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D.I.Y. hybrid flooring installation

Using Smart Home Products waterproof hybrid planks, this D.I.Y. flooring installation project created a practical and attractive new lounge room floor.

The project

Here's our new lounge room hybrid plank install.

We have yellow-tongue floor on a steel frame, so we went with a plywood layer between to reduce the bounce factor (and noise). The floor is Smart Home Products Arctic Waterproof Aquaguard Hybrid Planks.

The pattern repeats, but not in the same location on the boards. We would lay a row at a time and then have to view it from all angles to ensure we didn't have an accidental match-up (some are inverted as well). We messed up one, but it will be under a radiator eventually.

As it's a new room, we didn't have to use the quad lengths to hide the gap along the edge; instead we used low-profile bullnose skirting to match the rest of the house.

Tips for installation

Google how to stagger the boards and use up the end offcuts for the start of every other row. Smart has a QR code on the front of the box that links you to this and the tricks on how to click them properly. They do pop, and you will need to run your hand over the run every now and then to check that's it's smooth.

They cut with the straight edge and a knife; we used a jigsaw for around the entrance and to cut the last board long edge side for the finish-up at the end.

We will be dropping off this transition strip at a powder coater's to be made satin black and then we will install it at the lounge room entrance.

Consider dog help an optional extra.

Tools and materials

Here are the tools and materials we used:

Knee guards
Sharp knife
Spare blades
Pencil
Straight edge
Masonite packers
Rubber hammer
Flooring
Skirting boards
Jigsaw.

Walls: Dulux Tranquil Retreat.

Trim: Water-based enamel satin white.

Windows: Rust-Oleum satin black.

How to install D.I.Y. flooring

For more ideas and advice check out our guides to D.I.Y. flooring, which include How to choose the right type of flooring, How to lay vinyl plank flooring and How to lay laminate flooring. And let us know if you need assistance with your own flooring project. We're here to help.

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Whole of House

Living Room

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All comments

mich1972

Sensational !! I love it and the colour @RAW You have inspired me mate 😃

jassi

I am installing vinyl planks in living room and need some tips regarding best transition strips as bedroom are carpeted. So to join the planks with carpet around bedroom doors I need strips. My base is concrete.

MitchellMc

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @jassi. It's brilliant to have you join us, and many thanks for your question about transitioning flooring.We have a variety of cover strips that you can employ to bridge these two surfaces. Typically, you'd use something like the Roberts 3.3m Silver Floating Floor Junior Trim and Roberts Ramp And Cover Trim Plugs.

Do you know what the height difference will be between the floor planks and carpet, if any?Please let me know if you have any questions.Mitchell

chrism1971

I have a question? I am about to embark on a project for the first time. What I want to know is this?

I plan to start in the WIR as I had water damage from a shower. If I start in the WIR I just want to know how to transition the planks through the gap into the main bedroom. The bedroom is relatively square and separated from the WIR by a wall and a gap that allows you to walk in but no door or frame? Will I need to cut the plan length ways?

MitchellMc

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @chrism1971. It's terrific to have you join us, and many thanks for your question about laying hybrid flooring.Starting in the WIR is totally fine, especially if you're working from the area that had damage. When transitioning planks from the WIR into the main bedroom through that open doorway, the main thing is to ensure your rows remain aligned and straight as you continue into the next space.

Since there's no door or frame, you don’t need an expansion trim unless the room changes shape significantly or exceeds the manufacturer's maximum run length without expansion. As long as you maintain proper expansion gaps at the edges of the room (usually 10–12mm), you can run the boards straight through the opening.

You might need to rip (cut lengthways) one of the planks at the edge of the WIR or along a wall, depending on how the layout falls—but you don’t specifically need to do this just because you're passing through the doorway. If you start with a full-width plank along the starting wall in the WIR and keep a consistent pattern, it should carry through nicely into the bedroom.

That said, it’s more typical to lay flooring starting in the main room first, especially since it’s the largest and most visible area. The reason is that if the walls in the WIR aren’t square, and you start there, any deviation in alignment can carry through into the larger room, making it more noticeable. Starting in the main room helps ensure the rows are visually straight and aligned where it matters most, and any small adjustments can be made within the WIR where they’re less obvious.Please let me know if you have any questions.Mitchell

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