Okay, let me tell you about putting down this rubber dancing engineer board flooring. It was quite the project, but satisfying once done.

Getting Started: Prep Work

First things first, I had to get the room ready. Cleared everything out, obviously. Then, the big job was the subfloor. Mine was concrete, so I spent a good while cleaning it. Swept it, vacuumed it, then mopped it down properly. You really don’t want any grit or bumps underneath.

I checked if it was level using a long straight edge. Had a few low spots, nothing major, so I used a bit of leveling compound. Let that dry completely – took about a day. You gotta be patient with that stuff. While that was drying, I brought in all the boxes of the engineered wood boards. They need to sit in the room where they’ll be installed for at least 48 hours, maybe 72. Gets them used to the temperature and humidity. Skipping this is asking for trouble later, like buckling or gaps.

Laying Down the Boards

Alright, floor prepped, boards acclimatized. Time to actually lay them down. These boards had this rubber backing already attached, which was nice. Saved me the step of rolling out separate underlayment. Made things a bit simpler.

I decided to start along the longest, straightest wall. Very important: I put spacers between the first row of boards and the wall. Usually about 10mm, check the instructions that come with your specific flooring. Wood expands and contracts, you need that gap.

Laying the first row was slow going. Had to make sure it was perfectly straight. Clicked the short ends together. When I got to the end of the wall, I measured the last piece needed, marked it, and cut it with my jigsaw. Remember to cut it so the cut end goes against the wall, hidden by trim later.

The piece I cut off, if it was long enough (like over 30cm), I used it to start the second row. This automatically staggers the joints, which looks better and makes the floor stronger. You want the joints in one row to be at least 30-40cm away from the joints in the rows next to it.

From the second row on, it got faster. You angle the long edge of the new board into the groove of the row already down, push it forward, and then lower it. It should click into place. Sometimes I needed a little persuasion. Used a tapping block and a rubber mallet gently along the edge to make sure it was snug, no gaps.

• Angle the board in.
• Lower it down to click.
• Tap gently if needed.
• Make sure seams are tight.

Worked my way across the room, row by row. Cutting pieces to fit around door frames was a bit tricky. Used a contour gauge to get the shape right, then carefully cut with the jigsaw. Measure twice, cut once is definitely the rule here.

Finishing Up

The last row is often a pain. Usually, you have to cut the boards lengthwise to fit the remaining space, remembering to leave that expansion gap against the final wall too. Measuring this width carefully is key. A pull bar tool is super helpful here to pull that last row tight and click it into place, since you can’t easily use the tapping block.

Once all the boards were down, I went around and pulled out all the spacers from the edges. The floor looked pretty good already!

The final step was installing the baseboards or quarter round trim. This covers up that expansion gap around the perimeter, giving it a clean, finished look. Nailed those into the wall, not the floor itself.

And that was it. Gave the floor a good clean. It felt really solid underfoot, and that rubber backing gives it a slightly softer feel, which I guess is why they call it ‘dancing’ board. Pretty happy with how it turned out. Took a weekend, mostly, but doing it myself saved some cash. Just needed patience and careful measuring.