any tips to lay a floating floor

i installed 90% of one in sisters house the part that killed me was geting em to snap into each other its non glue and no nails but they always seemed to not want to snap in and when they did they pulled the other boards out.well i finaly got 90% of it done is there tips to make it easier?also i have only one roll a boards to go plus a half role guess i need to cut the last boards in half.but i cant even.get the second to last boards in since the wall is way of the hammer i was useing to get it to fit flush.btw im oldddddddddd im in so much pain hand hurts where i was trying to hammer em togerther and kneees

I laid a plank floor in my house and yes it is a painful job.

For that last row (or last few rows) you can use a $10 tool which is basically a flat piece of steel with two bends in it. Once you see it it'll make sense, but it basically provides you a way to "hook" the board and hammer it in nice and tight.

Tightness is key... I hope you really have those boards in TIGHT TIGHT TIGHT before doing that last row.

Raggie,

You'll need a saw to cut the last row down in width. That type of cut is called a "rip cut". The general tool of choice for a rip cut is a tablesaw, but there are ways to cut the board/plank with a hand-held circular saw, or a jig saw, or a router. If you're not comfortable and familiar using those power tools, find someone who is and let them do it. Power tools don't care what they cut, and they can cut really-really-really fast.

To put the last few rows in, you can use the 'hook' tool, or you can use a lever or wedge to get the rows in tight. Put some blocking against the wall you lever or wedge against to make sure you don't put a hole or dent in the wall.

Any good lumber yard or big home store (Home Depot, Lowe's) will have "door shims" in the door department. These are wedges made of wood. If you'll put two of these, small end to small end, between the last course and the wall and drive them together, they should tighten up the work. And like Moonrise said, put a board against the wall to protect it.

Good luck. I'll bet the floor will look great when you're finished.

thank you every one.this is the first time i realy did any work with wood never used saw before realy.sister called step mom and now step mom wants me to lay her floor .the part i did looks great she said.but im in so much pain knees hurt and palms a hand ...ohhhh lol ANOTHER fun part was the door jambs lol. i had to make werid cuts on the board and they had to go under jamb.i dont think i wanna be a carpenter.we had a table saw dad found a new one for 75 bucks.i had to build it.and at first i didnt notice blade was at a angle lol

Before you take on the next floor, get a pair of gel kneepads. They'll really help.

Go for the kneepads, even the cheap $4 foam ones make life much more enjoyable while doing floor work. The first floating floor you do is always the hardest, and the next one will go much faster too (or at least mine did).

Don't forget about the gap that floating floors require on all sides... I found it helpful to use good sized base board as well to give a little more room to work with. Does that make sense?

had knee pads just didnt wear em guess i figured they would be hard to walk in.my palsm are the most painfull.lol and i leanred never ever have a dog in room.sis dog is a pain in the but he is so follwing me around