Floating Wood Flooring
Floating wood flooring is real wood flooring that is installed similar to laminate flooring. It isn't attached to the floor in any way and is installed over a cushion. In some cases you may also need a moisture barrier if installing it over a concrete floor. Floating wood flooring is an engineered product. Which is made up of several layers glued together with the finished layer on top. The finished layer can vary in thickness. This particular product is not as easy to install compared to laminate flooring. Planks vary in size, they can measure up to 8 inches wide by 8 feet long.
The manor in which the planks are attached to each other can vary. Some manufacturers require a bead of glue along the edges with just a simple tongue and groove. Others have a locking system like laminate flooring. The Thickness of the planks are typically 1/2 to 5/8 inch thick.
This type of flooring is more expensive than laminate, but allows you to have real wood flooring with easier installation.
No glue or staples to worry about. In this photo the product is made by Witex, bamboo. This is considered a high quality product. There is a lot of variation in color between the planks which makes the floor very interesting to look at.
Karhs, Kalmar Ash Floating Wood Flooring
Another high quality
Another high quality floating wood floor is Kahrs, Kalmar. This Particular floor is the color Ash. This product measures about 8 inches wide by almost 8 feet in length. The thickness is 5/8 inch and the veneer thickness of 3.6mm. This flooring has a serious locking system called Woodloc. Installing floating wood flooring such as Karhs Kalmar can be a real job. There are other brands that can be easier to work with.
As of the first quarter of 2011 I see the price of this flooring at 4.29 a square foot online. It carries a 25 year finish warranty.
Here I installed this flooring on a landing and a step up to the hallway all the way down into the bedroom at the end of the hallway.
It was challenging to install the stair nose that is made for this product. The stair nose has the locking system built in to lock into the planks. The problem was I couldn't start every plank at the stair nose as a full plank. I had to modify the stair nose so the planks could start at the stair nose in varying lengths.
