Needed to Install a Floating Hardwood Floor
Broom and Dust Pan - It is important to keep everything clean as you go. It is particularly important to keep the saw dust out from under and between your panels where it can really throw things off kilter. If it gets in there, there is no way to get it out without the very difficult process of hardware floor disassembly.
Carpenter ’s Crayon - You’ll have to cut up your panels to make them fit in the corners and make them go around objects that cannot be removed from the room having the hardwood floor installed. You may also want to use your carpenter ’s crayon to mark a layout pattern of where to place your flooring panels.
Circular Saw - Your saw is what you will use as you cut along the lines you drew with your carpenters crayon.
Claw hammer - In most places, you will use a rubber mallet to help push the boards together, but in those places near the wall where you don’t have enough room to swing the mallet, you can use the claw hammer to fit them together.
Cushioning Surface - You can make your floating hardwood floor feel even softer to the feet with the use of a cushioning surface under the floor. You would be shocked by the difference between a floor with the surface and a floor without the surface if you could try the two side by side.
Cutter Knife - The cutter knife comes in handy in more places than you would expect as you work on your floor. But the main reason we recommend this tool is so that you can make minor cuts on the panel ends when you just can’t quite make them fit together.
Glue - Floating hardwood floors aren’t supposed to be glued together. However, you might find you get better results if you just put a bit of glue at the end of each panel as you connect them. Of course, this will mean you’ll need to be very careful not to get any glue on your floor surface.
Nails - You will need to nail the floating floor to the wall strips. It may help to use a drill to do pilot holes to prevent the wood from splitting, but if you’re a gambler, you can just hammer these nails in without pilot holes. Most people do that anyways.
Rubber Mallet - The rubber mallet is what you use to fit the panels together at the joints. However, you need to be very careful not to hit the panels too hard and damage the panel surfaces.
