The Benefits of Floating Hardwood Flooring

Floating hardwood flooring has its disadvantages, but overall it is one of the fastest and least expensive ways to install a floor. Of the many different types of wood that can be used in this process, oak is probably the best suited. In order to install your floor using this method, you will need the following tools: cutter knife, cushion surface, saw, carpenter’s crayon, drill and nails, adhesive, rubber mallet, claw hammer, broom, dustpan, and a soft cloth. What makes floating hardwood flooring different from other installation methods is the fact that your floor does not need to be adhered to the subfloor. Instead, the planks are suspended above the floor and rest on a cushion underlayment. One of the most common methods is the glue together method which requires a beam of glue squeezed onto each plank. This is no longer the only method however as some more convenient methods have been developed over the years. Probably the most effective of these methods is the click type of floating floors which do not require glue. While the many methods of floating hardwood flooring will differ depending on the manufacturer, they all have one thing in common; they all use a mechanized system that allows the floor to stay in place. While simply clicking the floor into place may sound easy, it is usually more complicated than that. While thinner floors are easy to snap into place, those that are thicker are going to take some effort to click into place. The planks used in this method are often referred to as long strip as the boards used are all about 8 foot in length. Perhaps the most recently developed method of floating hardwood flooring is known as the lock and fold method. It has caught on fairly quickly however because it is so easy to perform and no glue or tapping is needed. In this method the boards are placed on the cushion underlayment and are connected to one another with adjoining pieces. They actually fold over in order to secure into each other. One commonly asked question is whether or not floating solid wood floors is possible. The answer in most cases is no because solid types cannot be glued or locked together. We have found a couple manufacturers however that have developed a method by which it may be accomplished, but it is uncommon. Using this method, a solid floor may be floated by using a clip based system where the boards are milled with channels where metal clips are connected. As you can see, floating hardwood flooring is so easy and inexpensive that it still remains the most popular method of installing a floor. Hopefully this article has taught you a few things concerning this method and has helped you determine if it is right for you.