Wondering the best way to lay parquet flooring? While the specific instructions may vary from product to product, there is a general process to follow when installing your engineered, laminate or solid wood parquet flooring.

We recommend that your flooring is always fitted by a flooring professional, in order to ensure that your warranty is covered and that the parquet flooring is expertly installed without any issues.

Acclimatise

Once you have received your flooring delivery, move the packs into the room where they are to be installed and we would recommend at least 1-2 days for the boards to acclimatise to the temperature of the property. Ensure there is no plastering going on while the packs are acclimatising as the moisture in the air could penetrate the flooring.

Check

Once the subfloor type has been established you would maybe wish to check the following:

Wooden/Plywood Subfloor – How level is the subfloor, is any extra work required to even discrepancies?

Concrete – Are there any concerns of moisture? (In a new build concrete subfloor allow one month per inch of concrete laid for drying out before installing floor) Also, is the subfloor level?

Clean - Ensure that the subfloor is as cleaned before putting any flooring down on top.

Underlay

For laminate flooring installation we recommend using an underlay under the boards. To ensure the correct underlay is used, please see our underlay options. By starting at the mid-point of the room, work towards the outside by completed first full rows of left and right hand sided planks from top to bottom of first runs. The weight of the floor will increase as more boards are added to the floor thus restricting any movement.

Fitting

For parquet flooring you should have A ad B panels, which will be alternated to achieve the desired effect.

To start fitting your parquet floor, choose one wall to be your back wall where you’ll start fitting the floor. Begin by laying the first A panel on the left-hand side of the wall. Place a panel at 45 degrees to the left wall. The panel shouldn’t be touching the wall, but should be less than one panel’s length away.

Following that, fit a B panel, pressing the long side against the short side to make an L shape, ensuring that the sides line up correctly.. Continue across the floor, alternating your A and B panels do that they fit correctly against each other.

From this line, carefully expand the pattern until you reach the edges of the area where we leave a gap of around 12-15 mm. We do this to give the parquet some room to expand if needs be. The gap will then be covered by skirting or beading so will not be visible.

Maintenance

Keeping your parquet floors clean is a straightforward process. Regularly dry mop or vacuum to prevent the potential for scratches. Ensure that you dry up any spillages as quickly as possible to prevent your laminate floor from warping. 

For deep cleans, don’t use anything more than a damp microfiber mop with a little solution, avoid using too much water as it could lead to irreparable damage to your floor. By following these simple steps above, your laminate floor will continue looking great for years to come.