Solid wood flooring expands and contracts due to the changes in temperature and humidity. So, to stop your floor buckling leave a 15 mm gap for wood. To make it easier, use expansion wedges to sit between the boards and the wall.
Step 1
Peel back a small amount of plastic from your self-adhesive underlay, this should be just less than the width of a single board. Now take the spare piece of plastic or membrane which comes with the underlay, fold it in half and stick it to the revealed adhesive making sure the fold faces away from you. This membrane goes between the underlay and the floorboard, making sure that the board doesn’t get stuck before it’s in the correct position. Place the board in with the groove facing the wall. Put a 15 mm spacer along and at the end of the board. Once you’re happy with the position, carefully pull out the membrane, holding the board in place as you go. Repeat this process along the length of the first row.
Step 2
Once you’ve reached the end of the first row, you’ll probably have to cut a board to make it fit. To work out exactly the right size, lay it directly on top of the last board you laid. Take a third board and use it as a template. Press it against the wall and with a spacer in place, mark the board you’re going to cut with a pencil.
Step 3
When you’re cutting boards, it’s always best to do this outside or in another room so you don’t get any dust or debris on your sub-floor or underlay. And always remember to keep a window open to keep the room ventilated.
First clamp your boards to a workbench, then cut the board. You can use a jigsaw or a fine-toothed hand saw. Don’t forget to wear a dust mask or safety goggles.
Fit the cut board into position and that’s your first row done.
Step 4
To create a pleasing look and make your floor stronger, scatter the joints so that they’re different to the previous row and form an overlapping pattern. Use the offcut from the previous row to begin your next row and repeat for the remaining rows. To start the next row, angle the cut board against the first board with the cut end by the wall, then add your expansion spacer. Press forward and down to lock into place, and repeat this along the whole row, peeling back the membrane as you go.
Step 5
If you’ve come across some doorways or radiator pipes, lay your board next to the pipe and at the centre of the pipe draw a line across the width of the board. Now lay the end front on to the pipe and mark where the centre of the pipe intersects the line that you’ve drawn. This is where you’ll need to drill your hole.
Step 6
Use a power drill with a 32 mm spade bit. This will give you a big enough hole to allow for expansion, as a standard radiator pipe is 15 mm. Do this in another room or outside, and don’t forget the dust mask or goggles.
Step 7
Draw two lines from the hole towards the edge of the board with a slight angle. Cut along the lines with a saw and make sure you keep the offcut. Fit the board into place, glue the wedge in and wipe off any excess immediately.
Step 8
The next obstacle you might come across is a door frame. If your door opens into the room, you need to check you’ll have enough clearance over the new flooring and threshold bar. If not, you’ll need to remove the door and trim it down. Don’t try and cut the flooring to fit, you’ll get a much neater finish if you trim the architrave so the underlay and flooring fit underneath.
Lay the flooring against the architrave and mark with your saw where there needs to be a cut. Remove the flooring and cut the architrave. Use a chisel to remove the waste piece of wood.
Step 9
For the last row, place the board you want to cut directly over the last row. Use a third board as a template, pressing it right up to the edge of the spacers against the skirting board and mark the board underneath. Cut this piece and slot it into place.
