When it comes to choosing flooring for the house, homeowners have a lot to choose from. If they had to depend on the sales pitch of salespersons in different department stores, they could end up buying anything they see. This is because the wide range of choice can leave anyone confused. Flooring can include anything from carpets to tiles to hardwood. Different people will choose flooring depending on their budget and their expectations.
When floors are bought, they will have to be installed. And today we’re going to talk about a particular type of installation method referred to as floating floor. In this method, the floor planks are connected together using glue or another bonding agent, and placed on a support framework, which could be the floor itself or subfloor. Note that in this method, the grouping of planks is not connected to the floor on which it lays. While the floor is not attached to the substrate, it is held in place by the weight provided by its connected parts.
If you’re considering installing floating floors, it’s wise to consider the services of licensed home improvement contractor or a professional in your area as they are familiar with the procedure and will make your floors look perfect. Even if you choose to do the project yourself, you will know all your options and can get the best solution for your home improvement project within your budget.
How is it done?
For many years, the usual custom was for floors to be connected to their underlying substrate. However, as homeowners decide they could skip the additional cost that comes with installing a floor and instead go for do-it-yourself practices, it became necessary to make floors that could be installed without the hard work of hitting and drilling that comes with other methods of installation. That is how the floated method was borne.
While it may be difficult for a novice to understand, there four reasons why this type of floors will stay in place;
- The individual sheets of plank may not be heavy but together they provide adequate weight
- Also, the planks are laminate but can be glued or snapped together. Such joinery provides a lot of stability.
- A base support is placed below the floor before the joint planks that make up the floor are placed. This provides enough friction allows for adequate control of sideways movement
- Most often these floors are confined on at least three sides by walls that help to keep them in place.
Main advantage
The advantages of this type of floor installation are;
- The floor can expand and contract based on existing outdoor weather conditions.
- It is very convenient for do-it-yourself addicts. If you are not expert in this, you should hire services of an independent home improvement contractor.
Main disadvantage
- It may be less resistant to wear and tear compared to a floor that was fixed to the ground
- When it comes to resell it may have less value.
Now that you know a bit more about floating floors and installing them, I look forward to hearing about your flooring successes. We have been itching to do our bedroom floors to replace carpet for a while, but the kitchen has jumped ahead in the line of projects for the time being.
What type of flooring do you have in our home and do you like it?
