Floating Floorboards

A floating floor is a floor where the boards lock into each other instead of being fixed to the surface below. Each plank has a click-lock or 5G click profile machined into all four edges. You angle a board into its neighbour, drop it flat, and the joint holds. No glue or nails go into the subfloor at all. The completed floor sits as one connected sheet resting on top, held down by its own weight and trapped at the edges by skirting or scotia. It is called floating because it is free to expand and contract with the seasons rather than being locked in place.

Most people with basic tools and some patience can lay a floating floor themselves. There is no adhesive to time and no nailer to hire. You need a tape measure, a square, a pull bar, tapping block, spacers and a way to cut the boards, usually a mitre saw or a jigsaw. A straightforward rectangular room is a comfortable day’s work.

Where people get into trouble is complicated layouts with lots of doorways, stairs, or a subfloor that turns out to be well out of level. If your room has several transitions or you are working around a kitchen island and existing cabinetry, it is worth getting a quote before you start. All 53 of our DIY friendly floors are click-lock.

Yes, and it is one of the most common reasons people choose a floating floor. Because nothing is fixed to the subfloor, you can lay straight over ceramic or porcelain tiles as long as the tiled surface is sound and reasonably flat.

Two things to check first. Tap around for drummy or lifting tiles and re-bed or replace any you find, because a loose tile underneath will telegraph movement up through the new floor. Then look at the grout lines. Anything deeper than roughly 5mm should be filled with levelling compound so the boards are properly supported. Also remember the finished floor height goes up by the board thickness, which affects door clearances and the height of your dishwasher cavity. Our full guide covers this in installing over tiles.

Yes. Concrete is one of the best subfloors for a floating floor because it is solid and does not move. It needs to be dry, clean and flat to roughly 3mm over a 2m straightedge. Grind down high spots and fill hollows with levelling compound.

The important extra step on a ground level slab is a moisture barrier. Concrete in contact with the ground continuously passes moisture vapour upwards, and over years that will damage a timber based board and can affect a hybrid too. Our hybrid ranges have underlay attached but not a vapour barrier, so lay plastic sheeting first on any slab that sits on ground.

It depends on the product and installation method. Our 6.5mm and 9.5mm SPC hybrid ranges already have underlay attached. Do not assume an extra acoustic layer is compatible with the boards.

For laminate, bamboo or engineered timber, check the selected product’s installation guide for its approved underlay and moisture-control requirements. Have the complete floor build-up checked against your subfloor and any building acoustic requirements before ordering.

They can sound slightly hollower than a glued down floor because of the thin cushioning layer underneath, but it is measurable rather than a matter of opinion. Our 9.5mm hybrid ranges test at AAAC 5 Star with an L’nT,w of 41 and FIIC of 69, which is a strong result. The 6.5mm hybrid tests at AAAC 4 Star, and the laminate at 4 Star with a 2mm foam underlay.

A thicker board with a thicker attached underlay is quieter. If noise transfer to a room below is the concern, go to the 9.5mm hybrid rather than the 6.5mm, and check what your body corporate requires before ordering.

Water resistance depends on the product, not the floating installation method. A water-resistant SPC core does not make every wet-area installation suitable. The linked hybrid warranty excludes installations subject to potential water immersion, including bathrooms and areas with floor drains.

Wipe spills promptly and check each product’s installation, care and warranty conditions before choosing it for a kitchen, laundry or other room. Timber-based products also need protection from excess moisture; do not assume the whole collection is suitable for wet areas.

Compare the current product prices for each range, then check the selected floor’s price and box coverage. Calculate full-box quantities from your measured area and the cutting allowance agreed with your installer, then multiply by the current price per box.

Budget separately for trims and scotia, any specified underlay or adhesive, subfloor preparation, installation, removal of the old floor and delivery. The instant quote tool can help work out quantities for your rooms.

Roughly 10mm around every wall and every fixed object, including door frames, cabinet kickboards, pipes and posts. Use spacers to hold it while you lay, then pull them out and cover the gap with scotia or skirting.

This gap is not optional and it is the single most common cause of a failed floating floor. Without it, the floor expands in summer, has nowhere to go, and buckles upward somewhere in the middle of the room. On very large continuous runs you may also need an expansion joint partway across, so check the installation guide for the specific range.

Slightly, yes. The whole floor should be able to expand and contract as a single sheet with seasonal temperature and humidity changes. That movement happens at the perimeter, into the expansion gap, and you should never see it.

What you should not get is individual boards moving underfoot, joints opening up, or a section lifting. Those point to a specific problem: a subfloor that is not flat, a missing or blocked expansion gap, something fixed through the floor, or a soft layer such as old carpet underlay left underneath.

Only if it has a real timber wear layer thick enough to take it. Our 14.3mm engineered Australian hardwood has a 3mm wear layer, so it can be sanded and recoated later in its life. That is a genuine advantage if you plan to stay in the house long term.

Hybrid and laminate cannot be sanded. Their wearing surface is a printed decor layer under a 0.5mm protective coating, and sanding goes straight through it. The upside is that individual damaged boards can be replaced instead, which is far cheaper than refinishing a whole floor.

Measure the floor area of each room, add them together, then add about 10% for cutting waste and offcuts. Round that up to whole boxes, since flooring is sold by the box rather than the square metre. Our boxes cover between 1.43m² and 2.24m² depending on the range.

Add more than 10% if you are laying herringbone, if the room is an awkward shape, or if there are lots of doorways and angles. It is also worth keeping a spare box after the job. Batch colours shift slightly over time, so a board kept from your own order is the best possible match if you ever need to replace one.

Do not assume a floating floor is compatible with heating. The installation guide linked from our 6.5mm and 9.5mm SPC hybrid plank products states that they are not compatible with any floor heating system and that heating may void the product warranty.

For herringbone or another flooring material, check the current documents for the exact product and heating system before ordering. A stable core or low operating temperature does not establish approval.

No to both. Carpet and its underlay are far too soft. The floor will flex every time you walk on it, and that repeated movement works the click joints apart until they fail. Pull the carpet and underlay up, remove the smooth edge, and check the subfloor underneath.

Two floating floors stacked on top of each other have the same problem. Each layer wants to move independently, so the top floor never sits stable. Lift the old floating floor first. Because it is not glued down, that is usually a quick job.

It depends on the range and on traffic. A quality SPC hybrid in a normal household is a long term floor, and the stone composite core does not degrade the way a timber based board can in a damp room. Laminate in a bedroom will outlast the same laminate in a busy entry.

What actually determines lifespan is the wear layer and how well grit is kept off the surface. Sweeping regularly, using doormats and fitting felt pads under furniture will do more for the life of the floor than anything else. Warranty terms for each range are stated on the individual product pages.