If you’re thinking of laying laminate flooring yourself, follow our easy step-by-step guide to ensure that you achieve a professional finish that you’ll be really proud of.
Tools and Equipment
To start off, you need to make sure that you have the right tools for the job. Alongside the flooring itself, which will be addressed shortly, you will need:
masking tape
a hammer
combination square
jigsaw
knee pads
tape measure
craft knife
spirit level
saw
mallet
laminate underlay
expansion strips
scotia strips
Once you have all the tools, the next step is to measure up your room.
Making Measurements
Measure the widest point of the room, followed by the length. Multiply these two values together to get the area in m2 and then add 10% for wastage. When looking at packs of flooring, check the pack size and then divide your area by that value, rounding up if it comes to a decimal figure. This will determine how many packs of flooring you require.
Choosing Your Flooring
Different laminates require different installation methods: either gluing into place or clicking together. The dry-click system allows movement between the boards, which counteracts the effects of central heating and humidity. Speak to a Carpet Studio professional for advice on which laminate is best for your home.
Preparing the Under-Floor
You can lay any flooring on a smooth surface as long as it’s dry, firm and level. If your under-floor is concrete, make sure that it’s fully dry!
Installing the Underlay
Polyfoam underlay is the most commonly used and effective underlay system for general household use. It’s thin and good to use over any under-floor material such as chipboard, plywood or hardboard. To lay it, first prepare the floor as necessary and then simply lay strips of the underlay down, securing them with masking tape and making sure to cut a 16mm gap around pipes.
Installing the Flooring
Now your underlay’s down, it’s time start thinking about installing the flooring itself. First, plan the direction of the boards. Lay them in the same direction as the longest straight wall. Also consider the direction of boards in joining rooms (if there are any) – it would be preferable to have them all going in the same direction. Next prepare the surface. Remove any skirting boards; they can be refitted after the flooring is down. Then vacuum the floor remove any bits of dirt or grit.
When laying the flooring, start in a corner and lay strips along the longest straight wall, placing spacers between the board and the wall at 60cm intervals; make sure these spacers can form an expansion gap, normally around 12mm. Continue along, bearing in mind that the last board of the row will need to be cut. Mark with a combination square and sure the cut off to start the next row. Clicking the pieces together is extremely simple suing the tongue and groove mechanics of the boards and tapping them together with a mallet, but don’t forget to keep putting spacers between the boards and the walls.
If it becomes necessary to install around any pipes, mark the position of the pipe on the board you’re laying. Then, drill a hole about 16mm larger in diameter than the pipe and make two angled cuts from the edge of the board to the sides of the hole. Once you fitted the board, carefully glue the small off-cut wedge behind the pipe et voila!
Once you’ve finished laying, remove all spacers and either place the skirting boards back on or install scotia strips. You can then install a metal threshold divider at the bottom of the door frame for a tidy finish.