Hardwood flooring is a dream for many homeowners but it can be impractical for installation purposes. For example, you should not put hardwood on a concrete basement floor. In addition, it takes special equipment for installation.
With engineered flooring you can get all the benefits from hardwood without the work. In addition, the floor can be installed in several ways depending on the usage. Engineered flooring is manufactured with several layers of wood that are positioned in opposite directions. As with plywood this causes the humidity changes will not affect the planks because the think wood strips give it stability with the change in humidity.
Engineered flooring can be put down over concrete with the proper subfloor treatment. This means a good vapor seal and foam sheeting.
For installation the boxes should be placed in the rooms where the wood is to be done to get them acclimatized. By opening several boxes a better color and texture consistency can be met because the ones that aren’t so great looking (There many be some) can be shuffled to the back and used for closets.
Staple Installation
Like installing hardwood planks the engineered strips can be stapled with an air nailer. The subfloor should be a plywood product with a paper flooring felt placed on top and the staples are usually put in the tongues every 4 “. near the walls where you can’t get the nail gun in the strips are glued. As each strip goes in it is tapped with a block to make it tight. When meeting other flooring a reducer or transition strip is a good way to make the entryway smooth.
Floating Floor
As with laminate engineered flooring can be “floated.” This means that it will be installed on top of a thin foam layer. I can also be glued together and/or to the subfloor.
