How to install a wood floor

pupy · Post by **pupy** » Sun Jul 12, 2009 9:34 pm

Our plan for this summer is to change the old fashion plastic floor to a more shiny wooden floor. Having a look at IKEA, we found a good solution by this link http://www.ikea.com/fi/fi/catalog/products/20070011. Yet, we have to idea to attach the new floor down. We would appreciate a lot if somebody can instruct us how to make it since this is our first time home improvement. Many thanks
P/S Some online videos about this matter suggest a face nailer and an edge nailer. Do they apply also in this case because we are not sure the floor in the video is as the same as the one we are going to buy in IKEA ?

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irnbru · Post by **irnbru** » Sun Jul 12, 2009 10:27 pm

Buy a jig saw and a work bench Bahaus apparently sells cheap power tools and don't leave a massive gap between the walls and the floor edge you need to leave some room for expansion but you also need to make sure your skirting board covers the gap (you can get plastic placeholders). A piece of hardwood makes a good cushion between your hammer and the floor planks when you're hammering them together (saves chipping the planks) and even though they're supposed to slot together easily they don't and will require hammering (so keep your neighbours in mind). Vacuum up the saw dust regularly. Think how long its going to take you then treble it

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Mook · Post by **Mook** » Mon Jul 13, 2009 12:15 am

I remember watching the brother-in-law doing it and for the more stubborn boards he used a screw and electric driver to pull the board into the next one.

jas_rho · Post by **jas_rho** » Mon Jul 13, 2009 8:34 am

You don't nail or glue or screw etc those boards down. I am not sure what the real english word is for the type of floor this is but translated from finnish its called a "floating" floor (kelluva lattia). So it just lays down there on the floor and is not attached in any way to the floor. Anyway, you put this other stuff under the board, kind of like a thin padding, I am sure ikea sells that too since they sell the flooring. Then you just start piecing those boards together. Irnbru's comments are good about leaving a little space at the walls, but not too much etc. You can ask more advice from hardware stores.

Pursuivant · Post by **Pursuivant** » Mon Jul 13, 2009 9:30 am

Yeah, the padding underneath is essential. The space needed is usually what fits under the skirting. And unless you use real wood, the laminate doesn't really "live" that much.

Cod · Post by **Cod** » Mon Jul 13, 2009 2:59 pm

..and best not to skimp on the flooring type, you'll either have a floor that you love or one that looks cheap for life. Spend the extra now and you can be sure you won't regret it. I can't imagine IKEA floors are great quality - and could survive things like a flood (followed by a quick dry) which kills cheap floors. A good wood floating floor can look almost as good as a solid floor, why skimp on say a couple of hundred euro when you put all that effort into laying the thing.

http://www.kareliaparketti.com/karelia-us/

DMC · Post by **DMC** » Mon Jul 13, 2009 4:40 pm

cow-heada wrote:..and best not to skimp on the flooring type, you'll either have a floor that you love or one that looks cheap for life. Spend the extra now and you can be sure you won't regret it.

I can't comment on the better quality laminates but I would confirm that the cheapo stuff soon becomes something you regret. I put a lot down in our last place in the UK and I soon came to hate it. It is noisy to walk on, seems to generate its own dust, and it looks like what it is: MDF with a photo of a piece of wood stuck on the top.

If you do go for this type of floor:
- Use an offcut (with a tongue that fits into the groove) for hammering it together, rather than just an odd piece of wood. You'll do less damage
- Buy the stuff a week or two before you lay it so it has time to aclimatise to your temperature and humidity levels
- Follow the instructions about how much gap to leave around the edge or your floor will look like suitable for crown green bowling when it expands. You can hide the gap with the skirting board.
- Make sure the surface underneath your new floor is properly flat. It will exagerate any bumps or hollows.
- Take the time to get the first piece properly in place. If you get the first row out of line, everything will be wrong across the whole room.

Personally I will never use anything like that again. Real wood or nothing for me.

Pursuivant · Post by **Pursuivant** » Mon Jul 13, 2009 5:40 pm

I got laminate, but all the "cheap" in the K-rauta etc. was this shiney crap. So I ended up finding stuff in Teesi that was on the cheap end, but it was pressed slightly "textured" - which means I can step on a carpet without surfing halfway through the floor. Also one thing to look is the scratch/hardness factor. If you have a hall get industrial strength stuff there as the sand in the winter is a killer of real wood and laminate (I actually have it carpetted for that reason). One option also for warm & comfy floor is cork floor, but its a bit on the expensive side.

peteh · Post by **peteh** » Mon Jul 13, 2009 5:49 pm

parquet or laminate.

Really depends on budget and use.

If the room is small and filled with furniture go for laminate.
If the floor is vulnerable to the odd high heel, or gets a slighty wet, say like in an entrance hall go for laminate.
If the floor is quite open, good light, uncluttered then I would recommend parquet.

Price is depended on many factors.

For parquet its all about the quality of wood, how many strips, thickness etc.
Laminate is basically about thickness and durability.
Really decent parquet will cost a small fortune. But of course you have the luxury that it will basically last a lifetime. If it gets dull, you can just re-sand and varnish again.

I have laid 1000's of square metres in my lifetime. All the tips above should be well noted. One I would like to add is that the first two rows are the most important on the whole setup.
Make sure you come off the longest and straightest wall. Make sure the boards are not touching the walls! this is how a floor will split over time.
Always add extra packages for trimming and stepping the boards. Real professionals never put a 'brick' construct down. You should random ally stagger each level. The end result looks better to the eye plus
it keeps the boards together better.
Also make sure that you set the boards in the direction of the light coming from the windows.

Good luck

pupy · Post by **pupy** » Tue Jul 14, 2009 7:51 am

Thank you all very much for your enthusiastic helping me with the problem

. I will remember all of your suggestions and put them in consideration when I do my floor. Btw, do I need any other tools except hammer? And is it just a normal hammer, I am afraid it can damage the wood if I would use the normal one?

DMC · Post by **DMC** » Tue Jul 14, 2009 8:58 am

pupy wrote:Btw, do I need any other tools except hammer? And is it just a normal hammer, I am afraid it can damage the wood if I would use the normal one?

Yes, just a normal hammer. You don't hammer directly onto the piece of laminate you are fitting. Rather you use an offcut with a tongue on that fits into the groove on the piece you are fitting. Then you hammer the offcut. You may damage the offcut but you should avoid damage to the real piece.
You will also need something to cut the laminate. Irnbru suggested a jig saw but I wouldn't use a jig saw for that. A normal hand saw would be better I think. Or a circular saw or an electric mitre saw. A jig saw would be my last choice. Or you could buy a guillotine. A hardware store will sell a guillotine designed for this purpose and it is probably the best tool for the job. It won't be much use for anything else though.
You normally put something underneath the laminate. Could come on a roll or in rigid sheets. Whatever it is (ask at the store) you will need something to cut that. Maybe scissors or a Stanley knife.
Check out if the laminate you will fit requires glue. If it does, you should also get multiple rolls of kitche paper for wiping off any excess that squeezes out of the joints. Collect the used paper in a rubish bag as you go.

irnbru · Post by **irnbru** » Tue Jul 14, 2009 12:30 pm

DMC wrote:You will also need something to cut the laminate. Irnbru suggested a jig saw but I wouldn't use a jig saw for that. A normal hand saw would be better I think. Or a circular saw or an electric mitre saw. A jig saw would be my last choice.

I've put 3 floors down and used a jig saw and a hand saw each time. It got to be a pain sawing by hand so I used the jig saw, but a circular saw would probably be the better option. I just didn't have one. The jig saw was good enough though. You will need to sandpaper a bit too.

irnbru · Post by **irnbru** » Tue Jul 14, 2009 12:34 pm

DMC wrote:Yes, just a normal hammer. You don't hammer directly onto the piece of laminate you are fitting. Rather you use an offcut with a tongue on that fits into the groove on the piece you are fitting. Then you hammer the offcut. You may damage the offcut but you should avoid damage to the real piece.

One problem I found with this was the offcut gets stuck into the piece of laminate you are fitting and its not easy to separate again. I used a piece of hardwood flat on the floor next to the piece you are fitting and managed not to cause too much damage of course there are always a few pieces that get ruined.

meplusthree · Post by **meplusthree** » Tue Jul 14, 2009 12:52 pm

Ikea used to sell a set of tools for Laminate flooring which consisted of a plastic block for tapping the boards into place using a hammer, a metal bar sort of like a stretched flat ' Z' for putting the last boards down. They also used to have a good instruction sheet for installation.

I think you will be able to get the tapping blocks at all the shops that sell the laminate - and the tapping block should match the laminate you are buying !!

As for cutting the boards I have used both Jig saw and circular saw with good results - using a hand saw is very very hard work ! and remember you will have to probably cut some boards length wise to get the last row of boards down !

I would also avoid the Glue laminate as is takes 3 time as long to lay and you will end up with some glues stains somewhere !

Bavarian · Post by **Bavarian** » Tue Jul 14, 2009 6:18 pm

I helped my father install Pergo a good 10 years ago when my parents were renovating their house. In addition to the tapping block, there was also a series of strap-based vises that you would clamp to the end of the row to tighten it (and, preferably, tighten it crosswise as well). Wipe off the glue frequently, and glue stains aren't a problem.

The one poster who mentioned laminate flooring being a bit slippery is right. When dad finished the kitchen, they put the dog's food dish down for dinner that evening. The dog came running in for dinner, and as soon as he hit the kitchen, slid all the way across the room, slamming into the dish and knocking it over, sending food flying all over the place.

It was months before the dog wanted to step foot in the kitchen again. They had to feed the dog at the near end of the room, and put a throw rug down for the dog to stand on when it ate -- that was they only way they could get the poor dog to eat in the kitchen. For the rest of that dog's life, any time it was standing in a room with the Pergo, you could see the dog's paws splaying out in slow motion, with the dog having to move to regain its footing.

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