How to Install Engineered Floating Hardwood Flooring on Concrete
Floating floors are usually engineered wood planks, meaning wood veneer on top of other material, which is manufactured to fit tightly together without glue or nails. The floor just sits unattached on a bed of plastic foam underlayment. One big advantage to this approach, besides ease of installation, is that you can lay it right over any flat floor, including a concrete floor, which can't be nailed and often doesn't hold glue well. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Patching cement
- Trowel
- Pry bar
- Hammer
- Plastic foam underlayment rolls
- Razor knife
- Underlayment tape
- Engineered floating hardwood flooring kit
- Plastic shims
- Miter saw
- Table saw
- Trim nail gun
Instructions
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1
Patch any holes or cracks with patching cement and a trowel to ensure the floor is smooth and flat.
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2
Remove floor trim with a pry bar and hammer. Don't break the trim. Set it aside.
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3
Roll out plastic foam underlayment along the edge of the floor by one wall, cutting it at the end with a razor knife. Roll another row alongside the first. Tape the seam all the way along the length. Repeat until the whole floor is covered.
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4
Set your first course of glueless engineered planks from the kit along the starting wall, connecting the boards end to end. Put plastic shims between the boards and the wall, so there's a small space there (about 1/4 inch) to allow for floor movement. Cut the last board in the course on a miter saw as needed.
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5
Lay the next course of boards by linking the sides to the first course. Stagger the ends of the boards as you lay them, using different sizes so they don't line up. Work your way across the whole room.
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6
Length-cut the last course as needed with a table saw so it sits by the ending wall with a space of about 1/4 inch.
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7
Reinstall the floor trim around the room, using a trim nail gun, to cover up the spaces by the walls and hold down the edges of the flooring.
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Tips & Warnings
Make sure the concrete is clean and dry before installing the flooring.
Wear eye protection when cutting the engineered hardwood floorboards.
