Domakihub How to Lay Engineered Wood Flooring the Right Way
Everything you need to know before, during, and after installation — for homes, rentals, and hotels in Greece.
Reviewed by Domakihub home & decor pros · 2026-06-23 · 6 min read
Engineered wood flooring combines the warmth and look of real timber with a dimensionally stable core that handles the humidity swings common in Greek summers and coastal properties. The video above walks through the full installation process visually; this article pairs that with a clear sequence of steps, key preparation checks, and the decisions that most homeowners get wrong the first time. Whether you are renovating an Athens apartment, a holiday villa on the islands, or a hotel room that sees heavy guest traffic, the fundamentals are the same.
Why Engineered Wood Works Well in Greek Climates
Solid timber expands and contracts significantly as humidity rises and falls. In Greece, where interior relative humidity can swing between 30% in a dry winter and 70%+ during a humid coastal summer, solid wood floors frequently gap, cup, or buckle. Engineered boards are constructed with a real hardwood veneer bonded over multiple layers of plywood or HDF oriented in opposing grain directions, which resists that movement far better. This makes engineered wood a practical choice for most ground-floor and upper-floor installations in Greece — but not for rooms that are regularly wet (bathrooms, laundry areas) or for slabs with active moisture ingress, where a specialist damp-proofing assessment is required before any wood goes down.
If your subfloor is concrete (as most Greek apartment slabs are), you must carry out a moisture content test before installing. A cheap pin meter is not sufficient for concrete; use a relative humidity probe or calcium chloride test. If readings exceed the manufacturer's threshold (typically 75–80% RH), a moisture barrier membrane or a professionally applied damp-proof membrane is mandatory. This is not a step to skip: trapped moisture beneath an engineered floor will cause cupping and void the warranty within months.
Choosing Your Installation Method
Engineered boards can be installed in three ways: floating (click-lock boards that join without adhesive, resting on an underlay), full-spread glue-down (each board bonded directly to the subfloor with a flexible flooring adhesive), and nail or staple-down (for timber subfloors). For concrete slabs, the floating method is the most common DIY-friendly option and allows some movement under the boards. Glue-down gives a more solid, hotel-grade feel underfoot and eliminates hollow sound, but it is permanent and requires the right open-time adhesive and proper trowel technique — errors are costly to reverse. Nail-down is not suitable for concrete. If you are laying over underfloor heating, always check the manufacturer's maximum surface temperature rating (usually 27°C) and use a glue-down or floating system specified for radiant heat; never nail into a heated screed.
5 Steps to Laying Engineered Wood Flooring
- 1
Acclimatise the Boards
Unbox the boards and stand them on edge (not flat-stacked) in the room where they will be installed. Leave them for a minimum of 48–72 hours, or up to a week if the boards are particularly thick (15 mm+) or if the space has been unoccupied and lacks climate control. The room should be at its normal living temperature and humidity during this period — do not acclimatise in a cold, shut-up space and then install into a heated apartment. Skipping or rushing acclimatisation is the single most common cause of gapping after installation.
- 2
Prepare the Subfloor
The subfloor must be clean, flat, dry, and structurally sound. For concrete, sweep and vacuum, then check flatness with a long straightedge: most manufacturers require no more than 3 mm deviation over a 1.8 m span. High spots must be ground down; low spots must be filled with a levelling compound and allowed to cure fully before you proceed. For timber subfloors, check that all boards are firmly fixed, re-screw any squeaking boards, and sand down any protruding nail heads. Remove all skirting boards and undercut any door frames and casings so boards can slide cleanly underneath — this looks far more professional than cutting boards to fit around obstacles.
- 3
Lay the Underlay and Plan Your Layout
For floating installations, roll out your acoustic and thermal underlay perpendicular to the direction you plan to lay the boards. Butt the edges together — do not overlap. Most modern underlays have a built-in damp-proof membrane (marked clearly on the packaging); if yours does not and you are on concrete, add a separate 0.2 mm polythene sheet first. Before laying the first board, snap a chalk line parallel to the longest, straightest wall (not necessarily the one you start against) and plan the layout so you do not end up with a sliver of board at either edge. As a rule, if the cut width at the far wall would be less than 50 mm, shift your starting row by half a board width.
- 4
Lay the Boards Row by Row
Begin with the groove side facing the wall, leaving a 10–12 mm expansion gap all the way around the perimeter (use spacers). Angle the tongue of each subsequent board into the groove of the previous row at about 20–30 degrees and press down to click it flat. Stagger the end joints by at least 300 mm between rows — ideally by one-third of the board length. Use a tapping block (never a hammer directly on the board) and a pull bar for the last boards at the wall. Cut boards with a mitre saw, circular saw, or jigsaw — always cut face-down with a fine-tooth blade to prevent surface chipping. Maintain the expansion gap around all fixed objects: pipes, columns, doorframes, and islands.
- 5
Fit Skirting, Trims, and Threshold Strips
Once all boards are down, remove the spacers. Refit or fit new skirting boards to cover the expansion gap — do not glue or nail the skirting through the floor into the subfloor, as this pins the floating floor and prevents movement. At doorways between rooms or transitions to other floor surfaces, fit a matching threshold or T-bar trim that bridges the gap while allowing independent movement on each side. Tap down any minor lippage between boards with a rubber mallet before the adhesive (if glue-down) fully cures. Allow at least 24 hours before heavy furniture is moved back in, and 72 hours before placing heavy fixed items such as kitchen units or wardrobes on a glue-down floor.
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FAQ
- Can engineered wood flooring be laid over underfloor heating in a Greek apartment?
- Yes, engineered wood is one of the most compatible timber options for underfloor heating, but you must check two things: the board manufacturer's maximum surface temperature limit (usually 27°C) and the total thermal resistance (tog) of the board and underlay combined (typically must stay below 0.15 m²K/W). Use a glue-down method where possible for better heat transfer and avoid thick or dense foam underlays that insulate against the heat. Let the heating system run at low temperature for at least a week before installation to stabilise the screed, then turn it off during laying and bring it back up gradually over 7 days post-installation.
- How much expansion gap do I need to leave around the edges?
- Leave a minimum of 10–12 mm all the way around the perimeter of the room — against walls, around door frames, pipes, columns, and any fixed object. In large rooms (over 10 m in any direction) or in spaces with significant humidity swings (such as holiday villas left unoccupied in winter), increase this to 15 mm. The gap will be hidden by skirting boards or wall trims. Never reduce the gap to make the fit neater — pinning the floor against a wall is the most reliable way to cause buckling or a collapsed click joint.
- Do I need a professional installer or can I DIY a floating engineered floor?
- A floating click-lock engineered floor is within reach of a competent DIYer on a straightforward subfloor, provided you take the preparation steps seriously — especially flatness and moisture testing on concrete. Where a professional is strongly recommended: glue-down installations (wrong adhesive or trowel technique causes expensive failures), any situation with suspected damp or rising moisture, installations over complex underfloor heating systems, and rooms requiring intricate cuts around curved walls or detailed inlays. For holiday rental properties and hotels where floor failure has a direct revenue cost, professional installation with a signed subfloor preparation report is worth the additional spend.