be sure to leave a two to three inch difference from row to row where each plank stops. In other words, the end spot of the plank in the previous row should never match up to the end of the next row's plank.

7. Continue to work row by row at connecting and nailing the floating wood flooring into place until the entire room has been laid into place. When you come to a corner or doorway in the room, carefully take measurements of this space and cut the flooring to match the cut of the doorway.

8. Finish the project by installing a fishing trim along the wall base where it meets the floor. This is just a decorative piece that is cut to the size of the wall and nailed into place, if you would like to add it.