How to Install Laminate Flooring
Even for beginners, installing laminate flooring yourself is not difficult. In fact, once you've finished putting in your floors, you'll ponder why anyone would ever hire expert installers.
Contrary to ceramic tile, installing laminate flooring requires no grout, cement, or adhesives that build up as you work. And laminate snaps together and lies in place, unlike solid hardwood flooring that requires nails to be put in. Unattached to the subfloor or underlayment, laminate flooring is a type of floating flooring. Installing laminate is similar to putting together a big puzzle and should only take one day for practically any area.
The following information will help you install laminate flooring.
Prior to starting
1: The ideal technique to install laminate flooring is to begin with a flat, smooth, and clean subfloor or existing flooring. For laminate flooring, a foam sheeting underlay is required.
Remove all baseboards and trim from the room's perimeter, as well as any heating resistors or air return duct covers located on the floor, before starting to lay your laminate flooring. Vacuum and/or sweep the floor completely.
Test-fit several laminate planks to evaluate how they will fit in the space before installing the flooring. It's simpler to utilize the flooring itself than to measure and calculate for a small to medium-sized space.
Place planks parallel to one another across the room. Just be careful not to walk on the flooring if the side joints are not fastened together. You can lock the side joints together or just butt the planks together.
After that, set a row of planks end to end. Keep the planks from becoming locked together. This could damage the edges and create a lock that is challenging to unlock.
Pull up the planks and place them in a pile after you have an idea of the general arrangement.
2: Place the Underlayment in Place
Underlayment is always advised by flooring manufacturers for laminate flooring. up addition to providing a heat barrier and improving walking comfort on the laminate, this thin, dense foam layer also helps fill up small cracks and bumps in the subfloor.1
The edges of the underlayment sheets should be butted together so that they are touching but not overlapping. As advised by the manufacturer, tape the seams together. To connect the pieces, certain underlayments have peel-and-stick adhesive edges.
Trim the underlayment with a utility knife so that it fits against the walls and other obstacles.
3: Start the first plank row.
The boards that will edge the first wall should have their tongues (not their grooves) cut off. Frequently, you may accomplish this with a sharp utility knife or by using a table saw or circular saw.
Lay the first row of planks with their trimmed edges up against the longest wall first. Beginning on the right side, move leftward. A full-size board should be placed against the wall at a distance of 1/4 to 3/8 inch (or as recommended by the manufacturer), with the groove edge facing out. To keep this space between the flooring and the wall, insert spacers made of scrap wood.
Continue doing more full-length planks as you move from the left side of the room to the other end. As you go, use a hammer to lock each component to its neighbor, tightening the joints with a tapping block or pull bar. There should be no gaps at the end joints. To assist seal the end joints, some manufacturers advise pounding the planks with a rubber mallet.
4: Complete the first row.
The last plank will likely be too long as you get to the left end of the first row. In order to maintain the tongue end of the plank for attaching to the final full plank, measure the required length and translate that measurement to a full-size plank by measuring from the right to the left side. Make careful to take the wall's expansion gap into consideration.
Using a jigsaw or circular saw, cut the wood to the proper length. Keep the end that was cut off. Beginning at the right side of the room at the back, this will make up the first plank in the second row.
The final cut piece should be inserted into the first row of flooring and the tongue-and-groove end joint should be fastened as before.
5: Plan the next Rows
Each row's last piece will always be chopped off as you move from right to left, with the leftmost cut-off piece moving down to start the next row of flooring on the right.
To avoid seams lining up in neighboring rows, the rows of laminate boards should have a staggered, sawtooth appearance. This would not only be unattractive, but it would also jeopardize the flooring's structural integrity.
Keep chopped pieces at least 16 inches long when possible. The cut lengths, however, can be as short as 1 foot given a stable, flat subfloor. It's better to go on if your first row results in a very short chopped piece on the left end.
6: Keep laying further rows.
Using a method somewhat similar to but significantly different from the one you used for the first row, install the planks for the second and subsequent rows. Each piece should be held at a 45-degree angle for these rows, and the long tongue edge should be inserted into the groove of the boards in the row before it. To lock the joint, lower the piece flat to the ground. Finally, using the hammer, tapping block, or pull bar (on all pieces other than the first in each row), tap the piece into its neighbor in the same row.
7: Place the final row.
You will need to rip your final row of planks to complete the installation of the room's flooring, unless you are extremely fortunate. Making sure to account for the 1/4-inch expansion gap between the floor and the wall, mark the last row of planks for ripping. Use a jigsaw, table saw, or circular saw to cut the last row of planks.
Apply the same tongue-and-groove fitting method to the final row of ripped planks. Because you are working close to the wall with the last row of planks, this can be a bit challenging. However, you should still have enough leeway to tilt the board up and bring it into a locking position even in confined locations, like underneath a cabinet overhang.
Some Advice on Cutting Laminate Flooring
For newcomers, cutting laminate flooring could seem scary, but it's actually quite simple. Don't stress out too much about how you cut or rip laminate planks. The planks have an easily cut fiberboard core and are extremely thin. Perfect cuts are not necessary because the cut edges will be hidden when the baseboards and molding are completed.
The nicest cuts are always made with a table saw, but other options include a circular saw, a jigsaw, or even a handsaw. Better cuts will be made with less chipping of the laminate surface using fine-tooth saw blades. A jigsaw works best for cutting curves, notches, and other special shapes. The majority of chipping happens on the top side of the workpiece because circular saws and jigsaws cut up through the material. Cut with the back of the plank up to reduce chipping on the flooring surface. Planks were cut face up on the table saw since it cuts down.
Typical Errors in Laminate Flooring Installation
Trying to put laminate flooring over an old floor covering that is soft or cushiony, like vinyl, is a common mistake when installing laminate flooring. This may be particularly true if laminate flooring is installed in bathrooms and kitchens as opposed to living rooms and bedrooms, as moisture in such spaces may have caused the old floor to warp or soften.
The old floor surface will probably need to be removed if it is damaged or uneven. Then, lay down a thin, rigid sheet of plywood to act as a flat, strong base before placing the underlay and laminate flooring. LL Flooring