Laminate Flooring Perfect For Do-It-Yourselfers

Among others, the ease of laminate flooring installation is one of the advantages of this type of floor over other types of coverings. Laminate flooring is successful when the sub flooring has been properly prepared. Another advantage is that do-it-yourselfers can easily do the installation on its own. The designers and manufacturers engineer this flooring to be easy. They use a system of tongue and groove locking to attach one piece snugly with adjacent pieces. These floors are do-it-yourselfer friendly because the planks lock together and float on the sub floor beneath. By floating the floor a number of problems are resolved. The do-it-yourselfer does not have to fasten the planks to the sub floor, risking damage to the planks. Also, the floor has room to contract and expand in response to changing environmental conditions. This greatly reduces the chances of floor failure.

How to install it properly

The manufacturer provides usually general installation guidelines. These instructions are specific to the floor materials and construction and should be followed carefully. To aid installation, there are glueless planks, pre-glued planks and glued planks. The glueless planks have either an aluminium or fiberboard tongue and groove locking system. The pre-glued boards have a thin layer of adhesive applied to the tongue portion of the board. The installer simply wipes a damp cloth along the tongue to activate the glue before the tongue is snapped into the groove of the adjacent board. For the glued boards, a layer of glue must be applied to the tongue and groove joint by the installer.

The first tip is to make sure that the sub floor is level and solid. High spots should be sanded down and low areas filled in. Soft or bouncy spots should be solidly fastened to the structure below. The floor should also be installed with a gap of at least a quarter of an inch between the floor and each adjoining wall. This allows the floor to ‘flatten’ out after installation and expand with changes in temperature and humidity.

Laminate wood flooring is a great project for do-it-yourselfers. It is easy to do, requires a minimum of tools (no nailer or sander required) and looks great when the project is finished. If you are considering a new floor and enjoy doing home projects, one of the easiest is laminate floor installation.