HOW TO INSTALL LAMINATE

Flooring Fact Being 'flat' does not mean being'level'. Although many people refer to the floor being 'level', the important thing is flatness. Being level is not nearly so important.

Laminate flooring is one of the most versatile flooring materials, it can be laid on almost any surface provided that it is dry, firm and level. For old cement floors, self leveling compound can be used to even out the rough bumpy surfaces. For wooden floors, exposed nails and screws can damage the laminate flooring, make sure these are nailed down flat or screwed in all the way.

Laminate floors are hardwearing, require low maintenance and complement any style of home. They are ideal for all ground floor living areas and hallways. However, they aren't recommended for bathrooms or kitchens as the boards may swell if they absorb water.

The most common flooring surface that laminate flooring is installed over is the concrete slab. If the concrete slab is not flat the end result will be your laminate flooring 'creaking'. It is therefore vital that you check your concrete slab for flatness.

Don't think that the flooring underlay will take up too many of the dips or bumps in the slab - it won't. This really is the most important job in the whole installation process. Please take your time at this stage, it will pay dividends in the long run.

Putting down an underlay

This is the thinnest type of underlay used under laminate flooring and is good for any firm, dry and level sub-floor such as chipboard, plywood or hardboard. Prepare the floor and if necessary lay a combined underlay & DPM. Lay the underlay over the entire floor area and trim to fit, cutting a 16 mm gap around pipes. Lay lengths side-by-side and secure them with masking tape.

POLYFOAM UNDERLAY

The advantage of combined underlay is that, whatever the sub-floor, you only have to fit one layer rather than two. It is thicker than polyfoam underlay so will absorb very slight irregularities in the floor, and it provides good sound insulation. Make sure you tape the joints to keep the product damp proof.

WOOD FIBRE BOARDS

This is the thickest of the underlays and should be used if you have floorboards or a slightly uneven sub-floor. It also gives good heat and sound insulation. Always acclimatise the boards in the room for 24 hours before laying to let them expand or contract according to the conditions. Prepare the floor and if necessary lay a DPM. Lay the boards, staggering the joints and leaving a 10mm expansion gap around the edge of the room and 5mm between boards

Laying the Laminate

Before beginning the planks, measure the width of the room to make sure the last row of flooring will be at least 2 inches wide. Divide the width of the room by the width of the exposed face of the flooring. The remaining number will be the width of the last row. If the last row is less than 2 inches, cut the first row of boards narrower to allow more room for the last.

Assemble the first row of planks with the tongue side toward the starting wall. Insert the tongue into the groove of the end joints and rotate the plank downward. Keep the planks aligned and the joints closed. Cut the last plank as necessary to fit against the opposite wall using a table saw or a miter saw. Remove the tongue on the end of the first plank, and remove the tongue along the length of all the planks against the starting wall. If the starting wall is uneven, mark the contour of the wall on the planks and cut along the pencil line.

Then cut the first plank of the second row to 32 inches in length, and loosely lay several more full-sized planks to complete the second row.

At a slight angle, insert the tongue of plank 2 into the groove of plank 1 until the laminate edges meet, and then press downward until the joint locks (see diagram below for plank layout). There should be no gaps at the joints.

Tips on Laying Laminate Flooring - Tips on Installing Laminate Flooring

Expansion and contraction of the laminate flooring is bound to happen with the change in weather conditions. Hence, it is necessary to keep a gap of half an inch in between the edges of the floor and the walls of the room. In the absence of such a gap, the laminate floor may get distorted.

While laying laminate flooring in the kitchen, care should be taken that all your kitchen cabinets has been installed. This is because in case they have not been installed, you have to cut the laminate flooring planks into small sizes in order to make them fit for the areas surrounding the kitchen cabinets. For laying laminate flooring near the doors, the flooring should be stretched under the door frames. So, the door frames need to be trimmed from below according to the thickness of the laminate plank after taking proper measurements.

Laying the laminate flooring in the area surrounding a pipe is a tricky task. Take a measure of the circumference of the pipe. Bore a hole on the laminate plank that is about half an inch larger than the diameter of the pipe. Cut the holed laminate into two pieces and place it around the pipe and paste the two pieces up with glue.

Hope the tips on laying laminate flooring proved beneficial for you. One last advice on laminate flooring installation is to check out each and every laminate plank for any kind of damage. This because, if you find the defects before installation, only then they could either be replaced or you can get your money refunded.