What Is a Floating Floor?

What Is a Floating Floor?
Floating floors create a solid layer of flooring that rests on top of, but does not directly connect to, the underlying flooring, subflooring, or slab foundation. This makes the flooring installation much more straightforward than other types, such as tile or wood, while creating a chic, high-quality look. Floating floors are made from a diverse array of engineered and artificial materials, can be quickly installed and removed, and are built for cost-effective durability. Learn more about how floating floors work, some common floating floor materials, and the benefits of this flooring style.
Floating Floors, Explained
What is a floating floor? Most floating floors comprise two layers: a bottom layer that adds structure, noise muffling elements, and stability, and a top layer that is visible and contains all the style elements of the flooring. Floating floors can be made from interlocking tiles that adhere to or “click into place” against each other while simply lying on the underlying surface. Because floating floors are made from easily cuttable materials, they can be configured to precisely match the layout of the room or home. They stay buttressed in place by friction and the surrounding wall frames without sliding around or seeming unstable.

The signature feature of floating floors is interlocking components. Different styles of floating flooring can snap together through tongue and groove joints or adhesive mirror edges to stick to each other and not the surface.
Types of Floating Floors
As long as the flooring materials have those key elements, manufacturers can build the flooring from a wide range of materials and diverse colors, styles, and textures. One home may have flooring that looks like cherry wood planks, while another house may have flooring that looks and feels like stone tiles. Some of the most popular types of floating floors include:

Engineered Wood
Engineered wood planks have a surface layer of finished wood to provide the stylized aesthetic of wood floors. But underneath the surface, engineered wood planks feature layers of sound-proofing material, water barriers, structural elements, and more. The underlying layers may also have recycled wood and paper materials to add heft while making the floors more eco-friendly. Most engineered wood planks for floating floors have tongue and groove joints.
Laminate
Floating laminate planks often have a wood look but are made entirely from synthetic materials. They can feature either tongue and groove joints or mirrored adhesive layers that are slightly offset from the top surface for adjacent planks to grip onto. Laminate is durable, more affordable than engineered wood, and comes in various natural wood patterns or more vibrant styles and textures.
Luxury Vinyl
Luxury vinyl planks and luxury vinyl tile materials can also give homeowners a custom floor that floorers can quickly install over the existing subfloor. Luxury vinyl comes in adhesive or tongue and groove varieties.
Benefits of Floating Floors
Floating floors are increasingly popular because of their advantages over traditional flooring options. Some of the benefits are:

●Convenience: Floating floors can be installed over concrete, subflooring, tile, wood floors, and more.
●Durability: Synthetic wood-look planks can give a home all the rich warmth of traditional wood flooring without constant maintenance or concerns about damage.
●Price: Floating floor tiles are cost-effective. Because they offer a simple flooring solution, you can also save on labor costs for professional installation.
Schedule New Flooring Installation Today!
Floating floors are the perfect fit for any home, whether you’re renovating an upstairs that was previously covered in carpet or upgrading a home with antique wood floors you want to protect for the future. At Ogden’s Flooring & Design, we offer installation services for many floating floor options. Contact us today to schedule installation for your new floating floor.