Laminate Flooring

[dawtcalm]

Put down laminate in our living rm on the wkend. Took ALOT longer than I thought it would. Took about 40mins to rip up the carpet/underpadding, take out the rails of nails at the ends and then sweep which went as expected.

It then took about an hr to lay down the "under-padding". Then proceeded to take my wife and I about 9hrs of work-time (with a few breaks that extends that time even longer) to actually lay down the floor!! My kneeds and hamstrings are SUPER sore, but It looks great!! Here's some tips:



Buy kneepads!!!
Buy special block that is grooved like your wood (or use a piece of the floor), that you can hit with a hammer/mallet without breaking the grooves in the floor that is being layed down.
Get a TWELVE inch blade for your table saw. I only have a 10" compound mitre saw, which isn't big enough to cut the wood in one cut (I needed to flip the board over and then cut the other side). Also get a quality blade, I bought a brand new wood/plastic blade, but it didn't last the whole project.
I got the locking type of laminate, which means you have to first lock the wood in short side, and then AGAIN in the long way, which can be quite difficult, and while squeezing the current one in you might slightly pop out a previous board in the same row. To make it easier I cut the tiny groove corner off the board I was about to put in so I could more easily slide it in after getting it aligned.
Don't be afraid to bang the boards, we were a bit tentative at first and it took a lot longer and I was getting frustrated. Use the hammer lots to get everything locked in rather than trying to angle/push/prod the boards in....
Leave a good gap from the wall to allow for some expansions. When you get to the last row, jump on your floating floor to push it to the far side, which will give you another 1/2 inch to push down the board, then jump again to center the floor! (by far the easiest method and it minimizes the gaps, just remember to center the floor when cutting for
floor-ducts etc.
And as usual measure twice, cut once. And always wear safety equipment when cutting!

[Bogie]

Or ... get someone to install it for you LOL. Going to be putting down tile, front to back on our main floor, this winter. I'll watch :d

For self installers, like yourself, good points you posted! Experience rules!

[Ken_ver_1_5]

good advice from experience.
it always takes more time but its beautiful:)

[YABA]

i installed it as well in to of my bedrooms, what a dissapointment. It was the same as dawtcalm where u have to click it both sides and front. Floor has split open in some areas. If i were to buy that system again i would get that one where u have to add glue for added strengh. I'm not thread crapping as the advice given in this thread is good solid advice. Just want to say my story. I am going to be ripping it up this winter and add hardwood to match the rest of the house. If you are looking into this type of system remember u always get what u pay for. its 1 a sq/ft for a reason!! lol (as mine was, and hence might be part of my problem). anyhow, if u can save your $$$ and go with a prefinished hardwood floor, it will be more money but well worth it in the end!

[BillD]

I'm in the middle of installing laminate. I bought the install kit for $20.00, but the shims don't work because the base boards are to high, so I had to tempoarily nail it to hold it in place. The kit comes with a block for hiting the ends and a pull bar for getting the last piece in place. I have been putting the sides in and driving it into the end of the next piece. The time consuming parts were cutting the door jams and fitting the one piece there, and as it turned out, I had to under cut the fireplace to fit the boards underneath. There is no suitable trim to do the job. Unfortunately, I had half the floor down before I realized it would be necessary, so it created quite the mess. I also bought a ten inch sliding mitre saw, which cut the planks easily. For anyone who needs one, they are available at Costco for the paltry sum of $169.00. I haven't seen one comparable for anywhere near that price.The carbide blade hasn't come close to getting dull, and the job is almost done. At any rate, it looks good, and fully expect it to last, as it has a 35 year warranty.

[Neal]

Word of advice. If your laminate flooring is like mine don't ever, ever get it wet. The joints swell and will never ever return to normal. Don't even let a bead of sweat drip on it. When my dog was pup she had a 'wee' accident and I didn't notice right away. The floor swelled to the point that now I will never be able to forget it, ever.

[dawtcalm]

To add to what everyone else said: Yeah, in the kit that pullbar that you can use to pull end pieces toward the rest is definetly necessary too when working against the wall.
When purchasing you'll definetly get what you pay for, we got $3.00/ft stuff on sale for <$2, look for the boards that have a green core. The green shows that they've added water resistance. for ANY wood, not just laminate it is important that you wipe up water right away otherwise it will soak it in and expand, so it's NEVER a good idea to have wood/laminate at a outside door or in a basement.

Here's some pics:
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a134/dawtcalm/DCP_2532.jpg
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a134/dawtcalm/DCP_2530.jpg

[Lynda44]

Looks great! Hope you enjoy it. We have had ours down in the family room for just about a year with no problems at all. Hardest part was the trim around the fireplace and where it meets the kitchen.

[Neal]

Very nice job!

[Frogy]

Nice job dawtcalm and I very much agree about the kneepads. :)

[debbie]

Beautiful! :)

[tweakthis]

It looks great. Well done. :)

[Buka12]

we changed our bedroom floor too.took us around 4 weeks to do it, lots of work,but it looks beautiful now.By the way,we left small pieces of the laminated floor out side in the rain,still looks good even after a month (not that I`ll make mine wet). Looks like there is difference in quality.

[neil01]

A lot of people in the UK are getting caught out with laminate flooring - unless it is of the highest quality, and superbly fitted - it is actually reducing the value of your home. Some Estate agents (Realtors in North America I think) are saying it is up there with the Artificial Stone Cladding quite common some years ago.

One for thought, is that they are saying that uPVC windows and (especially) doors will probably be the next 'not to have' item.

[Frogy]

I have a preferance to true hardwood floors but am curious as to the reasoning of the vinyl windows, is that an offgassing issue?

[Adam]

hardwood changes colour over time

so say i put down hardwood

how long should i leave the funiture off so that i do not get a huge colour change

that is if i ever put the stuff down

[neil01]

I have a preferance to true hardwood floors but am curious as to the reasoning of the vinyl windows, is that an offgassing issue?

Several factors, the main one being that many simply look like plastic, and that so many 'replacements' have been far from sympathetic to the building - giving the rest a bad name.

There have also been cases of the plastic 'welding' shut in a fire, and people are beginning to realise the 'maintenance free' is really a eupamism for un-repairable. Also that the life expectancy is often considerably less than what people anticipate.

That is apart from the environmental issues - but I think that could probably be be a well populated post of it's own!

[Ogee]

Several factors, the main one being that many simply look like plastic, and that so many 'replacements' have been far from sympathetic to the building - giving the rest a bad name.

There have also been cases of the plastic 'welding' shut in a fire, and people are beginning to realise the 'maintenance free' is really a eupamism for un-repairable. Also that the life expectancy is often considerably less than what people anticipate.

That is apart from the environmental issues - but I think that could probably be be a well populated post of it's own!

Also a lot of them were "cheaply made" and warp over time especially if they were poorly installed...but, I think the "plastic look" maybe the biggest factor over time...