Installing Laminate Flooring on Concrete

There are several advantages associated with laminate flooring. First of all, it is an environment friendly material because it is made of resin coated well-engineered composite wood. It is a water resistant material with high durability. So, it does not suffer damage on exposure to high levels of humidity. Most importantly, cleaning of laminate flooring and maintaining its good looks is very easy. Laminate flooring is also known as floating floor. This is because the planks are connected with one another but are not fixed with its base. For this reason, installing laminate flooring on concrete is a tricky job. Any mistake on your part can lead to flooring problems in the future.

Steps to Install Laminate Flooring on Concrete

To begin with, you have to buy laminate planks as per the measurements of the room. It is advisable to buy 20 percent extra material than your actual requirement, as some planks may get damaged during the flooring installation. You also have to procure some tools and materials for the job. They are: thick underlayment pads, hammer, nails, chisel, crowbar, rubber mallet, utility knife, duct tape, etc. Once you are ready with these items, follow the tips given below:

Step #1: Preparing the Concrete Surface
As you can see that the laminate wood boards are not very thick. So, if the underlying concrete floor surface is not even, then the flooring may bend or develop cracks on those areas. Fill up the holes and cracks on concrete with the help of a leveling compound. Other uneven surfaces can be leveled by applying a layer of thinset mortar. Let the repair work cure thoroughly for next 48 hours and only then start installation work.

Step #2: Preparing Other Areas of the Room
The baseboards have to be removed for the wall with the help of a chisel and hammer. The door and the door jambs have to be trimmed slightly from the bottom in order to fit the floor boards under them. The gap thus made should be big enough to accommodate both the laminate plank and underlayment pad.

Step #3: Laying Underlayment Pads
The underlayment pad act as a cushion and helps to absorb the noise when you walk on laminate flooring. It also protects the underlying flooring from vapor exposure. It is available in the form of big rolls. Lay them on the concrete floor in adjacent rows so that they overlap with each other. Then their seams need to be joined using duct tape.

Step #4: Laminate Floor Installation
Start laying the first laminate plank from any one corner of the room. But before that, place spacers of one-fourth inch next to the wall for the purpose of creating an expansion gap for the planks. While laying the next board, make sure its top edge touches the top edge of the previous plank. Then tap its edge gently with a rubber mallet. Thus the interlocking mechanism of these planks will ensure that there are no gaps in between them and it sits into the right slot. Follow the same technique to install the rest of the planks. You have to be extra careful while laying the final plank. Use a crowbar to fit in the last plank properly at the end of the floor.

Step #5: Finishing Touch
Finally, place the baseboards back on the walls with the help of nails. In this way, the gap kept near the walls will get covered up. If you want, you can apply wood glue on the edges of wood boards in order to hold them together. However, do not try to nail the boards.

Thus you can see that installing laminate flooring on concrete gives an altogether different look to the interiors of your house. They are available in amazing range of colors and finishes that are suitable for modern homes. Moreover, it looks very similar to hardwood flooring but is not so expensive.