How to Install a Floating Wood Floor on a Cement Foundation
- 1). Use a pry bar and hammer to take the floor molding off around the perimeter of the room, keeping it intact as you remove it. Set it aside.
- 2). Mix 1 cup TSP in 2 gallons of hot water. Use the solution to thoroughly scrub the cement foundation. Rinse well with a mop and clean water. Let it dry for 24 hours.
- 3). Roll out a strip of moisture barrier along the starting wall. Set a floating floorboard on the plastic, alongside the wall at one end. Set two wall spacers next to the board to hold it out from the wall.
- 4). Press a second floating board off the end of the first until they snap together. Repeat, setting the first course of boards end-to-end along the entire floor, snapping them together.
- 5). Use a miter saw to cut the board for the end of the course as needed.
- 6). Lay the next course of boards alongside the first, fitting them together at the long sides. Arrange the boards so the ends do not line up between courses.
- 7). Work across the floor course-by-course, rolling out more moisture barrier as needed.
- 8). Use a table saw to cut the boards for the last course along their lengths so they fit next to the far wall with a 1/2-inch space.
- 9). Reinstall the floor trim with the hammer and finishing nails. The trim should cover the 1/2-inch spaces along the walls.