Today you can purchase ready-to-lay snap-together flooring of all types from laminate to wood. Aside from being available in so many different textures, materials, and designs it’s supposed to be made in a way that is easy to install on your own. There is no glue or nailing to be done, you simply follow the directions for a beautiful new floor in a weekend. But, it’s really not all that simple.
Moisture
First, you have to be sure your surface is prepared. You’ll need to ensure that there isn’t a lot of moisture, and if there isn’t any, then you’re good to go. If you do have a lot of moisture you may actually be better off contacting a professional to give you advice or help you, because you are going to have to ask a professional anyway, about what to do about the excess moisture in your floor before you get started.
A Level Surface
The other issue is that for DIY snap-together flooring, you really need a very level surface to start with. If your property doesn’t have level floors, and sometimes they don’t after settling, you may need to bring a professional in to level your floors before you lay your snap-together flooring. That’s just more time and waiting without a floor.
Follow Directions Carefully
If all of these issues are okay, then you can proceed with laying your snap-together flooring yourself according to the instructions that come with the flooring you buy. First, you’ll put down the underlayment, and then you’ll go through the process of laying the floor. The first boards you put down, the corners, and the last row you put down will be the hardest, so pay super close attention to your directions when you do these parts.
Tools You Will Need
In addition, you’ll need to have certain tools available like a hammer, miter saw, air compressor, air hose, handsaw, jigsaw, and much more. Once you realize all the tools you need you might decide to hire a professional. Even though it’s a snap-together floor, it’s not as easy as building blocks. You will need to make cuts and measurements and actually understand the geometry of your flooring.
Glue
Remember that even though most people say that you can put this flooring down without glue, some professionals prefer to use glue anyway. If you want to avoid glue due to a chemical sensitivity, be sure to ask your professional about their methods. Many people choose to hire professionals to do tedious and exacting work like this rather than risk wasting a lot of supplies.
If you read the directions on how to install snap-together flooring, and it sounds really complicated to you, and you don’t have most of the tools, it might be better for you to hire a professional. If, however, you have all the tools needed and you love a challenge and the directions look easy to you, then give it a go. After all, hiring someone to install it will cost about an additional 2 to 3 dollars per square foot.
Add up these costs and the difficulty of the project to figure out whether you should hire a professional or DIY.
