Tips For Installing Different Types Of Flooring

Timber Installation Tips

Timber flooring is one of the best flooring types you can choose. It is more expensive than other flooring options but offers a warmth and charm no other flooring option can come close to. Below you can find our tips for timber flooring installation:

Choose Timber Type Carefully

There are a lot of wood species and timbers come in a variety of grains, colours, surface finishes.  So, it’s very important to choose a timber that fits best into your space. You should also decide on Solid timber or Engineered timber. If you have underflooring heating, you want to install the flooring in an underground basement or in rooms with uncontrolled temperature you need to choose Engineered Timber.

Let wood acclimate to the room

Wood is a natural material. This means it will inevitably expand and contract as the temperature and humidity change. So, you cannot install timbers once they arrived. Put the timber in the room for a couple of days room before starting the installation process. This will help flooring acclimate to the room condition and reduce the risk of damage to the wood once installed.

Prepare subflooring

Timber flooring should be installed on a flat and dry surface. If you don’t properly prepare the subflooring it causes damage to your precious flooring. Just make sure that the subflooring is perfectly level and moisture-free. You can check the moisture of the subflooring with a moisture meter. A concrete subflooring should have moisture below 6%.

Remove baseboards

Before installing timber flooring you should remove baseboards on the walls. Some might recommend cutting the baseboard with a sharp utility knife but it’s time-consuming and you may lose height. Replacing the baseboards is another option you have. When installing timber flooring is a good time to get a new baseboard.

Leave an expansion gap

When you lay down any wooden flooring you should leave a gap for expansion. This will allow the flooring to adapt to temperature and humidity changes between day and night or when you turn on and off the heating system. If the timers fail to expand and contract, they can easily become damaged. Leave at least a 10 mm gap next to the walls and other edges of the room including doorways, pipes and cupboards.

Laminate Flooring Installation Tips

One of the advantages of laminate flooring is that it is not fastened with nails or glue, instead, installed using the tongue-and-grooves on the plank edges that are locked together. This so-called “Floating” installation makes installing laminate flooring installing easy and DIY-friendly. Some tips for laminate flooring installation:

Before installation pay attention to the pattern and direction of the planks

Put the flooring in the room for at least two days before installation. This will help laminate planks acclimate to the room temperature.

Only install on a clean, level and structurally sound subflooring.

Make use of a proper underlayment. Some new laminate planks come with underlayment attached behind and you don’t need to go for an extra one.

Seal the seams of underlayment as you install the planks.

randomly inspect planks for a sign of visible damage before installation.

Leave at minimum a 10 mm expansion gap around the edges and 20 mm for larger areas.

Stagger rows one plank with as you install each row.

Don’t install laminate on any flooring with a drain.

Don’t install laminate in wet rooms, underground rooms or where temperature and humidity change dramatically.

Don’t install laminate outdoor.

Don’t install more than one underlayment layer. Too much cushion will lead to an extra movement that may compromise the integrity of the joints and the locking system.

Don’t install over carpet flooring.

Vinyl Flooring Installation Tips

Vinyl flooring is known for being resilient and water-resistant. That’s why we can see vinyl flooring everywhere from homes to commercial buildings. Here are some dos and don’ts for vinyl flooring installation:

Sand Down the high spots of subflooring. Use the coarsest sanding belt you can find.

Fill in the low spots in the subflooring using patches or other proper fillers.

Trim doorjambs so that you can slide the flooring inside.

Create a 1/8-1/4” gap between the flooring and walls.

Acclimate the flooring to room temperature.

Check the moisture in the subflooring before installation.

Use a vapour barrier when installing over a concrete subflooring.

Install non-staining doormats to prevent dust and debris from damaging the flooring.

Do clean spills and stains as soon as they happen.

Don’t install on an uneven surface.

Don’t walk on the flooring at least 48 hours after installation is finished.

Don’t use adhesives not approved for vinyl installation.

Don’t hammer planks.

Carpet Tiles Installation Tips

The carpet is soft, durable and affordable. It feels soft and warm under feet and is considered as the first choice spaces such as kids’ room and living room. Below you can find top tips and tricks for carpet installation.

Use special tools

Of course, you can install the carpet just by cutting pieces and rolling them down. But this is not the best way. With special tools carpet installation will be done faster and cleaner and the final result will be more satisfactory. While installation requires many home-shop standard tools such as hammers, utility knives, etc. there are some carpet specific tools that you need to rent. Since these are expensive tools it’s more economical to rent them from a rental centre rather than buying them.

Learn how to use a carpet stretcher

Although you can lay down a carpet without a carpet stretcher the result will look terrible with wrinkles and lumps. For good carpet installation, you need to learn to use two types of stretchers: A long power stretcher that will brace against walls to stretch the carpeting taut across the entire room, and a knee kicker that you will use to push carpet against corners and edges.

Install tack strips between walls with a gap

Strips are strips of wood with sharp-pointed tacks. They are installed on the subfloor around the room to provide an anchor point for the edges of carpeting. There should be just a hair gap below the thickness of the carpeting so that the tucked section is securely wedged. If you are replacing an old carpet leave the tack strip in place for reuse.

Buy extra 5% for patterned carpet

Because you have to cut match patterns you will have more wastes in a patterned carpet than a non-patterned one. The larger the pattern the more you will have. So most experts recommend you should buy 5-10% extra carpet when you install a patterned carpet.

Install tack strips between walls with a gap

This is a standard rule in carpet installation: do not lay the padding over the strips.  Always leave a gap in the internal perimeter of the strips.

Timber, laminate, vinyl and carpet are all easy to install and DIY-friendly flooring options that you can install during a weekend. But for correct installation, you need to consider some tips and tricks. The tips and tricks you’ve learned in this post not only guarantees a smoother installation process but a result that is more good-looking, and the flooring will last for a longer time.