How to Lay Wood Laminate Flooring
Wood laminate flooring is often used as an alternative to flooring made of solid hardwood. Not only is it cheaper, but it is also arguably easier to lay. Instead of nailing each piece of laminate to the subfloor, you simply hook each piece to the next and secure them to the floor when you reach each wall by putting the baseboard on top of the outside pieces of flooring. This makes the flooring easy to remove as well. Here's how to lay laminate flooring. Does this Spark an idea?
Things You'll Need
- Laminate flooring Measuring tape Sandpaper Hammer Nails Pencil Paper Scissors Leveling compound Utility or X-Acto knife
Instructions
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Instructions
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1
Bring all of your flooring inside your entryway or storage room and leave it sit for 48 hours. This will allow the flooring to adjust to the humidity in your house before you lay it down. Absorbing moisture can cause it to expand slightly.
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2
Remove any flooring you have down while you're waiting for your laminate to be ready. Fill any pits in your subfloor with leveler compound. Sand the compound after it dries if it bulges above the subfloor. Pull out your baseboards and anything else that sits against the wall. You need to be able to lay your flooring as close to the wall as possible.
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3
Start at the corner of the room furthest away from the door. Choose one of the walls that meets there and start laying out your boards lengthwise. Place the groove of each board so that it meets the wall, leaving only a 1/4 inch of space between the wall and the board. (That slight space is important in case the boards expand.)
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4
Begin your second row of boards by clipping the groove end of each new board underneath the notch end of a board you already have in place. The boards should slide into one another smoothly, but you can lightly use a hammer to secure them, if needed. Alternate your board sizes between full, two thirds and one third for a more natural look. If you don't, you'll end up with seams when you reach the far wall.
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5
Score and cut your laminate with your utility knife if you need a piece that's smaller than the one third board. Trace out and cut a sheet of paper first then use the paper as a template. Remember the mantra, "measure twice, cut once."
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6
Walk across the entire room to make sure none of the laminate slips out of place. Then nail your baseboards back in place and replace anything else you removed in Step 2. Secure the final laminate grooves by putting your baseboards flush with the floor. (Attach them to the wall, not the flooring.)
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Tips & Warnings
Tap gently with the hammer. Just like wood, laminate flooring can crack if you hit it too hard.
