Real Wood and Engineered Wood Flooring Installation
Tips for Installing Engineered Wood Flooring and Real Wood Flooring
Hardwood flooring has been a popular flooring choice for a long time, this is down to the fact that it is beautiful and is easy to take care of. In the past, there was only real solid wooden flooring and it is still a great option. However there is a relatively new product available called Engineered wood flooring, this has become very popular since it is able to withstand higher humidity levels, which allows it to be used in bathrooms and basements. Both real wood flooring and engineered wood flooring can be installed with similar methods. Here are some of the methods to install your wood flooring.
1. Secret Nailing
Secret nailing is the most common and simplest method for installing engineered and solid wood flooring, especially when the flooring is being installed over a wooden sub floor, joists, or battens. Secret nailing hides the nails that are holding the engineered or solid wood flooring down, by driving each nail into the wood at around a 45-degree angle. This makes sure that the flooring is secure and that no nails are visible.
2. Glued Down Flooring
While glue is not the quickest method, the use of glue for installing engineered and solid wood flooring is still popular. Glue is most commonly used to install your flooring onto concrete. The problem with using glue to install wood flooring is that it can be a challenge for DIYer’s to use and can leave a mess. It also takes a lot of time to complete the installation compared to other methods.
3. Floating
Floating is one of the easiest method to install Wooden flooring, as it uses an underlay. There are a lot of underlay’s that are available to be used for your install, and videos online about how to use many of the underlay products.
Remember to Leave an Expansion Gap
When you are using either real wood flooring or engineered wood flooring, there should be an expansion gap left. In most rooms, this gap will be hidden by the base board or beading. Depending on the flooring that you are using there will a recommended gap size for the wood flooring on the package. However, 15 mm is a good measurement for your expansion gap. If you think that you will not need that much room, or be able to hide the gap, the smallest, you should make the expansion gap is 7.5mm. However, you should talk with a professional before you start laying the flooring, as a too small of gap will cause damage to the flooring over time.
No matter if you choose to have real wood flooring or engineered wood flooring, you need to make sure that the flooring is installed correctly. Wood flooring that is installed correctly will be beautiful and problem free for a lifetime.
For further information give us a call or pop into our Swansea Depot South Wales where all products and Wood floor fitting methods are available to be seen.