How to Lay Laminate Click Flooring

Hardwood flooring has been replacing wall-to-wall carpeting as the preferred type of flooring in American homes. Unfortunately, hardwood floors are expensive and require more care than simply running a vacuum cleaner across them weekly. Luckily for homeowners, researchers have developed laminate flooring, a new product that has the good looks and allergen-free attributes of hardwood floors, but without the complicated care real wood floors require. Laminate flooring can be purchased at most flooring and building supply stores and, after a bit of research and tutoring, homeowners can install it themselves.

Difficulty: Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Measuring tape
• Pencil
• Underlay
• Saw
• 10-ft. long straight edge
• Self-leveling compound
• Surface grinder
• Wide clear tape
• Kick boards
• 0.25-inch spacers
• Quarter-round boards
• Puller tool
• Hammer
• Finishing nails

1. Place a long, straight-edge on the concrete floor to check that the floor is flat and has no dips measuring over 1/8-inch deep. Use a pencil to mark low-lying areas as you move the straight edge along the entire floor.

2. Place some self-leveling compound on the marked, low-lying areas of the floor, according to the instructions on the label. Allow the compound to dry thoroughly.

3. Use a surface grinder to polish off any high spots on the concrete floor. Wipe up any dust with a dampened cloth.

4. Use a small piece of laminate to place against the bottom of door frames and make a pencil mark on the frame right above the piece of laminate. Use a saw to cut off the bottom of the door frame at the mark so that the laminate will be able to fit up under the frame.

5. Read the instructions on the laminate box to understand how to lay the laminate. Decide where to start laying the laminate and install the type of underlay recommended by the flooring dealer for the type of floor you are placing the new laminate upon.

6. Place the underlay in the same direction you will be placing the laminate. Use wide clear tape to tape the seams of the underlay and allow an extra 2 inches of underlay beyond the perimeter of the floor. Work in small sections, installing the underlay and then covering it with a few sections of laminate.

7. Calculate the number of whole planks you will need by measuring the width of the room. Divide that number by the width of a plank. If the number is not a whole number, divide the fraction (the amount above the whole number) by two. That number is the width of your first and last row of planks, so you'll know how wide to cut those planks.

8. Place a 0.25-inch spacer between the wall and the first plank. Take the second-row plank and hold it up at a slight angle away from the first plank. Push the second plank against the first one so that the top edges of the planks touch. Gently rotate the second plank downwards until you hear it click into place.

9. Continue laying laminate planks, being sure to maintain a staggered pattern (that is, the end of one plank in row one will align horizontally with a middle point of a plank in row 2). Use the puller tool on the final row to pull the plank tightly against the previously laid planks so you have a snug fit and also have a 0.25-inch space between the last row and the wall.

10. Complete the job by placing quarter-round trim around the perimeter of the laminate floor to hide the 0.25-inch expansion allowance. Miter the ends of the trim at the room corners. Nail the trim to the wall.

Tips & Warnings

• If installing laminate on top of a wooden floor, you will not need to tape the underlay seams or allow a 2-inch border of underlay around the room. Allow yourself plenty of time to complete the task; to do the job correctly, you cannot rush.
• Remember to allow a 0.25-inch gap around the perimeter of the floor, as well as around any pipes, columns, islands, cabinets, or toilets; this must be left for any expansion of the laminate.

Resources

• Laminate Flooring Floors