Tips on Laying Laminate Flooring

The reasons behind the rising popularity of laminate flooring in modern day homes are many. Laminate flooring is made up of well-engineered composite wood with a resin coated on its upper surface that makes it environment friendly. It looks like a hardwood timber, but its cost is much lesser than hardwood. Laminate flooring is found in a wide range of stylish colors and finishes that suit modern day lifestyles. You do not have to exert too much effort in the maintenance and cleaning of laminate flooring. As it is resistant towards water, there is no possibility of damage due to humidity. Tips on laying laminate flooring include two aspects - preparation of the floor and installation of laminate flooring.

Tips on Laying Laminate Flooring - Tips on Preparing the Floor
Laminate flooring is basically a floating floor. The planks of laminate floor are inter-connected to one another, but are not attached with the base like the floor or the walls. Prior to laminate flooring installation, preparation of the floor is a must.

For preparing the floor surface, the first thing you need to do is to remove the old flooring. In case your floor had a covering of a carpet, discard it along with the padding placed below the carpet. Take out the tack strips that were used to fasten the carpet, from the edges and corners of the room. Check carefully to find any padding or any other sticking to the floor. If required, scrape them out. Clean up the floor with the help of vacuum cleaners.

The thickness of laminate planks is very less and any underlying ridges or holes become clearly visible. In the uneven areas, the laminate floor will either dip or bend and cracks may appear on the laminate flooring that you have laid. Therefore, the floor should be leveled properly. The uneven surfaces of the concrete floor can be leveled by coating it with a layer of thin set mortar. When the flooring is of plywood, look over carefully to find any damage on it. A commonly observed damage on plywood floor are bumps caused due to the absorption of moisture. These bumps should be mended by replacement of the damaged portion with new plywood.

Tips on Laying Laminate Flooring - Tips on Installing Laminate Flooring
Laminate flooring is devised in a manner such that it cannot be laid on any floor directly. It has to be placed over laminate flooring underlayment. Wood-based and gypsum-based are the two varieties of underlayment available. Gypsum fiber underlayment is more popular as compared to the wooden underlayment, as it has higher durability and is not affected by moisture.

Expansion and contraction of the laminate flooring is bound to happen with the change in weather conditions. Hence, it is necessary to keep a gap of half an inch in between the edges of the floor and the walls of the room. In the absence of such a gap, the laminate floor may get distorted.

While laying laminate flooring in the kitchen, care should be taken that all your kitchen cabinets has been installed. This is because in case they have not been installed, you have to cut the laminate flooring planks into small sizes in order to make them fit for the areas surrounding the kitchen cabinets. For laying laminate flooring near the doors, the flooring should be stretched under the door frames. So, the door frames need to be trimmed from below according to the thickness of the laminate plank after taking proper measurements.

Laying the laminate flooring in the area surrounding a pipe is a tricky task. Take a measure of the circumference of the pipe. Bore a hole on the laminate plank that is about half an inch larger than the diameter of the pipe. Cut the holed laminate into two pieces and place it around the pipe and paste the two pieces up with glue.

Hope the tips on laying laminate flooring proved beneficial for you. One last advice on laminate flooring installation is to check out each and every laminate plank for any kind of damage. This because, if you find the defects before installation, only then they could either be replaced or you can get your money refunded.