How to install engineered wood flooring

Engineered wood floors are made up of several different layers of material including a decorative layer made of real wood. The thickness of this top layer can vary, but an engineered wood floor will almost always look much more authentic than laminate. Usually fitted as floating installations, an engineered wood flooring is designed to simply slot together.

Steps

1. Prepare to install your engineered wood floor

2. Check and prepare the surface

3. Apply an engineered wood underlay

4. Lay the engineered wood floor

Wood is a natural material so it does vary in terms of colour. With this in mind, make sure to alternate your boards properly. To do so, you should open three different packets of boards and mix them together as you work to ensure an even result.

It's important to leave an expansion gap of 8 mm around any doors. You might want to saw the base of your wooden door frame in order to fit the floor underneath. This is the most attractive option as your floor will be free to expand and contract but the gap won't be visible. However, unfortunately this option isn't always possible. If you have a metal door frame you'll need to install a 8 mm expansion joint.

Do not overlook this step. If your floor gets blocked against a door frame or any other obstacle it won't be able to move naturally and will end up warping or even lifting. Another option for anyone reluctant to cut the door frame is to use a profile gauge to transfer the contours of your door frame onto your planks and cut them accordingly. This step should be completed as you are finishing your floor.

The number one rule when it comes to laying an engineered wood floor can be summed up as follows: the surface needs to be clean, dry, flat and solid.

When laying a floating floor, the humidity level of the surface needs to be less than 3% and your floor cannot be any more than 5 mm out of level.

If your surface is old and has a number of faults, you must fix it before you attempt to lay the new floor. In some cases, this might mean using a self-levelling compound to even things out.

Of course once you have levelled the floor you will then need to sweep and dust the surface.

In any case, it's important to store your flooring in the room where it will be put down for at least 48 hours before installation to ensure that the wood gets accustomed to the conditions in the room.

Underlays for floating floors usually come in rolls.

Simply roll out the underlay making sure to lay the underlay the right way up.

It is best to use an underlay with a built-in vapour barrier. Alternatively, you can lay some polyane film before installing the underlay. However, this does involve an extra step and the cost works out about the same as just purchasing a vapour barrier underlay to begin with. 

Underlay strips are designed to be taped together on the floor and should also reach about 5 cm up the walls. The extra material will be covered up by the skirting boards later on.

It's also possible to buy underlay boards or fan-fold underlay. These options work just fine for floating floors.

You'll need to think carefully about what type of underlay you need before installation as they don't all perform in the same way. Some are designed to make less noise underfoot, others to dampen noise between floors while some underlays are also designed to provide insulation. It's up to you to find the option that best matches your needs.

Take your first board out of the first packet. Starting in one corner of the room, lay the board against the wall taking care to leave an expansion gap of at least 8 mm around the perimeter of the room. Plastic spacers can be used to help you to maintain this gap. Slot another board along the shorter end of the first board and check that they are level. Repeat the process with all your full boards until you can't lay any more along the wall without making cuts.

Prepare to cut your end board at the edge of the wall. Mark out your measurements in pencil and use a jigsaw to cut through the board from the underside. Fit the board to finish off your first row and start on the second using whatever is left of the first board you cut (unless the it measures less than 30 cm). For the second row, lock in the long side of the board first before joining the shorter side from above. You simply need to apply pressure to the boards to lock them together. Continue the process until your entire surface is covered by the flooring.

A pulling ledge can be used to help you fit the last board in a row.

Next, remove all the plastic spacers.

You can then install your skirting boards around the room to finish off and cover up the 8 mm gap. And that's about it!

Please note that you can also glue down an engineered wood floor to your surface as you would a hardwood floor. If you do so, the boards will make less noise underfoot. It is strongly recommended to glue down the floor if you are laying on top of underfloor heating. 

It's also important to install a threshold to fill the gap around the door. Thresholds come in all different sizes and can be cut to size for doorways with irregular dimensions. They may be designed to be glued or screwed down. If you need to screw the threshold, use a drill to make holes before inserting plugs and screwing down the threshold.

Required skills

Laying an engineered wood floor isn't difficult as long as you follow the right steps. However, you must have good mobility (i.e. be able to crouch and bend with ease). You must also be able to use a saw and take accurate measurements.

Time required

One full day for a room measuring 20 m² plus skirting boards and floor trim.

Number of people required

1 or 2 people

Tools and equipment

• A jigsaw

• A pulling ledge

• Plastic spacers (for expansion gap)

• A tapping block

• A tape measure

• A pencil

• A mallet

• Gloves and safety goggles (for cutting)

Optional: it is possible to buy a laminate cutter to trim your floor boards. If you have a large floor to lay this can be a good investment. The main advantage of these tools is that they don't make any noise so you can even work on a Sunday without bothering the neighbours!