Okay, here’s my blog post about installing that dancing parquet wooden flooring:

Alright, so the wife wanted this fancy “dancing parquet” flooring in the living room. Sounded complicated, but hey, I’m always up for a challenge. Turns out, it’s not that bad, just a bit more involved than your regular click-together stuff.

Getting Started

First things first, I cleared out the entire room. Furniture, rugs, everything. Gotta have a blank canvas, you know? Then, I made sure the subfloor was super clean. Swept it, vacuumed it, the whole nine yards. Any little bumps or debris will mess things up later.

The Underlayment Dance

This is where the “cushions” part comes in. I used a roll of foam underlayment. It’s pretty straightforward – just rolled it out across the floor, making sure the edges butted up nicely. I used some tape to keep it all in place. Nothing fancy, just enough to stop it from shifting around.

Laying the First Few Rows

Okay, here’s where it gets a little tricky. Parquet flooring comes in these pre-assembled squares. I started in one corner of the room, using some spacers along the walls to leave a small expansion gap (wood expands and contracts, gotta give it some room).

I dry-fitted. I placed the first row of squares, making sure the pattern looked right. Once I was happy, I took the first one, applied some wood glue to the tongue-and-groove edges, and put it back in place. Then, I tapped it gently with a rubber mallet to make sure it was snug against the wall spacers and the underlayment.

I repeated that process for the rest of the first row, gluing and tapping each square into place. Then, I did the second row, making sure to stagger the joints – you don’t want all the seams lining up, it looks weird and isn’t as *’s just like laying bricks.

The Rest of the Floor

Once I had a few rows down, it got easier. I kept gluing and tapping, working my way across the room. The key is to take your time and make sure everything is fitting tightly together. If you rush it, you’ll end up with gaps and a floor that looks… well, not great.

Finishing Up

After all the squares were down, I let the glue dry overnight. The next day, I removed the wall spacers and installed the baseboards. That’s pretty much it!The wife is happy to get her dancing floor, and I’m just proud of the floor.