Right, so I finally got around to tackling the flooring in the back room. Been putting it off forever, you know how it is. The old floor was just… sad. Worn out, creaky. Decided to go with wooden flooring this time, something solid. But the key part, the bit I was actually kinda interested in trying, was using these rubber sleeper things underneath. Someone mentioned them, said they were good for a bit of bounce and quietening things down. Think they called them ‘volleyball sleepers’ or something, basically dense rubber blocks, kinda like you see under proper gym floors. Figured why not give it a shot.

Getting Started – The messy bit

First thing, obviously, was ripping out the old carpet. Ugh, what a job. Dust everywhere. Found about three quid in loose change and a fossilized biscuit under there though, so, silver linings? Anyway, once that was out, had to get the subfloor clean. Swept it, vacuumed it, then vacuumed it again. You really gotta get it spotless, otherwise, you get annoying crunchy sounds later on. Learned that the hard way on a previous job.

Then came the rubber sleepers. Got these big, black rubber blocks delivered. Weighed a ton. Smelled a bit funky too, that typical rubber smell, you know? Had to lay them out in a grid pattern across the whole floor. Needed to leave the right gaps between them for the wood planks to sit properly and for air to circulate a bit, supposedly. Spent a good while shuffling them around, trying to get the spacing consistent. Used a tape measure, but honestly, mostly eyeballed it towards the end. Felt a bit like playing Tetris with heavy, smelly blocks.

Laying the sleepers wasn’t exactly rocket science, but it was tedious. Back-breaking work, bending down and placing each one just so. Needed to make sure they were reasonably level too, shimmed a few low spots with some hardboard scraps I had lying around. Took longer than I thought it would.

Putting the Wood Down

Okay, sleepers down. Next up, the actual wooden flooring. Went for some decent tongue-and-groove planks. Nothing fancy, but solid wood. This part felt more like proper progress. Started along the longest wall, like they tell you to. First row is always the trickiest, getting it straight and leaving that expansion gap around the edge. Used some spacers against the wall.

Then it was just a matter of locking the planks together. Click, tap, slide. Repeat.

• Lay the plank.
• Angle it into the previous row.
• Tap it down and along with a rubber mallet and a tapping block.
• Move to the next one.

It gets quite rhythmic after a while. Put some music on, got into the groove. Still, lots of getting up and down. My knees were complaining by lunchtime.

The real fun started when I got to the tricky bits. Doorways, corners, that weird pipe boxing-in thing in the corner. Had to get the jigsaw out for those. Measure twice, cut once? Yeah, mostly. Made a couple of dodgy cuts I’m not proud of, but nothing a bit of filler or the skirting board won’t hide, hopefully. The last row was a pain too, had to rip the planks down to the right width.

Finishing Up

Once all the planks were down, it felt pretty good. Stood back and admired the work. Looks like a proper floor now! Gave it a good sweep to get rid of the sawdust.

Still gotta put the skirting boards back on, that’ll hide the expansion gaps around the edges and make it look finished. Haven’t quite gotten around to that yet, need to paint them first. But the main job, the floor itself, is done.

Walking on it feels… different. It definitely has a slightly softer feel underfoot compared to just chucking wood straight onto concrete. Less echo-y in the room too, I think? Maybe it’s just me wanting the rubber things to have worked. But yeah, feels solid. Pleased with how it turned out, even if my back is still reminding me about those heavy rubber blocks. Worth it in the end, I reckon. Much better than that sad old carpet.