How to lay your own wooden plank flooring at home without hiring an expert

Apr 26, 2023

Wooden floors are timeless, rustic and stylish and look good in both traditional and modern properties. They're also hard-wearing and easy-to-clean making them the perfect option for homes with pets and little ones running around. While real wood flooring is beautiful, it's not always the most practical option, especially in high-moisture environments like kitchens and bathrooms.

For this reason, choosing an engineered wood floor may be a better choice. But before you decide to rip up your old linoleum and carpets and hire an expert, you may want to know how much it costs to install an engineered wooden floor.

Engineered wood floors can cost anywhere from £20 per square metre to £50 per square metre, depending on the quality of the product. Installation costs then work out at around £15 to £30 per square metre, depending on the size of the space, the complexity of the job, where you're located and whether you need underlay, according to MyBuilder.com.

According to the experts, a room that's 5m x 5m could cost around £1,400, with the engineered wood flooring costing £30 per square metre and installation costs of £20 per square metre.

If you're looking to avoid paying hefty installation fees, you could install your own engineered wood flooring. Lucy Pickett, Head of Specification & Design at V4 Wood Flooring has shared her step-by-step guide to installing your own engineered wooden plank flooring exclusively with Express.co.uk.

Lucy's method explains how to install engineered wooden plank flooring by installing a floating floor. Floating floors mean the flooring material floats above the subfloor and underlay and doesn't require nailing down.

Measuring

Make sure you carefully measure your space including any areas that will need flooring. Once you have the area measured, add five percent for wastage material which can happen when you cut planks to fit around obstacles.

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Preparing the floor area

Make sure the subfloor (the surface you are laying the floor over) is sound. You must remove any existing floor coverings such as carpet, carpet underlay, tiles and existing parquet floors.

For a perfect installation, the subfloor must be flat and free from movement, if it is not flat you should think about levelling the surface, or your finished floor will deflect when walked on, causing it to move and creak.

Decorating and other works

Make sure all wet trades such as plastered walls and screeded floors are fully dry. If you are unsure, hire a moisture metre as the relative humidity (RH) in your room should be between 45 and 65 percent RH.

It is a good idea to get the bulk of your decor completed and finish any messy work before you install your floor. If you are installing a kitchen, do this before you install the floor. If you do want to install the floor first, it must be fully bonded to the subfloor.

Finally, remove the skirting boards if you are going to replace them or refit them after the floor is installed. Remember to also remove any doors that will be in your way. These will also need to be adjusted to clear the new height of your wood floor - allowing 5mm clearance is usually a good idea.

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Before you start working, plan where the floor is going and in which direction you want to lay. The floor must be laid in a random staggered pattern to avoid lining up header joints. This random stagger will stabilise the floor.

It is also a good idea to lay the lengths either towards the main light source/ window or to the longest dimension of the room. Then, divide the width of the space by the width of your flooring planks and make sure you start and finish on an evenly cut width that is not too narrow to cut.

Underlay

Once the room is cleared and the subfloor is prepared, roll out your underlay covering the whole floor surface and cutting to fit.

If the underlay has a vapour barrier, then make sure you tape the seams with vapour tape. You should run the underlay perpendicular to the direction of the length of the flooring planks.

Make sure there are adequate expansion gaps. A 15mm gap must be provided around every wall and obstacle around the perimeter of your wood floor.

At walls, this will be covered by beading or skirting board, but door frames and architrave must be undercut.

Do this by placing a piece of flooring on the underlay next to the frame, then placing a hand saw flat on the floor and cutting across until you have enough depth. Then use a hammer and chisel to remove the undercut piece of the door frame. Now your floor will slide underneath the door unobstructed.

Next, start laying your floor. If there is a doorway, then it is often easier to start on this wall as the floor can be cut. This is more difficult to do on the last row.

From your initial measurement, you may need to rip cut (cut along the length of the board) the first row so that your last row is the same width.

1. Begin by placing the first plank against the wall with the tongue facing into the room as you will be fitting away from this wall.

If there is a door frame, measure and cut the plank to fit under the frame and around the wall with an expansion gap.

2. Now, dry lay the first row of planks, placing the second plank next to the first against the wall. You can cut to fit the length of the room if needed, making sure to leave a 15mm gap at each end of the room.

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3. Once you are happy with the fit, move the floor away from the wall and join the header joints together with PVAC adhesive.

Correct adhesive application is very important. Remember, an adhesive is not required for ‘lock or click’ system flooring.

PVAC adhesive should be carefully applied to the grooved edge of your flooring so that a thin continuous bead is applied only to the top of the groove. If too much is applied, or if it is applied to the back of the groove, this will stop your floor from going together and you will have gaps between boards.

4. Now, fit the second row starting with an offcut from the last board of the first row so that the header joints are staggered by the width of at least two header joints. Glue the grooved edge of each board before you place it onto the previous row.

5. Now you have two rows, gently push them against the wall and under the door frame, placing 15mm spacers between the floor and wall where visible, to create and maintain your expansion gap.

6. Repeat the above process across the entire room until the opposite wall is reached.

7. Measure the space left and cut your last row to fit with the 15mm gap for the expansion.

8. If you have details such as radiator pipes, drill a hole large enough to clear the pipe with a 15mm gap around it, then cut a notch out of the board. Once fitted, glue the notch in place and use a pip cover to cover the expansion gap.

9. At the doorway, use matching wooden thresholds to transition between different flooring surfaces.

10. Now, adjust your door heights to clear the new floor level by 5mm, cutting off the excess and rehanging.

11. Remove the 15mm spacers and install skirting boards to cover the gaps.

12. If you have fitted up to the skirting board, you can use scotia or quadrant beading to cover the gaps. Simply pin or glue it to the skirting board so the floor can expand and contract freely underneath.

Avoid heavy traffic or replacing heavy furniture for at least 24 hours to allow the floor to settle and for any glued joints to fully cure.

If you notice any gaps, use an acrylic flexible joint filler in a matching colour. Protect the floor against scratches by adding entrance mats and applying felt pads to moveable furniture.