Installing a Laminate Floor
Here are some before and after pictures of a Laminate Floor that we installed in our house back in February.
As you are probably aware, removing your older carpet and replacing it with a new Laminate floor can make quite the difference. I have helped to install many Laminate and hardwood floors, and having recently purchased a house, I’m planning on writing a series of articles on Home Improvement.
Keep Reading Below for my Laminate Floor Installation How to.
The Apeman.org Laminate Floor Installation How to.
Tools Required:
- Laminate Floor Install Kit. (IKEA has a cheap one that works well. Half the price of Home Depot kit).
- A Jigsaw/Sabre Saw is the minimum, a table saw will work well too. You will likely need to rip a few boards to the proper width when you get to the last wall. And you will of course have to cut boards to length when you get to the end of a row. I used a Mitre saw and Jigsaw the most.
- A Rafter Square, big enough to go across your planks. You want to make sure that all of your end cuts are square.
- A Hammer for the beater block in the Ikea kit. This is used to join the short ends of the planks after the long edge has been clipped in.
- A Pencil.
- A Tape Measure.
1. First off, measure your room length wise and width wise to get the square footage, now add 5-10 % depending on your comfort level for scrap and screw ups.
2. Now you need to decide what type of Laminate floor you want to buy. The first choice that you will have to make is whether you want to use a glue together or click together. Most home owners opt for the click flooring because of the ease of install. Commercial installations still favour the glue together installs simply for durability.
3. Now you have to pick the pattern of the floor, and there has also been a fairly new addition to the Laminate flooring world, narrow plank flooring that comes in multiple lengths to give you that hard wood floor look. This is what we opted to install in the example above, it came in three different lengths per box (7 pieces each length). It has a top width of 12.3 CM (not including tongue and groove).
Note: Cheaper floors are going to have a more noticeable pattern. ie: Ikea etc. While the flooring is usually a good quality, it might give you that “over done” look that you see in many laminate flooring installs these days.
4. Underlayment. You will need foam underlay for installation on a sub floor (ie: plywood or osb underneath carpet). If you are installing the floor over concrete, you will need a vapour barrier below the underlay to keep moisture away from the laminate floor. You can get an underlayment+vapour barrier combo for quicker installation.
5. Once you have your flooring its time to move onto the prep work. But first, let your new flooring acclimate in the room that it is to be installed. This will help it to reach the temperature and humidity of the room where it is to be installed. Leave the flooring in its box and shrink wrapped for the manufactures recommended time. Use this time to remove any trim, do it carefully with a flat bar (if you intend on saving it), or goto town if you plan on replacing it.
Note: Since laminate flooring is a floating floor, it requires a gap between it and the walls around the room, this varies by manufacturer, but expect anywhere from 1/8″ to 1/2″ gaps. This might require thicker baseboards to cover the gap.
6. You want to install the laminate floor parallel to the longest wall in the room, or if it is a square room, perpendicular to where daylight enters the room. This helps to hide the seems and make the floor appear to be look realistic.
7. Depending on brand assemble the first three or four rows away from the starting wall. Once you have the first three or four together, put some spacers against the wall and push the flooring against the wall.
Tip: When you get to the end of the row, you may or may not have to make a cut. Save the cut off piece to start the next row with. This will help to minimize waste, and it will help to offset the the pattern. You do not want to have all of your seams lining up across the floor.
8. Have fun laying down the rest of the floor, it should be flowing like clock work at this point.
9. The end wall, is where you may or may not have to rip down the width of the Laminate planks so that they will fit. The best method in my opinion would be to use a table saw to rip the planks down. This will ensure that you get a nice straight cut. I was able to do this using a Jigsaw with a steady hand.
Tip: When cutting, go slow, this will minimize the chipping. I would take a piece and practice, you are going to have waste anyways, and nothing beats testing it out for your self.
When using a Circular Saw, run the saw along the bottom side (Good side down) of the laminate. With a Table Saw or Chop Saw run the Laminate through face up (Good side up). Jigsaw/Sabre saw cut with the Laminate face up (Good Side up). Cut edges can be quite sharp, so watch out!
That should be about it. Enjoy your new Laminate floor. If you have any specific questions, please post a comment below and I will do my best to answer you.
Stay tuned for an article on Installing Laminate floors onto stairs.
I want to install laminate in my bedroom. After removing the old carpet I noticed that the plywood subfloor has some dips in it. How do I level the subfloor before installing the laminate?
Thanks
I think Apeman has gone back to the Jungle or has given up on all of us Hardwood Wanabees,Well this site was fun while it lasted. Thanks alot Apeman .
My wife and I are going to put laminate floor in our living room and bedroom.
WE have thin carpet in these rooms, the carpet has been glued down
There is chip board under the carpet .
if we take up his carpet it will pull the chip board too.
There is only chip board on the floor. This a cottage.
I dont see why this wont work.
Im going to sell anyway. Any comments or help!
Thank you!
.
I have installed laminate flooring in my liv and dining room and now am working on the hallway. I plan on having a transition between the hallway and living. One side of the hallway has 3 doorways to bedrooms and the other side is a staircase going down. Is it better to start on the side of the hallway where the 3 dooorways are or start on the staircase side and work towards the doorway. If I start on the doorway side it’s easy to snap it down and slid it under the doorframe and trim but may not line up when it reaches the staircase side. Any advie would be great. It is a v groove type 41/2″ wide
HI I am installing my laminate done it before but this time down a hall with several doors the frame go all the way down to the original floor I want to come just in the width of each frame I know to leave a 1/4″ gap but wont this look unfinished since there will be no base board at the bottom of the door frame or would you say dont come in too far? or cut the door frame so the floor can go under?
thanks Brendan
Hi all –
I have been very busy lateley, so I will try to answer a bunch of your comments here:
@paul: start at the stair nose and work your way back
@Matt: The quarter round around the base of the stairs is what I would use to hide the gap.
@Brendan: Get a Jamb saw, put a peice of your laminate face down against the door jamb, and cut the door jamb at the floor, this will make it the same height as the laminate so that you can slide the flooring underneath.
@norm, you can put laminate anywhere you can get a level and strong base, so a subfloor should be fine. If you plan to put the laminate floor over concrete, use a vapor barrier.
@frank: use some concrete mix to fill the dips, just patch them over and smooth it out. use a level to make sure that you fill the dips so that they are level.
@Ken: without seeing a picture, it may be easier to start at the stair case and work towards the hallway.
@ron: Is the laminate above, or below the stairs? I never recommend putting laminate on stairs, so its good that you have decided to use stair treads!
If I missed your question please post it again.
Hi Apeman
Well welcome back! Anyways I couldn’t wait anymore My Wife was ready to throw me down those darn stairs if I didn’t finish them soon. I ended up putting stair nosing on the top step then I had a small landing in which I used another stair nosing from there I used Stair treads down the rest of the way it actually was not that difficult and looks great. My wife was so impressed that she has given me other projects to do now. thanks.
Hi Ron -
Thats great to hear! Congrats on impressing the wife, thats not an easy task, as they tend to be the toughest critics!
Enjoy your hard work and future projects!
did bedroom really nice smells much cleaner looks great hurt for 2 days wife excstatic i get big head??? hey theres the punctuation. NOW I GOTTA DO L.R. & D.R. @ opposite 45deg.agles per room. I think i’ll go buy some kneepads @ Lowes
Hello
I am installing a laminate floor (that looks like tile) and a few of the pieces that I have had to use the pull bar on, because they were close to the wall, the edges have been chipping (basically ruining the whole piece), I have decided to use the pieces that have been chipped as cut pieces but I am running low on good panels. I do not know what else to do and now I am afraid to put together anymore panels with the pull bar in case they do chip (the block and hammer work fine for panels in the middle of the room). If you have any suggestions of what else to do or use I would greatly appreciate it.
Alisha
Hi Alisha -
To keep the floor from sliding towards the wall you need to use some spacers. The spacers will go between the wall and laminate and will keep the laminate from moving.This will prevent chipping on the flooring.
I always try to keep my usage of a pull bar to a minimum, since its metal with hard edges it can easily ruin a few hours worth of work. I usually wrap the sides of the pull bar that touch the floor with hockey tape to keep it from scratching.
Cheers, Chris
we are trying to install laminate we get 2 or 3 in place then lift the next one to click in place then the ones together come apart what are we doing wrong
We are installing Laminate in 3 rooms, and a hall, do we need trans strips in each doorway?
Hi Pam -
Are you installing the laminate in the correct orientation? Some styles of click flooring require that you either snap the groove onto the tounge or the other way around. (ie; what you have in your hand, vs. what is on the floor facing out). Can you send me a picture? apemanspaceman at gmail dot com.
Hi Greg -
You only need transition strips at each doorway if you intend to change the direction of the flooring. If you are not going to change the direction, get a jamb saw so that you can tuck the flooring under the door jambs allowing you to have a tight fit around the door frames.
- Chris
What a great site! We are planning on installing Armstrong Grand Illusions 12mm product on a large portion of our main floor. We are planning on two colors. The majority of the floor will be laid on a 45 degree angle with color number 1. We have a large family room (18 x 16) and would like to do an inset of a different color. However, we would like the inset to have a nice defined rectangular border, and if possible, be layed on “the straight” rather than a 45 degree. Is this possible to do without transition strips between the two sections, which would totally defeat the look? Thanks for any help you can provide!
I see a previous comment on not installing laminate floor under kitchen cabinets. I have a area with a floating or moveable island cabinet that I wanted to install laminate in the room. The cabinet is standard construction just not fixed to a set location. Two people move it easy. Is this a problem?
2nd question. cement office floor with glue down carpet, commercial very short pile & no real give or spring to the feel. Can I install over top?
Engineered Hardwood laid about 6 months ago popping up in about 40 different places, can you give me some possible reasons as to why?
Hello all and Great site! Mr Apeman You go ahead and publish your book I will be one of your first buyers. Your clear precise advise is a refreshing source of knowledge. Thank you. I’m on my 5th floor project (3rd House) and I realize that the tongue and grove method of laminate (specially from Germany the original manufacturers of this type floor) are a godsent. A little Laminate glue, colored silicone filler and Calm Ingenuity (Good tempered thoughts = solutions) makes one with basic abilities with a handsaw, a measuring tape and a square an able installer.. I’d Avoid floors that use an install kit, the hammering will destroy the ends and finishes especially in longer running rooms. Check specific instructions on each type, 10 minutes reading becomes hours saved in headaches and a much better easier install process. And Mr apeman is right, avoid laminating stairs.. It’s simply unsafe! I Also found that silicone and quarter round added to floor boards saved my finished look for pennies a foot. Much of these floors carry a good insulating Value (installed with the foam/vapour barrier) and are often made of recycled materials such as saw dust, resins and plastic. Beats Carpet and their halogens anyday, All thumbs up! Happy intalls averyone..
We are laying laminate in a kitchen/great room. The floor will run run throughout the great room, in to the kitchen and then up about 5 steps to the living room and complete that room. How do you lay laminate in the kitchen with an island, do you butt up against appliances or run under? And how do the stairs get done to ensure a nice transition from great room to the living room?
Hi Calvin -
The look that you are trying to achieve is going to be very difficult to do with laminate flooring. This is where real hardwood really shines as it is a lot easier to do a custom install with. I would ask around at a few flooring shops to see what they recommend, or if they have heard of anybody doing this successfully. I have never seen this type of install myself, but that doesn’t mean that its impossible, just really difficult to pull off nicely.
Sorry I couldn’t be of more help.
Hi Bruce –
If you can move the island, then install the floor under it and put the island on top of the laminate, as long as its not too heavy, and doesn’t move it should be fine.
As for your second question, you should call the manufacturer of the flooring that you are considering and see if this will void your warranty. Personally, I would rent a scraping machine and remove the carpet. Anything worth doing is worth doing right the first time.
Hi Karen -
Without seeing your floor, my only guess is either the flooring was installed tight against the outside walls and is now expanding with increased humidity. Or, a moisture problem causing the wood to expand. What is the subfloor made out of? Concrete? Or is the floor installed in a kitchen?
Hi Paul -
Thanks, and good suggestion on avoiding some of the install kits. The pull bars and tapping blocks are good for a few stubborn peices, but really should be used sparingly. I usually just tap where needed using a wooden mallet to avoid chipping and scratching the floor.
Happy installs to you too.
Hi Brad -
If the island cannot be removed and then re-installed, I would put the laminate about 1/4″ away from it and use a quarter-round moulding to cover the gap. Paint or stain the quarter round the same color as your island to make it appear to be part of the island.
You will want to put the laminate under the fridge and stove, but the diswasher can be a little trickier. If you have room, it would be best to go under, or at least part way under the false front under the door, and trim it to fit.
Hi Apeman,
I have a hallway that is similarly shaped like an L. I have two doorways, one entering into the kitchen, and the other into the dining room(both of which have pocket doors). I was about to install this today, and found out I had the wrong transition molding. So…here’s to my question…in the two ares entering the kitchen and dining room, there is approximately 2 1/2 inches from the where the flooring ends in the kitchen and dining room, to where my laminate would start in the hallway. How do I install that little piece in those areas? Do I install them first, and then install the long length of my first row? or would I lay my first row, complete the floor, and then install my little pieces, possibly using a t-molding? The other question is, since I have a wall that leads to the basement within that “L shape hallway” there is the first wall and a second wall, which is an additional two feet approximately past where the first wall comes into the picture….so, when I do my initial measuring, do I measure from the long wall(first row) to the furthest wall, or do I measure to the first wall? Does that make sense? I just don’t want it to look funny if I have to remeasure the last piece and it’s a very small piece on the end? Hopefully this makes sense? Thanks…great site by the way!
I am looking to install laminate flooring on a 45 degree angle. I have an idea of how to do it but I was wondering if you could help me get started. Is it important to have the underlay go 1 or 2 inches up the wall.
Is it OK to put a laminate floor directly on top of a parkay floor or would you remove the parkay floor?
I want to install laminate floor in a room 14′ long one end drops about 1/2″ from the center to end will the laminate bend this far or come apart ?
I am laying Lamett laminate wood flooring and am confused about how to connect the planks at a hallway T without having the boards the same length and thus having the seams forming a straight line. Both ends must connect to another board,i.e. one end connecting perpendicular to the edge of the board it is T-ing with and the other to end of the next board in the same run. All of the planks are 48″ in length. If they made different lengths it would be simple but they don’t. Any suggestions for modifications?
Nice Blog
I’m about to put an offer on a condo that has laminate floors throughout. The floor looks fine but when I walk on it it’s very “squishy” and feels like they laid down a lot of padding underneath it. Could that be why it feels like that? Or if they used extremely cheap thin laminate? I’ve stood on other laminate floors before and they didn’t feel like this, they felt a lot more solid they like should.
I need to figure this out so I can budget for a new floor.
Thanks
Great Site –
I am about to install a armstrong grand issusion floor. My wife does not like transition pieces in the doorways and I am not changing the direction of the floor as it passes through 3 rooms. Based on other posts it appears OK to not use transitions. However, I want to start on my longest wall in the middle room. This means that I will need to work backward through one room and part of the hallway. Is this OK?
@Marc – Most likely the floor in the condo wasn’t leveled before the laminate was put down. It could be a combination of this and thin laminate.
@Chad – Measure the room’s width, and divide that by the width of the boards you are laying down. This will allow you to figure out how much to cut back the first row by to get it to line up with the hallway nicely. Otherwise, if you have to rip the last board at the door, you will need to use a transition. If this doesn’t make sense, let me know.
@dan – get a 4 foot level, if it doesn’t rock Ie: it contacts the floor throughout, it should be fine.
@Louis – If you really want to T the floor, then I would use a transition. There are some that are quite flat, but that is the best way to change direction on a laminate floor.
Thanks for the advice
One more question. I have a very long laminate to tile transition. The transition pieces are only 6 feet long and I will need to use two for this long transition. Is thier a special way to connect the two transition pieces end to end so the line between them is less noticable? Should I cut both pieces at an angle where they meet?
Thanks
Hi Chad -
Yes you will want to do a scarf joint where the two pieces meet. This will make it less visible to the eye than a butt joint (straight cut).
Hi Apeman
Just started to lay down hardwood flooring (first time ever!) on a floating floor and discovered halfway through the first pack that the boards are buckled/bowed despite being stored correctly. Having checked three other packs they are all the same. Help! How do I install them? Would appreciate your advice.
Mr. Apeman,
I have read in previous posts that you do not recommend laminate flooring on staircases… how come? I have Mohawk laminate wood flooring in a room below the stairs and would like to continue the laminate on the steps (not the risers) as well as the hallway above the steps. I have the material and a handy man to install it, but I am hesitant to proceed without more intormation. Please help – any and all suggestions will be much appreciated. Thanks in advance!
HELP, my husband and his friend are wrapping up installing of laminates….and I have a few concerns. Please help asap.
Clarification questions: For my laminates, I need t leave 1/4 inch gap, what is the minimum recommended thickness for baseboards? I have existing baseboards that are 6/16 of an inch, is that enough? If I use quarter round can I use latex chaulking to attach the quarter round instead of nails, if so what area should I apply the chaulking to (where it meets the baseboard?)
Guy at homedepot recommended using silicone chaulking to seal the partial laminate I will have underneath dishwasher and stove (since I will not go all the way into the wall. But I read else where that I should use latex instead of silicone since it work expand as much….what do you recommend?
Thanks for answeiring my questions!!
Lani
I can’t seem to get my laminate floor from moving and getting gaps. What can I do since I can’t glue or nail? I really hate to keep having to pull out the hammer and block to try to close the gap every time I turn around.
I plan to install Ikea Tundra Laminate Flooring in my dining room / living room and continue the same floor into the powder-room area (room with dual sinks but no toilet/bath/etc.). I’ve already purchased the actual Tundra Flooring and Niva Fiberboard Lining.
Regarding the pre-installation, any thoughts on the following:
1. Purchasing the Niva Polyethylene Liner (comes in roll) and placing this in between the Niva Fiberboard Liner and the Tundra flooring?
2. Doing the same thing but instead of the Niva Polyethylene Liner, use the Sparra Vapor Barrier – again above the Niva Fiberboard but below the Tundra Laminate?
I’m attempting to add further protection from spills once the floors are already down.
I have old baseboard moldings and currently have carpets throughout the house. But I’m thinking of putting hardwood flooring down but not removing the moldings…. I’m not sure if it’s possible to do that. My wife said she saw on the diy network that they had a tool to cut the bottom of the baseboard evenly without removing. My walls are plastered but its not drywall, it’s old cement board sheets. I guess they used in the early 50′s. That is one of the reasons I don’t want to remove them. Please help with some answer. thank you rich
I want to put laminate in my kitchen which has old viny flooring which is glued down. I do not want to remove the vinyl from the kitchen as I am sure this would be a nightmare. I want to continue on through to the adjoing dining room. Is there a way to deal with this problem.
My son laid a laminate floor but did no trim. On the edges where it joins tile he did a sloppy job. The boards are cut uneven-thus caulk would not work for transition- and he didn’t leave enough room to fit a transition piece in the slot. Can the boards be cut back to allow room for transition pieces or to even the edges to use caulk while it is laid down-without pulling it up. What tool would I use. Also, can quarter round just be glued down, or does it need to be nailed?
Can you use a nail gun-which I don’t or how do you do this? Thanks
Hi!
My husband and I installed laminate flooring in our bedroom last weekend – thank you for all your how tos! It looks really great and we have the quarter round in and everything. The only problems occur at the door frames. We have three doors in our bedroom – closet, bathroom, and hallway. Around each one there is a space where we could not cut the boards close enough and the quarter round, of course, doesn’t go around the door frames to cover the gaps. Do you have any advice on 1) how we can fix those gaps with pieces and/or putty maybe, and 2) how we can avoid having gaps like these on the other rooms we plan on reflooring. We have seen a tool called a contour guide online but are not sure where to get one. The main problem seems to be that we have to lift the piece up to lock it in, which makes the tight squeezes harder than if we just had to lay it on there or slide it in flat. I have some pictures of the gaps that I can send if you can tell me where to send them. Thanks so much for your help!
Lois and Danny
Moody -
You can use a circular saw to cut back the flooring to make the gap wider, you just need to set the depth so that it is just enough to go through the laminate floor. Always use caution when using a circular saw, they can be dangerous if you are not careful. You can use a brad nailer to attach the quarter round to the baseboard.
Lois and Danny -
You need a Jamb saw to cut the door jambs back to allow you to put the flooring under the door jamb. Take a piece of flooring, and put it face down on the ground. Next take the jamb saw and put the blade flush against the board and cut into the door frame. Remove the waste below the cut, and slide the flooring underneath.
Me & my husband are installing prego laminate floors in the dinning & living rooms we have a air vent in the dinning room I was wondering how you would go about installing the floors around that?
My husband and I are getting ready to lay down our laminate floor. We are going to be doing our living room and kitchen, but we will be laying down a small area of ceramic tile in our entrance way which connects to both the kitchen and the living room. Do you have any advice on how to connect the ceramic and the laminate so that it looks seamless?
Thank you for any advice you can give us.
Hi Apeman! We need your help! We just had a laminate installation done by a professional and are very unhappy with it. I will tell you why and was hoping you could tell if I am right to be unhappy. The installer laid the laminate with the same pattern. This means there is basically a diagnal line across the whole room in every room. He spaced each new row about 8 inches apart. He didn’t stagger the pattern but repeated it over and over. Also there are transitions into each room (even though it is all laminate. On top of it the laminate bevelled edges on each side of the laminate do not match up. I thought they should atleast be consistent. Lastly, there are lengths that were cut to be only 4 inches and less which looks really funny. Please tell me your opinion.. I need to know if I am crazy. Thanks so much!
Hi AaronG -
Hard to tell without looking at it, but I would have expected the installer to try and stagger each row if it was a variable length floor. Can you post a link to a picture somewhere?
Short pieces are a no-no. Your installer should have measured the room, and divided it by the width of the planks, this would have told him that he would have ended up with a small 4″ plank at one end, and thus avoided it.
Crystal –
Get some caulking that matches the grout color that you are using with your tile, and use that as the transition. It will be flexible, and allow the laminate floor to expand and contract with changes in humidity.
Missa -
You can cut the laminate planks to make a hole just a bit bigger that required to drop the floor register in place. Its easy, just get a jigsaw and cut as needed. Usually, floor registers end up bordering two pieces, but if it will end up in the middle of one piece of flooring, just measure carefully and drill a pilot hole wide enough to get the jigsaw blade started.
good luck
I am installing laminate flooring in a bedroom.Removed the old carpets and have found some high spots in the subflooring.The high spots are on top of the floor joists some are almost 1/2″ in height.So I guess my question would be can the laminate be layed with these humps in sub floor and if not what would be a solution to this problem.
Thanks
Bob
I am having laminent flooring installed in a mobile home, dining, kitchen and den area. The kitchen is a small step up from both the dining area on one side and the den on the other. What is the recommneded transition for these areas?
HI Alice –
You can get a “reducer” moulding from any home centre (ie: home depot) They usually have these in a couple of different species of wood, and you can stain it to match your floor. You can typically find these types of moulding in the flooring department.
BOB, You need to check with the manufacturer of your flooring to see how much “allowance” they allow for out of level floors. If it were my house, I’d try to fix the underlying problem.