Fitting Wooden Flooring Isn't As Hard As You May Think
Here are a few of tips to hep you if you are considering fitting wooden flooring yourself.
I have recently fitted wooden flooring in my dining room and it wasn't as difficult to do as I had imagined it would be. I was really pleased with the results and I think that with the right equipment and a few handy tips, anyone could fit wooden flooring in their home and achieve good results. Lots of people gave me advice when I said that I was going to attempt this task myself and here are some tips that I found particularly useful.
It is important that before you install the wooden flooring, you make sure that the surface beneath is flat without any protrusions or imperfections. If the surface isn't flat and level this can lead to the wooden flooring cracking and not lying flat and will look very bad. If you are unsure that your floor is level then you can cover the surface with plywood secured by small screws, this is what I had to do and it was pretty inexpensive. Better to do this than ruin the floor by trying to secure it to poor floor boards.
When you purchased your wooden flooring you should also have purchased rolls of spongey or rubbery material called a membrane which is fitted beneath the wooden flooring and on top of your existing floor. This acts as a noise dampener so that when you walk on the wooden flooring it does not creak or bang against the under floor. The membrane not only reduces noise but also provides insulation to the floor so that it is not cold or draughty so be sure to use it and cover the entire surface that is going to have the wooden flooring placed on top.
Once the membrane is down you can then lay the wooden flooring panels. This should be done by laying the first panel in the furthest corner to the main entrance door of your room. This is because this is the area of the room that most people entering will see so needs to look the best. When laying the floor it is personal choice whether you remove the skirting boards and then refit them after installing the floor or whether you just use finishing beading that can be glued or nailed directly to the skirting boards. I used the beading as it was easier and quicker and the results were very pleasing.
When laying the wooden flooring stagger the joints to give the appearance of traditional floor boards, this also adds strength to the floor surface. Be sure to leave a gap of a few millimetres around the edge of all of the flooring and cover this either with the skirting board or the beading. This is because the surface will contract and retract slightly depending on the room temperature and fixing it can cause it to bow or become disjointed. For this reason you must also never attach skirting board or beading directly to the floor surface, it must be fitted to the wall/skirting to give the appearance that it is fixed to the floor. That is basically all there is to it and I found it pretty easy to fit mine.
About the Author
You can buy good quality wooden flooring and all of the accessories you need to complete the job at many online shops. I purchased mine from Amtico and it was perfect for my needs.
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