Okay, so I decided to put down some new flooring. Went with this type that uses rubber sleepers and wooden planks you assemble. Seemed like a solid idea for the room I was working on.

Getting Started

First things first, I had to get the room ready. That meant moving all the furniture out. Took longer than I thought, always does. Then I gave the old floor a good sweep and vacuum. You don’t want debris under your new floor, makes it uneven or creaky later.

I unpacked all the materials. Got the stacks of wooden flooring planks and those rubber sleeper strips. Checked I had all the tools I thought I’d need: saw, measuring tape, pencil, maybe a rubber mallet, safety glasses of course.

Laying Down the Base

Next up were the rubber sleepers. These are basically long strips of rubber that the wooden floor sits on. I started laying them out across the floor. Had to figure out the spacing. The instructions gave a guide, so I measured and tried to keep them parallel and evenly spaced. Took a bit of adjusting to get them looking right across the whole room. Didn’t fix them down hard at this stage, just positioned them.

Assembling the Wood

This was the main event. I grabbed the first wooden plank and laid it down on top of the sleepers, starting along one wall. The planks are designed to fit together, usually along the edges. The first row is always the most important to get straight. I pushed the next plank into place, making sure the ends lined up and the side grooves connected tightly.

• Worked my way across the room, row by row.
• Plank connects to plank, sitting on those rubber sleepers.
• When I got to the end of a row, I had to measure and cut a plank to fit. Measuring twice and cutting once is the rule, but sometimes… well, sometimes you measure twice and still cut wrong. Had a couple of those moments.
• Used the off-cut from one row to start the next one, usually, to stagger the joints. Looks better that way and makes the floor stronger.

It’s a repetitive process. Lay a plank, tap it into place gently if needed, move to the next one. Cutting pieces for around corners or doorways needed extra care. Took my time with those bits.

Finishing Up

Slowly but surely, the whole floor got covered. The last row was a bit fiddly, often needed to cut the planks lengthwise to fit against the final wall. Once all the planks were down, I walked all over it. Felt pretty solid, the rubber sleepers give it a slightly cushioned feel which is nice.

Then it was just a matter of cleaning up all the sawdust and leftover bits. Moved the furniture back in carefully. Seeing the finished result was pretty satisfying. Took some effort, definitely a bit of sweat involved, especially with the cutting, but doing it myself saved some cash and I know exactly how it was put together.

Overall, the rubber sleeper and assembled wood system worked out well. It went together logically, even with a few hiccups along the way. The floor feels good underfoot. Job done.