How to Install Laminate Floor on a Balcony

Add laminate flooring to your balcony.

Flooring on balconies is typically utilitarian, without much thought to design. If your balcony has a solid concrete or plywood sub-floor, you can lay moisture-resistant laminate directly over it. Glued-down tiles and carpets will require removal prior to installation of the laminate. Measure the balcony floor and be sure to order enough flooring to cover the entire area. The installation can be completed with very few and simple tools. You will want to use plywood laminate as opposed to composite pressed laminate to ensure that it will survive the moisture.

Things You'll Need

• Tape measure
• Miter saw
• Moisture-proof laminate flooring
• Flooring adhesive
• Silicone caulk
• Polyurethane

Instructions

1. Remove any existing carpeting, tile or glued-down laminate flooring. Clean the floor thoroughly to remove any debris. Run your first row of laminate along the longest outer edge of the balcony with tongue of the tongue-and-groove facing the edge. Spread a thin layer of flooring adhesive with a notched-edge trowel on the backs of the boards to get an even coat, and set your board in place flush with the edge of the balcony. Add full pieces as far as they will go. Measure and cut a piece to fit the remainder at the end of your row.

2. Fit boards around railing posts by drilling through the board with a bit or hole saw the size of the post in the correct position on the board. Cut through the board in the center of the hole with a hole saw and fit the two pieces around the post and glue the ends. Use masking tape to hold them until the flooring adhesive and glue dry.

3. Use the cut-off piece from the first row to start the second, so that the end joints of the boards will be staggered. Spread adhesive on the backs of the boards as before. Tap the tongue of the second row into the open groove of the first row. Continue to the end of the row and cut a piece to fit.

4. Add rows until you reach the last row before the rear wall of the balcony. Measure the space between the wall and the last row. Cut a row of boards to fit this width minus ½ inch to allow the boards to swell and contract with changes in humidity. Install the last row of boards and caulk the gap with 100 percent silicone caulk.

5. Apply at least two coats of exterior-grade polyurethane, rated for floors, to the top surface over the floor's own finish and the exposed ends and edges of the flooring to seal it against weather. Recoat as needed to prevent moisture from seeping in.

Tips & Warnings

• Sweep water from the balcony floor after rains to prevent it from soaking in.

• Check to see if the laminate you are considering can be used in moist areas, such as a bathroom or kitchen, or in this case, a porch. Laminate not designed for contact with moisture will warp and buckle when it gets wet, which would quickly ruin your newly installed floor.

References

• Build Direct: How to Install Laminate Flooring
• "Laminate Flooring 1, 2, 3;" Benjamin W Allen, Jeff Day; 1999