What Is A Floating Hardwood Floor

The lightweight and durable engineered hardwood flooring is a snap to install compared to traditional hardwood planks.

What is a floating hardwood floor.

Floating hardwood floor overview illustration by gregory nemec. Although easier to install than hardwood it is still a major home improvement project. The term floating floor does not refer to a type of flooring material but rather to a method of installation that can be used with a variety of materials including laminates engineered hardwood and luxury vinyl flooring. Engineered flooring goes down over a thin foam sheet which provides cushioning and sound dampening.

Floating floors can be pieced together like a puzzle leading to a more cost effective and environmentally friendly approach by eliminating smelly and messy type adhesives and shortening the time spent on installation. The planks glue together to create a floor that floats moves freely as a unit. You need to leave a 5 16 inch gap between the flooring and the baseboard or wall around the. While trends like linoleum and shag carpet eek went out of style as quickly as they came into it hardwood flooring has for centuries been a failsafe choice for any and every aesthetic.

The subfloor flatness requirements for a floating floor are the same as for a glue down floor. Its wide availability means that it costs less than other types starting around 2 per square foot. If you re a commitment phobic shopper choosing interior flooring can feel like a never ending process. For hardwood flooring in homes it is the most popular material.

Instead there is a layer of padding that separates the floating hardwood floor from the subfloor. Putting in your own pre finished hardwood flooring costs less than having a professional install it. This is due to its versatility of function and design as well as an inherent natural charm that gives each installation a unique personality and beauty. The presence of this padding provides a higher degree of give to the floor which in turn provides a sense of floating when walking across the.

In this method individual planks or in some cases tiles interlock edge to edge to. Another key advantage of choosing a floating floor over a non floating type is how it reacts to changes in humidity. With good upkeep it can last longer than a century. They are not made to hide bad subfloors.

Installing one might appear to be a frightening task but with proper preparation and planning any home improvement diyer can do it. Hardwood flooring is one of the most popular floor surface covering materials and has been for centuries. For the flooring industry that is inch in 10 feet or inch in 6 feet. A floating floor is simply a floor that does not need to be nailed or glued to the floor underneath it.

Floating floors have become increasingly popular for many types of floor coverings. An engineered hardwood floor can be much less expensive in purchasing and installing.