Things To Know About Floating Timber Flooring

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Balancing Durability and Affordability Underfoot: A Flooring Blog

Flooring is one of the most important elements of a house. It can create a cozy and inviting feeling, a sense of sophistication, or a funky, industrial vibe. Quality flooring can add to the value of a home, while inexpensive, damaged and outdated flooring can hurt a home's value. If you feel as passionate about flooring as I do, I hope that you take some time to explore my blog. My name is Henry, and as a lover of all things DIY, I have put in a lot of flooring. From carpet, to vinyl, to hardwood, I have played with almost all of them, and I am here to explain the merits of different types of flooring, while also providing installation tips and more. Enjoy reading!

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Things To Know About Floating Timber Flooring

6 October 2015
 Categories: , Blog


If you are installing new flooring, and you want the appearance of classic wood without having to pay the price for genuine wood, you may want to consider the benefits of laying down floating timber floors. Here are some important things to know about this kind of flooring and how it can bring value to your home.

They're Not Solid Timber -- Floating timbers are made from a blend of timber laminate and timber composite, which is known as engineered flooring. The top layer of laminate is typically glued to a timber composite core to form the board. The board is then attached to a subfloor underlayer, which gives the appearance that the boards are floating instead of lying flush.

You Can Lay Them Over Just About Anything -- Floating timber flooring must be laid over a subflooring that is level, but the subflooring can be made out of any type of material, including tile, porcelain, plywood, concrete, particle board, natural stone and vinyl. The floating timber boards utilise a tongue and groove system that is DIY friendly as you press the grooves into the tongues until they lock into place. As long as the subflooring is level and flat, you can lay the timber floorboards on top and lock them in place. If the subflooring isn't level, you will often find that the floating timber boards won't lock into place, because they've been pushed too far out of alignment.

There Are Three Main Styles of Flooring -- When you install floating timber flooring, you can choose from one-strip, two-strip or three-strip flooring. One-strip boards are single planks of composite timber, two-strip boards feature two pieces of composite timber that are attached to form one board, and three-strip boards are three pieces of composite timber that are joined together on one board. If you want your floor to have multiple lines, then two-strip or three-strip floating timber floors are ideal. If you prefer a more polished, smooth appearance without lines, then one-strip floating timber floors would be a better choice.

They Offer Several Advantages -- Floating timber floors are quicker to install than genuine timber floors because you don't have to nail or hammer them into place, which makes them more DIY friendly. You will also achieve the look of a genuine wood floor without having to pay as much money. Keep in mind, however, that floating timber is not as durable as genuine timber because it has a hollow core, so your flooring won't last as long as if you chose genuine timber.

You can talk with flooring contractors or start looking for flooring online to do it yourself if you want to start installing your new floating timber floors today.