Before you go ahead and install your hard wood floating flooring, you need to make sure that your current one is well suited for this installation.
Depending on which one you have at home, you might or might not be able to do it successfully.
One of the surface types that is not suitable for floating floors installation is the solid wood, also called real wood.
Basically this wood type is expanding a lot over time which is in direct contrast with the floating type that needs to be glued on top of this original layer.
The best type of flooring that is actually suitable for this kind of installation is the engineered one.
This is basically a more modern variant of wood that is cheaper without losing on quality or visual appeal.
You can have timber or screed or even concrete as the sub-floor but it needs to be flat and quite level without any major deviations.
Should your subfloor need leveling out, what you need to do is ply over the floorboards with 3 mm hardboard.
Basically if the floor is very uneven, you will need to use a thicker plywood sheet.
Once you've achieved a nice and even level, you need to cut under the door frames, the architraves as well as the nule posts.
By this you will achieve the smooth and even finish that you need.
You need to use an undercut saw to do this.
You can find it at most local DIY stores for homeowners.
Should you not be able to get an undercut saw, you could also use a tiny flooring piece that lays on a piece of overlay so you get the proper height that you can cut with a hand saw that will be sitting on the flooring as well as the underlay.
If there are still bits that you can't cut through easily, there are some tools that will help you with it, but you need to buy them.
For example you can get a Fein Multi Master tool which has the ability to get into the tiniest spots in order to get rid of the difficult to cut wood.
Once this step is done, you now have to install the underlay on the surface.
It should go right up to the edges but not buckle up on them.
Once the underlay is set, you need to fit the new layer on the previous one.
Take your time in laying the rows one at a time to ensure that they are done properly before moving on to the next.
It will take you a while to have it all fitted properly but the rewards of having done a good job with great results will be there.
And while sanding of an engineered floor should be done by professional woodworkers, installing the floating hard wood floors can easily be managed the homeowners with just a bit of DIY skills and a few basic tools.