- To lay your own laminated flooring, you will need: a tape measure to measure the width and length of the space; a pencil to mark your cuts on the flooring; a hammer and pry bar to remove the existing baseboards; and a scrap piece of wood to tap the laminate planks together without damaging the flooring. You will also need a coping saw to cut the bottom of the door jambs, and a hand saw to cut the laminate flooring to fit in tight spaces. Spacers are needed, as well, to hold a ¼ to ½ -inch gap between the wall and flooring for expansion.
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Measure the width and length of your room and then purchase the corresponding amount of laminated flooring. Let the flooring sit near the space for at least 48 hours so that it can adjust to the room's climate. While waiting clear the room, clean the base floor and fix any hills and valleys in your floor. This may require sanding down the raised areas and filling in the floor dips with a floor leveling compound, if they are not too big. If the base floor has extensive damage, then have it replaced before installing the laminated flooring. Laminated flooring must be installed over a flat surface.
Remove the baseboards with the pry bar and set aside. Spread the vapor barrier over your floor, in the direction of your room's length. The vapor barrier is a polyethylene or plastic film that is rolled out onto the base floor, and is designed to prevent or slow down the rate that moisture can seep into the flooring material.
Use a piece of the flooring to measure how much of each door jamb you will saw away with the coping saw, and make the cut so that the flooring will neatly fit into place. -
Install the first row of laminated flooring along the wall that is parallel to the sun's rays when they enter the room. Make the cut in the last piece to fit into the space. Place the spacers about one foot apart along the wall to make a gap between the flooring and the wall. Continue laying the flooring, snapping the tongue of the next row into the groove of the previous one. Stagger the end joints and use wood glue between the planks for more durability. Saw the pieces at the end of each row for a perfect fit.
Curved and corner cuts may require some skill to cut. Transfer the lines of the cut onto the piece of flooring with a pencil. Take your time while using a coping saw, or electric jig saw. Cut the curves out and then install the pieces.
When you get to the last row that meets at the opposite wall, measure the width of the row at more than one space. This will determine how much to cut down the width of the flooring strips. Cut these pieces lengthwise, then secure in place by gluing and snapping into the groove of the previous row.
Tap the nails out from the backside of the base moulding. Take the spacers out of the gaps then reinstall the moulding around the room. This will help to conceal the gap between the flooring and the wall, and it will hold the laminated flooring in place.
