The Abcs Of Installing Laminate Flooring In Your Home

By Author: Shawn Smith
Total Articles: 46
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Laminate floorings debuted in the USA sometime in the early 1980s, and has shown an increasing market graph ever since. The continually growing popularity of laminate flooring over other types of flooring is not simply because of its low maintenance and superior esthetics. The fact that it is relatively easy and uncomplicated to install a laminate floor in your home has also played a key role in its success. In fact, with a little guidance, you can install a laminate floor in your home all by yourself.

Laminate floors are available mostly in two types (from the point of view of its installation), which are glue and glueless types. The type of laminate flooring that uses glues to hold together the pieces is generally preferable for homes with children, where there are more chances of spills occurring. Otherwise, the glueless type is a better option and is easier to set up in the first place.

First, you have to know that laminate flooring are not fixed to the underlying concrete (or to the walls), but are rather ‘floating' over an underlayment pad - usually of cork or rubber. Also, keep in mind that most of ...
... the laminate flooring available expands and contracts significantly with temperature changes, so it is advised that you bring the pieces home and let them acclimatize to the ambient temperature before installing them. Now, remove the old flooring and the baseboards and clean up the entire area (make sure that the entire surface is even). Measure the ‘square footage' of the area and allowing for a margin of 3-5% - this is the amount of laminate flooring you have to buy.

The next step is to fix the underlayment pad - use something like a good super strong tape to hold all the pieces together. After this, you can start putting the laminate flooring planks in place. The type of joints that the planks have depends on the brand and manufacturer, but most of these joints are relatively simple and easy to put in place. The most popular type of joints is the click-to-fix ones and the tap-and-lock ones. The manual that comes with the flooring can easily tell you how to operate these mechanisms. From experience, it is recommended that you leave around a quarter of an inch of space near the walls so that you can fix the baseboards into place with ease.

After you are done with the actual installation of the laminate flooring, you have to install the baseboards at the juncture of the flooring and the walls - and you are done. Well almost - it is better to be extra cautious if you are using glueless flooring to use a waterproof adhesive in the grooves of the flooring in areas such as near the kitchen sinks, or the bathroom tubs, etc.

Consult people and neighbors who have successfully installed laminate flooring before if this is your first time. If possible, keep someone who is experienced nearby at hand while you go about installing the laminate flooring. Remember, there is a huge difference between theory and practice.

Shawn Smith is the owner of Products Limited Ditribution. Products Limited Distributing has quality solid exotic hardwood flooring direct to the USA, offering you the best value in the industry for Laminate Flooring