Alright, let me tell you about putting down this wooden floor with those rubber sleeper things. It was quite the weekend project, but I got it done.

Getting Started

First thing, I had to clear out the room completely. Moved all the furniture out, which was a job in itself. Then, I gave the subfloor a really good sweep and vacuum. You don’t want any dirt or grit under your new floor, makes it uneven and creaky later on. Checked if the floor was level too, luckily it was pretty good, saved me some hassle there.

Then I got my materials ready. Had stacks of the wooden flooring planks acclimatizing in the room for a couple of days, you gotta do that. And of course, those rubber sleepers. They look a bit weird, like chunky black strips, but they’re meant to give the floor a bit of bounce, good for dancing apparently, or just kinder on the joints I reckon.

Laying the Sleepers and Floor

Okay, so the next step was laying out the rubber sleepers. I followed the instructions that came with them, spacing them out across the subfloor. I used a chalk line to try and keep things straight, running them parallel to the longest wall. Didn’t glue them or anything, just laid them down carefully. The idea is the weight of the wood floor holds them in place.

Then came the actual flooring. Starting was the hardest part. You gotta get that first row perfectly straight against the wall. I used some spacers to leave a gap for expansion, you know, wood moves with temperature and stuff. Hooked the first plank’s groove onto the tongue of the next one, laid it down over the sleepers. You have to make sure the planks bridge across the sleepers properly.

I grabbed my trusty rubber mallet and a tapping block. Gently tapped the planks together to make sure the joints were tight. You don’t wanna whack it too hard, just firm taps. Then worked my way across the room, row by row. Staggering the joints is key, makes it look better and stronger. So, you cut the last piece of a row, and often the leftover piece can start the next row, saves on waste.

Measuring and cutting took up most of the time. Had to cut pieces to fit at the end of each row. Used my jigsaw for that. Measure twice, cut once – well, I tried to stick to that! There was one tricky bit around a door frame, had to carefully cut the plank to fit around it. Took a few tries to get that looking neat.

Finishing Up

The last row is always a bit fiddly too. Often you have to cut it lengthwise to fit the remaining space. Measured carefully and ripped the planks down with my circular saw outside.

Once all the planks were down, I removed the spacers from around the edges. The floor looked pretty good! The final step was putting down baseboards, or skirting boards as some call them, around the room. This covers up that expansion gap you left earlier and gives it a nice, finished look.

It took longer than I expected, my back was aching a bit by the end of it. But standing back and looking at the finished wooden floor, knowing those rubber sleepers are underneath doing their thing, felt really satisfying. It feels solid underfoot, but with a subtle give. Haven’t tried dancing on it yet, but it definitely feels comfortable to walk on. Worth the effort, I’d say.