Floating Flooring Installation

Floating floors encompass a variety of engineered or laminated products. These products are very dimensionally stable, and are therefore suitable for installation in areas below grade.

Engineered flooring systems such as Boen, Kahrs, Harris Tarkett, and many others, are typically made of 3 or more thin layers of plywood running in opposite directions, the top layer being a 1/32" to 1/8" thick veneer. (In most products on the market today - some newly developed engineered products now have a veneer or solid wood top layer of 1/4").

Engineered floors can be sanded and finished, between 1 to 4 times, depending on top layer thickness. Laminated Flooring systems, such as Pergo, WilsonArt, Formica, Witex, and others, are essentially a printed photographic reproduction of wood grain patterns of various species, sandwiched between compressed fiber material backing, and a top layer of very tough, very durable, clear sheet of vinyl material. This type of flooring resists scratches and stains better than other types of floors.

However, laminated floors are not refinishable, and their lifespan is relatively limited. Laminates form the lower price bracket in your flooring option. Solid wood floating floor systems are as long lasting as any other solid wood flooring, and work well over slab and radiant heating.