DIY flooring

Installing your wooden flooring yourself can save you money.  This DIY advice guide explains how to fit wood flooring and which tools to use.  We have included a video at the end for those of you who prefer to learn by watching.

The tools you will need to cut and fit your wooden flooring:

General Tools

• Tape measure
• Carpenter's square
• Pencil
• A decent handsaw
• Jigsaw (blade that cuts on the down stroke)
• Hacksaw
• Drill with spade bit
• Coping saw (if you need to cut out intricate shapes)
• Flat saw (good for trimming architrave)

Laminate Floor Fitting Tools

• Pull bar
• Wedges/spacers
• Tapping block

Preparing your room

Your pack of wooden flooring will have fitting instructions included.  It is important you take the time to read these.

The instructions may indicate a period of time your new laminate flooring will need to be left in your room to acclimatise.  You can still prepare your room while your new flooring settles. 

Remove all furniture and existing floor coverings.  If you want to fit your flooring under your skirting boards, now is the time to remove them.

Here is a video tutorial on removing skirting boards without damaging them.

To give the flooring around your doorway a nice finish it is best to cut the wood door frame and slide the wooden flooring underneath it.  To do this, mark the thickness of your board, underlay and laminate on the frame around the door.  Use your flat saw to remove architrave below the mark so you can slide the flooring in underneath.

Here is a video tutorial showing you how to do this.

Use the same method to work out if you will need to remove your door to have it planed.

Ensure your floor is clean and dry.  Hammer in all protruding nails and fix loose or squeaking floorboards.  If there are any significant changes to the level of your floor, use screed or fit leveller boards to even the surface.  Height variations should not exceed 2-3mm per metre.

Fitting your new flooring

Be careful not to overlay the corners of any underlay as it will create an uneven surface for your wooden flooring.  If fitting wooden leveller boards, fix them at least every 150mm using ring shrank nails.  Use tape to keep your underlay together.

Once ready to fit your flooring, you should work from the furthest corner towards the door laying the floor planks end to end, it's best to run them from the strongest source of light.  Most importantly remember to leave an expansion gap!

How to create an expansion gap

Use wedges or spacers to create the expansion gap around your floor.  Without an expansion gap your floor will bow if it has no where to expand to.

When you lay your first board against the wall, use a wedge or spacer to create an 8-14mm expansion gap between the wall and your board.  Take your second board and carefully fit it to the free end of the first board.  Use a hammer and tapping block to create a firm fit between tongue-and-groove boards. 

Fit subsequent boards until there is less than one board length left until the end of the wall. 

To fill the small gap left between your last board and the wall, place your next board parallel to the first row.  This board needs to butt up against the wall with a wedge in between it and the wall.  Use a pencil to mark where the next board will need to be cut to allow it to fit into the gap.  REMEMBER to cut the correct end off the board! Use a carpenter's square and pencil to mark the board for cutting. 

Cut the board with the top facing upwards using a handsaw.  Try to cut on the down stroke to avoid damaging the top surface. 

Fit the last board, using a pull bar to hammer the joint firmly into place. 

Now onto your next row, use the off-cut from the first row to start your second row.  This staggers the joints in the boards which makes them stronger.

Continue to lay the boards, using wedges to create an 8-14mm expansion gap around the room.  Use the off-cut from the end of your row to start the next row. 

When you get to the final row, you may find that the width of the board must be trimmed to fit your room.  Use a jigsaw to trim along the length.  When measuring, remember to leave an expansion gap up against the wall. 

Reinstall skirting boards or apply beading to cover the expansion gap around the edge of the floor.  Plane the door to take account of any increase in height and then re-hang it. 

If you do not plan to fit your flooring through doorways for a seamless finish you can install a door bar to hide the expansion gap between rooms.

Installing around radiator pipes

Here is a video to give you some advice about fitting boards around a radiator pipe.  There is also a video at the end of this article showing different types of cuttings that can be made to fit your flooring around pipes.

When pipes are end-on to the board
Take a small off-cut that will fit behind the pipe and mark the position of the pipe on that board.  Join it to the end of the next board, then use a spade drill bit to drill through the join between the boards in the correct position.  Disassemble the two boards and then refit them together, around the pipe. 

When pipes are sideways to the board
Mark the position of the pipe on the board and then drill through the board to create the hole for the pipe. 

Use a hacksaw with a very fine blade to cut a V-shape from the wall side of the board to the hole.  Trim the end off.  Fit the board and glue the V-cut back into place.  In both cases you need to ensure that you have underlay beneath the board behind the pipe, as well as in front of it. 

Use a radiator rose to cover the expansion gap. 

This video from QuickStep walks you through all the points we have talked about: