Okay, folks, gather ’round. Had a bit of a project this past week, decided to finally get some proper flooring down in the back room. You know, swap out that old tired carpet. Went with some engineered wood planks. Let me walk you through how it all went down.

Getting Started – The Prep Work

First things first, I had to get the room ready. That meant hauling all the junk out, piece by piece. More stuff in there than I remembered! Once it was empty, I ripped out the old carpet and the padding underneath. Found a few stray staples that needed pulling too.

Then came the cleaning. Swept it, vacuumed it, then swept it again. You really want that subfloor clean before you start laying anything new down. Checked if it was level too, mostly good, just a couple of small spots I smoothed over a bit.

Rolling Out the Underlayment

Next up was the underlayment. I chose one of those thin, black rubbery ones. Supposed to help with sound and make it feel a bit softer underfoot. Maybe that’s where the ‘rubber’ part comes in, eh? Just rolled it out, wall to wall. Had to cut it to size around the edges with a sharp utility knife. Taped the seams together with some special tape so it formed one big sheet. Pretty straightforward, really.

Laying the Planks – Clickety Clack

Now for the main event – the engineered wood. These boards have a tongue on one side and a groove on the other. The idea is they just click together. I decided which way I wanted the planks to run – usually along the longest wall looks best.

I started on one side of the room. Important bit: you need to leave a small gap around the edges, maybe about a quarter-inch or so. Wood expands and contracts, you see. So, I used some little plastic spacers against the wall to keep that gap consistent. Laid the first row, clicking the short ends together. Had to cut the last plank in the row to fit, used my mitre saw for a clean cut.

Saved the offcut from that first row to start the second row. This helps stagger the joints, so you don’t get all the ends lining up – looks much better that way. Then it was just rinse and repeat:

• Lay a plank.
• Angle it slightly to get the long edge tongue into the groove of the previous row.
• Wiggle it down flat until it clicks.
• Give it a gentle tap with a rubber mallet and a tapping block if needed, just to make sure it’s snug.
• Continue along the row, clicking the short ends together.
• Cut the last piece.
• Start the next row with the offcut (if it’s long enough).

It actually goes pretty quick once you get into a rhythm. Click, tap, click, tap. Had some music playing. Almost felt like dancing around the room putting it all together, maybe that’s the ‘dancing engineer board’ feeling, ha!

Dealing with Doors and Tricky Bits

Got to the doorway, which needed a bit more thought. Had to carefully measure and cut the planks to fit around the door frame. Used a jigsaw for the curved cuts. Took my time here, measure twice, cut once, right? Turned out okay.

The Final Stretch and Finishing Touches

The last row is often the trickiest. Usually, you have to cut the planks lengthwise to fit the remaining space, minus that expansion gap, of course. Measured carefully, ripped the planks down on the table saw, and eased them into place. Used a pull bar tool to click that last row in tight.

Once all the flooring was down, I went around and pulled out all those little plastic spacers. The expansion gap looked a bit raw, but that’s what trim is for! Reinstalled the baseboards around the room, covering up the gap perfectly. Looks much cleaner now.

And that’s pretty much it. Stood back and admired the work. Feels solid underfoot, looks a million times better than the old carpet. Took a bit of sweat, especially getting up and down, but totally worth doing it myself. Now, what project is next…