Subfloor and underlay for engineered wood floor

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Hi all

I have searched high and low for definitive advice on this but haven't managed to find anything, so thought I'd ask here...

I live in a victorian terrace. I need to put down a new floor in my dining room. Currently, we are living on the original floorboards which are a bit tired. The floor seems quite sound and level although one board has popped up. I will try to post a picture. The two adjoining rooms have modern flooring in them (tiles in the kitchen, karndean in the living room) and so there is a big difference in the level - about 33mm to the kitchen, and perhaps 25mm to the lounge.

I have already bought the new flooring to put down - it's 20mm engineered oak flooring (http://www.willowsonflooring.co.uk/wood-flooring/oak-hove.html). I have also bought the underlay - it's a foil sheet with DPM: http://www.willowsonflooring.co.uk/3mm-pf-foam-with-dpm-metallised-foil-19db.html). I can afford to change the underlay if it is wrong; I cannot afford to change the flooring (and anyway, I like it - I just wish I'd given a bit more thought to the depth I'd need).

What I want to end up with is an attractive floor where the boards run in the same direction as the existing boards; where the difference in level between it and the adjoining floors is minimal (ideally, completely flush with the kitchen floor as there will be no doorway, so I want to meet those two floors without a threshold strip). I also do not want to create any damp issues.

I could use some help on developing a plan for this. My plan, and questions, are:

1) Nail down any loose boards. Do I need to test how level and solid this floor is, and if so, how?

2) Take off skirting boards.

3) Overboard the room with thin ply, maybe 9mm as I think this will give me a flush finish with the kitchen floor. Is this OK, or is using ply that thin pointless?

4) put down the underlay. Is the one I have OK or will this cause a damp problem? Thinking about it, having a DPM above the existing boards seems a little daft. If it is the wrong product, which should I use instead?

5) Float the engineered floorboards on top. I will need to cut some of these boards along their length - what is the best tool to use for this? And are there any additional tools that will help me get a good finish?

Thanks - comments and advice welcome!
 
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The link to the underlayment ends up on an "Oops, page no longer available" error.

It is the wrong type of underlayment anyway. NEVER use a DPM over existing floorboards or over sheet materials (such as plywood, chipboard etc). It prevents the normal ventilation underneath and can cause condensation plus if you're really unlucky rotting of the joists.

The rest of your plan sounds sound, 9mm is not too thin to use here. A decent jigsaw will do everything you need to cut
 
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