Floating Installations

Floating Installation is the most do-it-yourself friendly installation method because it is the easiest and the fastest to do, and it does not require any special skills or prior experience in installing floors. The Uni-Clic system is the most well known and regarded as the best system for floating laminate or engineered floors.

Other click systems are available on engineered floors but the majority still use the T & G method. This is when you PVA glue the tongue and groove together. An underlayment (use a combination which has a built in DPM on concrete sub-floors) is required with a floating installation to prevent contact between the floor and the sub-floor and more importantly to serve as a moisture barrier and insulation.

PLEASE NOTE: Due to the movement of a solid wood floor it is not recommended for floating installation. The only exceptions to this rule are certain ranges from Junckers and Berthold which use a metal clip system.

Glue-Down Installation

Glue-down installation requires the use of a bonding agent or adhesives applied directly onto the sub-floor and can be laid onto both concrete and wooden sub-floors. If you are laying over a concrete sub-floor you will first need to put down a two part epoxy damp proof membrane to ensure no damp rises up into your new floor.

We recommend using Kerakoll EP21. Glue-down installation can be very stable when done properly, although it does take some time before you can actually walk on your floors. The adhesives will need to bond to the floor, and can be quite messy especially when done by a less skilled installer.

Another important consideration in using glue-down installation is your choice of adhesives as some are only suitable for floors upto a small width. To avoid warranty issues we supply Kerakoll Silovil Flex, which allows you to install sold flooring with widths of  up to 220mm.

Nail-Down Installation

Nail-down installation is the most straightforward of all solid wood floor installation methods, and is only advised if you have a wooden sub-floor. When installing over plywood the direction you choose to lay the planks does not matter; however, if you are going to nail down a new floor over an existing floorboards you must face the planks of the new floor in the opposite direction of the floorboards, essentially making a criss-cross pattern.

This is done to ensure stability and not risk warping or buckling. Solid wood floors are thicker; hence, they need to be nailed down in order to stay in place. Typically when nailing down an 18mm-22mm solid floor you will want to use 2” long nails.

Generally, people regard nail-down installation as being very exacting and time-consuming. It requires you to use specific tools and equipment, which can be hard for a do-it-yourself. There is also a certain skill and level of knowledge needed for this type of installation. One suggestion with all nail down installations is to use 2mm poly foam underlay this helps to make sliding boards into place easier and it also reduces the potential squeaking noise your floor produces when walked on.