Anyone ever put down a floating hardwood floor?

[Volzfan]

My wife and I are about to replace the carpet in our 3 bedrooms and have an estimate for the labor at $4700 plus materials. I've been doing some research and watching some vids on Youtube and I believe that I can Git-Er-Done but I would like to pick up some do's and donts for someone who has done one themselves. I plan to use the tongue & groove style and not do any glueing or nailing. I'm gonna practice on my wife's walk in closet that is only 66 sq ft.

Looking forward to hearing about your successful DIY installations.

[TripleDigitRide]

I only deliver the stuff, but something about that labor estimate seems high. There must be a ton of prep work or something.

[felinesNfreedom]

I have installed about 4 floors with it myself. I'm a project manager for a restoration company in town and we install a lot of the floating floors and they look good. The hardest part is around the door jambs and also just getting it started. If it's a square room once you get started it's a piece of cake. Make sure you have a Circular saw, jamb saw, dead blow hammer and tap block. Also buy a decent product, you get what you pay for. Oh and don't forget the underlayment it will help with sound.

[quietguy]

I have installed about 15,000sf of several different styles of the laminate floors. There are nuances of each system, but all are very similar.

The first thing to consider, is where your rooms sit relative to grade, and what your sub-floor is. Not a big deal if you are a wood, ply, or OSB sub-floor above grade. It can be a big deal if you are installing on a concrete slab below grade.

Second, pay attention to the level requirements. It will make a huge difference in the finished product.

Third, make sure you lay out the project correctly and heed the manufacturers recommendations regarding light sources.

Fourth, always follow manufacturer's recommendations regarding off-sets. 3/8" may not seem like much, but it can make a huge difference in how the finished product looks.

Fifth, have the right tools, especially if using laminate or bamboo products. You can do a great job with a skil saw, jig saw, and drill. But, you need to make sure you use the right blade/bit, and replace them when they are worn.

From an upkeep standpoint, make sure you don't let any spills sit on the floor for any period of time. Otherwise, they are pretty bullet-proof. They are easy to clean, durable, and look good if installed properly.

[10-Ring]

I once did my whole house with the stuff. Pretty much what has been said already.... I agree 100% don't get the cheapest stuff out there, I know it's cheap but it's cheap for a reason. If your floor is not perfectly level you will drive yourself insane trying to install the floor and it will develop cracks in short time.

[AU_88]

Mind your gaps and off-sets. It's not hard, but can be frustrating.

[gjohnsoniv]

Don't get the cheap stuff and pretty much what has already been said. It's not hard to do if you just do what the instructions say and pay attention. Go slow until you get the hang of it.

[Volzfan]

Great info! I can always count on TGO members for the answer to most anything.

I had 3/4" Bruce hardwoods installed in the living room and hallway to the bedrooms. I haven't seen any T&G flooring that thick so I would guess I will need to lay down a subfloor to make them equal out. That will be going over a good, solid wood subfloor.

The Bruce hardwoods had to be laid opposite of the direction on the floor joists. I haven't seen that mentioned for this type of floor. Is that something that I need to consider?

Edited August 29, 2012 by Volzfan

[broylz]

subfloor is the biggest consideration in my opinion. i have installed lots of different flooring over the years and this is the easiest to install and the easiest to mess up as well. simple carpentry basics are all you need. door jambs are the trickiest part. if you want to leave the trim in place, get a jamb saw as it will make the cuts much easier than most any "make due" selection. the other easy way to do it would be to cut the caulk seal where the door jamb trim meets the painted wall and then remove the trim. you can then easily cut the thickness of the flooring amterial off the bottom with any decent saw and replace it. that will require a bit of caulk replacement and touch up paint if you get sloppy but looks better imho.

as far as the labor costs go, you can look on craigslist and find people pretty willing to do them as cheap as $0.75/square foot as a side job. i still prefer the DIY methods for most people though.

also, dont go as cheap as possible and the thicker the better. i buy most of my materials from Lumber Liquidators if i can and use their Quiet Walk underlayment.

also a couple off options for the joining of different woods or flooring materials between rooms. first, if you do a subfloor to raise it, you need to do that for the whole room and dont try to float it as it will shuffle and seams will split over time. second option would be to get a transition strip and adhere it to the existing fixed floor and let the floating floor float under the edge of the transition strip. if its a big difference, you can get a bull nose and shave the underside to the thickness you need.

lastly, i think the placement of the transitions is often overlooked, or im picky. i like the transition strip to rest under a door when its closed so that you can not see it from ither side of the door when its closed. most people hedge to one side or the other. this may require shaving down the bottom of the door to clear the difference but the devil is in the details, as always. if going to tile and grouting to other flooring instead of a transition strip, i will center the line under the door in the same manner.

[UncleJak]

I have done lots of laminate and have recently installed bamboo in my house. It's all about the right tools and the old saying: "measure twice, cut once". Something else I learned: use a white rubber mallet and not the black one. The do the same job, but the black one can leave marks. Good luck!

[mikegideon]

I have it all over my house. Quietguy hit on the biggest gotcha. Carpet can hide imperfections in the subfloor that will show up with hard floors. I had a crappy builder, and had to do quite a bit of leveling. I got the leveling compound from a buddy of mine that's in the commercial flooring business. I hope you don't have those kind of problems. Laying the floor isn't that bad. In my case, prepping the subfloor was probably as much work as the actual installation.

[quietguy]

The Bruce hardwoods had to be laid opposite of the direction on the floor joists. I haven't seen that mentioned for this type of floor. Is that something that I need to consider?

Most brands have a specific recommendation on orientation related to the primary light direction (usually parrallel IIRC). Since they float above the subfloor, it doesn't matter how your joists are laid.

[Tempest455]

Lumber Liquidatotrs for the wood! Great pricing.

Ditto on the underlayment. We just had wood installed upstairs and had some put in that claimed it cut the noise in half. It does not sound any different that when we had carpet from below.

[peejman]

+1 on the leveling. Our house had laminate through most of the house when we bought it. The floors aren't level at all and the laminate squeaks/creaks all over the place. On the other hand, durability has been excellent. 2 kids and the dog haven't done much to it in 4 years.

I highly recommend you get the type that leaves a completely flat surface. The type with little grooves between boards is terrible IMO. That groove just collects dirt and is very difficult to clean. If you have a dog, the dog's claws will grip the grooves and tear them up in no time. My old house and several friends houses have the grooved type. Same results for all of them.

[Troutburger]

+1 on not getting the kind with the grooves. We have it and its a real PITA.

But yeah its real easy to install, just like a jigsaw puzzle for big kids.

[monkeylizard]

Put your extra layer of subfloor down with screws, not nails. Helps prevent squeeks later.

[Volzfan]

What about heavy items on these floors? I have a safe that's close to 500 lbs and also a heavy desk. Can this type of floor handle that weight?

[quietguy]

What about heavy items on these floors? I have a safe that's close to 500 lbs and also a heavy desk. Can this type of floor handle that weight?

It depends on the product you choose.

A buddy of mine has a piano (he said it is 800 pounds) on his, and it hasn't been a problem.

[Guest uofmeet]

I did it in 3 rooms of my house, and besides the detail work around closet and doors, just getting is started it the hardest part. but once you get a few rows in, easy going until you get to a closet or a turn or something. A friend and me did mine. finished about a room every weekend. and don't forget that extra 10% of flooring. But you and a buddy can do it yourself. And beer is a lot cheaper than what you said they quoted you.

Also, I have a waterbed on mine. And the best I can tell as of right now, no problems yet.

Edited August 29, 2012 by uofmeet

[Guest rebeldrummer]

i found a bamboo hardwood at Home Depot that was rather expensive. We really liked it but had to pass due to the price. We shopped around for another 2 weeks and then BOOM....it went on sale!!!

But to top it off, someone tipped me off to the fact that at Home Depot (not sure about Lowes) you can ask for contractor pricing if you order over a certain amount of whatever materials you are getting. I think it has more to do w/ overall price as opposed to quantity....

Anyways, we asked the pro counter about it and they said yes! we came out w/ an AMAZING deal...actually CHEAPER than the CHEAP STUFF was priced!

My father and I built my house and we used it on the entire upstairs (minus the kitchen and the bed rooms) I cannot remember that actual square footage but it was A LOT! took us a few days to do it. As mentioned above, GO SLOW AT FIRST. I had a lot of corners, a lot of angles and bull nose on my corners. Once you get it you will enjoy it....at least I did.

On a side note, you asked about how it holds up with weight....if you can find bamboo, and like what you find, get it...it has not scratched or anything. The stuff is crazy hard and tough. Good luck. maybe some before and after pics would be a great addition to the thread. Show off you handy work.