Floor installation is a lengthy and demanding process but it is not difficult.
Most timber and laminate wholesalers provide manuals on how to undertake the floor installation procedure.
Thus, the DIY option is acceptable even for guys who are not woodwork inclined.
However, if you do not have the time to install floors you should leave the fun to floor installation and floor polishing companies.
Patience and concentration is important for a smooth finish of the project.
Rushing the floor installation process will certainly lead to incorrect joints, lifting of the material and even chipping.
The floor should be completely clean from debris and leveled. Any deviation of the gradient by more than 1mm over 1 meter is unacceptable for the timber floor installation. The uneven substrate may cause the timber to bent at joints and slide to the skirtings. This may cause bulging and consequently lead to the damage of the wooden material.
You must completely prepare the ground for the floor installation. This means that:
You cannot place timber or laminates on substrates other than the dedicated underlayer. The common mistake is to place timber on carpets.
You should always start parallel to the longest walls. The ideal corner is one which is at right angles and does not require complicated cuts. Black builder's plastic is often placed to stop the moisture. This material should be placed around the walls of the room.
The next step is the underlayer. The underlayer is an essential part of the floor installation process. It provides cushion and prevents the floor from sliding. It also eliminates condensation and provides thermal insulation. The underlayer needs to be placed as close to the walls as possible. You may need to fiddle while joining the underlayer sections with a sticky tape.
Now, it is time for boards. Today timber and laminate boards come with the grooves and tongues.
The tongues fit into the grooves almost like the toy blocks.
The first row of the timber should face the wall with its groove.
Because timber floors do expand and shrink, you cannot place the boards right against the wall.
Thus, you need a gap of around 8mm between the timber floor (or laminate floor) and the wall.
The unsightly gap can easily be covered with skirtings.
The next row of the timber boards should attach the groove to the tongue of the first row.
A lot of floor installation contractors like to glue the tongue and the groove together.
However, for the laminates this is not necessary and often impractical.
This is especially true when you try to replace damaged boards bonded by glue.
The rest of the floor installation is straight-forward.
You continue placing the boards by attaching tongues with grooves.
In most cases you will have to cut the boards to fit the length and the width of the room.
The most difficult cuts are those which fit the corners.
You do not need to have a lot of skill to DIY the floor installation.
However, the work does require patience and dedication.
If you do not have the time then external contractors are the best bet.
The service is not cheap but the quotes are straight forward.
Most floor installation businesses charge per square meter rather than the difficulty to place boards around the room.
Generally, you do not pay per time but per completed project.
The floor installation cost (labour and material) for a 20 square meters room is around $2000
for laminate flooringand $4000 for the timber product.
In both cases the skirting are included in the price.
There are plenty of contractors around major metropolitan areas.
Even timber wholesalers can advice on the decent floor installation or floor polishing service.