Getting Ready
Step1
Decide on the exact product you will use - Norske Skog, Pergo and Wilsonart are just a few examples.
Step2
Take measurements to obtain total area of floor space to be covered. Take these with you to your local dealer.
Step3
Purchase all the material and glue you will need for the project. (Some manufactures provide spacers for the perimeter and wedging; with others you have to supply your own. Some also offer a foam insulation/vapor barrier/sound deadening pad to be put down under the flooring.)
Step4
Allow the laminate flooring to acclimatize for at least 48 hours inside the structure before beginning work.
Step5
Clear the room of furniture and all baseboard and doorway trim.
Step6
Most old flooring can remain in place (concrete, linoleum, tile does not need to be removed so long as the surface is flat and structurally sound). Carpeting must be taken up.
Step7
Make 15 to 20 spacer blocks, if the manufacturer doesn't provide them. These need to be 1/4-inch-thick blocks to hold the flooring away from the wall while laying the floor.(This space allows for expansion and contraction of the free-floating surface.) You will also need some wedges to make distance adjustments for uneven walls.
Starting The Floor
Step1
Apply the first row of boards (without the glue) to check the alignment and to adjust the width of the boards
Step2
Start in a corner away from the door. Apply the first row of boards with the groove sides toward the wall (both groove sides on the first board) without applying glue. Place distancing blocks of 1/4-inch width between the boards and the wall on both the short and long side. If the wall is very uneven, saw the boards to fit the wall. (You can use an electric or manual saw.)
Step3
Lay the final board in each row down in front of the row turned the other way around (for marking) - decorative side up if you use a handsaw and decorative side down if you use an electric saw. Place a square on the board and mark where it needs to be cut. Take into consideration the distancing block at the end of the board.
Step4
Slide the last board into place. Use a guide (a long level or a straight 2-by-4) to check that the first row is straight. Adjust any unevenness by means of wedges.
Step5
Pick up the boards in the first row, except the first board in the corner. Apply a string of glue in the short side of the board. Press the boards together so that the end joints are sealed tight. Wipe off excess glue with a damp cloth before it hardens. It is very important for the overall result that the first rows are straight, check them with your guide. Make sure that the end joints are tight.
Working Across the Floor
Step1
Starting each row with the piece cut off from the previous row is a good way to cut down on waste. If the piece of board is shorter than 12 inches, you need to start with a new board that has been cut to the appropriate lap length (12-inch minimum).
Step2
Apply glue to the groove on the long and short sides of the board.
Step3
Press the boards in place so that the joints are tightly sealed. If necessary use a block or scrap lumber to knock the boards carefully into place with a hammer.
Step4
Glue and apply one board at a time.
Step5
Remove any excess glue with a damp cloth before it hardens. Check regularly that the boards are straight.
Step6
Continue with this technique across the floor until you are within one board width or less to the closing wall.
Step7
Complete the last row by placing 1/4-inch spacers against the wall.
Step8
Cut a piece of flooring to the proper lap length.
Step9
Flip it back side up, lay it in place - overlapping the last row of flooring laid.
Step10
Mark the new piece where the two intersect. Cut along this line. Turn it over and test fit. It the fit is right, continue this process with each piece.
Step11
Apply the glue, lay the last row of boards down and press together with a crowbar or chisel. Protect the wall with a block or a similar tool. When the glue has hardened, remove the distancing blocks before refitting baseboard, door trim and thresholds.
Install Wood Laminate Products
Comments
Secretsides said
on 5/15/2008 This is a very helpful article as I just bought laminate wood flooring for the bathroom, scary because of the stool and sink.
Anonymous said
on 11/22/2005 I should preface this entire posted tip by sharing a few things about myself: I'm impatient, hardheaded and self-sufficient. I am a cosmetologist that cuts her own hair and a mother who creates her own recipes. Hopefully what I share will be practical and helpful for anyone who ventures into this project for the time with a little trepidation like I did. This is the information and details I was looking/hoping for before I started my project but only learned by experience.
First, get the right tools. And this means ASKING the right questions for the right tools for recommendations and help: table saw, z bar, spacers, wood filler/glue, and brads. I went to a big home improvement store and asked one of the workers what I?d need. The answer was: ?A man ? he he, a saw ? you don?t want to do all that cutting by hand, some 3/4 round molding, the blue foam and a Z bar.? After listening to him share how he did a few rooms and how easy it was I decided it was worth a try. The laminate I bought was the glueless type that clicks together. This aspect was as easy as they say. He showed me what the Z bar was and I purchased one that was black metal with a Velcro looking strip on one side of one of the ends. (I later learned it?s value was to prevent scratching up your planks if you use the tool.) The he left and I was on my own to load the boxes and get anything else I needed.
I headed to the tool section to find a saw. No help was offered or available so I picked what looked like would be a good set to cover all the possible needs. It was a combination hand saw set that included a round blade saw, and a jigsaw blade. I decided this was enough to wet my taste buds and I?d go back for the molding later. Well, when I got home I realized I didn?t have anything to put the wood on or secure for cutting. That was a major bummer and I started wishing I?d gotten some form of table saw that had a table platform. But undeterred, I proceeded with what I had ? after all they were just small planks and the cuts were straight so it couldn?t be that difficult. I did the only thing I could which incidentally is listed as the #1 safety rule no-no ? I held the wood plank with one hand and the saw in the other to make the cuts. My lines were less than straight but I knew I?d have the molding going over it anyway. The second time around I got a saw that looked like it solved all my woes ? it was a band saw that had a small table surface and looked less intimidating than a table saw. Well, this is all well and good for small pieces and I loved being able to hold just the wood and guide it through the blade, but there is only a clearance of about 6-7? on one side which meant I couldn?t use it for cutting a plank unless I only needed to take off 6? or less on one end. So I used my jigsaw again to make cuts for these instances and then took it to my band saw to straighten any lines. I did LOVE having the band saw for putting the 45 degree angle cuts into the molding though. So lesson learned here is that a table saw is the best saw for the job. I?m a little less (emphasis on little) scared of power saws now than I was before so owning a table saw is now an option for me. ;o)
The other tool I purchased that I highly recommend was Elmer?s wood glue/filler. This was wonderful. It was easy to apply and made many of my mistakes and fittings around door jams look undetectable. Oh and don?t believe you can do the job without spacers. I tried that on the first floor and by the end wished I?d had some. The second time around I bought one of the complete kits with tap bar, z bar and spacers. I never used the tap bar and the z bar was a piece of crap compared to the one I bought before (these are definitely worth it for realigning your floor if it moved to much to one wall), but the spacers were so much more helpful than a small piece of wood.
The tip of planning on some wood for waste on mistakes is also a must. I had a few cuts that followed with a strain of unpleasantries when I realized I?d cut the wrong side or size. I also started my project by printing out some instructions from a website and that was by far the most helpful information I ever got.
Molding tips include making sure your floor is in the right place with equal spacing on all sides BEFORE you start laying any of it down. It?s a real mess if you have to move the floor after you?ve started because you have to remove the molding, which pretty much means breaking it into tiny splinters and starting over with new. For the rooms I really care about (I started in the storage room and proceeded to my laundry room) I?d pull up the baseboards and put down new for the molding because it just looks nicer. For these two rooms I left the baseboard and used the 3/4 round molding. After some trial and errors with the first room I drew the floor on a piece of paper for the second so I had a visual of the corner with my measurements. This kept me from messing up which direction I put the 45 degree angle cut. Make sure you hold the molding just as it will be on your floor when you make those cuts too because you have it on a different side it won?t fit right.
When it?s all said and done I?d definitely do this project again It was fast and relatively easy, beyond the specifics of good measuring and proper cuts.
Anonymous said
on 11/22/2005 Some manufacturers now offer glueless laminate flooring - everything snaps together. Makes the job a whole lot easier, especially the clean-up!