A List of Dos and Don’ts for Laminate Flooring

There are a few specific steps and a list of dos and don’ts to follow during laminate flooring.

A process that needs a lot of precision, accurate measurement, and cutting, laying the material and more. It is for this reason you should call a professional for that matter always.

First, you will need to prepare the room. If it is small, you should remove all the furniture.

If it is large then you can shove everything on one side, complete laying half of the floor and then move the furniture there and continue with the rest of the room.

Next, you must inspect the room to find whether there is any quarter-round shoe molding near the base of the baseboard molding.

If there is any, make sure that you remove it but be careful enough so that the baseboard molding stays in place.

You can use a thin pry bar or a hive tool to pry the shoe molding up without damaging the rest of it.

Trimming the doorways is also necessary to ensure that the planks used for laminate flooring fits in properly around the doorways.

You must trim the side jambs and door casing so that the planks slip underneath.

Focus On The Subfloor

The next important step of laminate flooring is to work on the subfloor. You must make sure that it is as smooth and clean as possible.

This will ensure proper functionality of the laminated flooring. Inspect the subfloor thoroughly, even if you must crawl around looking for uneven areas.

Even a 1/8-inch unevenness should be taken into consideration.

If the peaks are not major, then you can use a belt sander with a coarse grit to smoothen it up.

However, if the peaks are severe, you will need to hire a commercial floor sander to grind them down.

Smoothening the peaks in the subfloor is especially important aspect of prepping the surface for laminate flooring and should not be ignored at all.

As unevenness will create a dip in the floor, and in turn, it will create a soft and spongy section on the laminate floor and increase the chances of developing cracks easily.

Therefore, take care of these dips using a trowel and a vinyl floor patch.

If you are in a hurry and want to laminate the floor on the same day of patching it, then make sure that you buy the fast-drying variety of the vinyl floor patch.

Dos And Don’ts List

When you proceed with the laminate flooring process, you should keep these specific things in mind:

Read and follow the instructions of the flooring manufacturer
Determine the direction and pattern of flooring before start
Allow at least 48 hours to adjust the floor to room temperature before installing
Have all the tools and materials ready
Use proper laminate material
Tape the seams of the underlayment together
Inspect the planks for any visible damage
Leave expansion gaps around the perimeter of at least .25″ for smaller and 5″ for larger areas
Stagger rows at one plank width from the other and
Use joints 12” to 18″ apart for basic support.

The list of don’ts, though not if the do’s list, are also equally important to know and follow during laminate flooring. Ideally, you should not laminate a floor if:

It has a drain
It has an uneven subfloor
It is exposed to extremely low or high humid conditions and constant dampness and
It is in an outdoor setting.

Finally, you should not laminate over residential carpet, double layer of underlayment, lengthwise without a transition strip if it is over 30 linear feet.

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Emma

A mother and lover of all things practical. My blog covers about motherhood by exploring all areas of life. Our tips and tricks help the large community to do more in less time so they can spend time enjoying happy, healthy families.