Hi Guys!!  I pick up my new laminate flooring from Lumber Liquidators tomorrow and I think I have a pretty good idea on how to intall it.  I've been contemplating this job for 4 years now.  

I would try a test fit in the hallway to see how the laminate panels line up. If you can lay the hallway with minimal cuts, start there and work into the kitchen. It's the opposite of what the pros would say, but whatever works with the minimum amount of cuts. If you have to rip very many panels, can you locate a table saw? The end product will be much nicer. Also, since you are installing in what is referred to as a wet location, it is important to seal any cuts before installing the cut panel.

All joints should be of set at least 12 inches. I would start at the hall wall and run the bords the length of the hall. the off cut from the end of the row is used to start the next row if it is at least 12inches long. after you have at least 3 rows put together you can set the gaps at the wall and ends with the little plastic wedges in the instalation kit and the floor will stay put while you install the rest of the floor. remove the weges before you install the molding.

Good luck

You need to leave a 1/4" gap between the walls, cabinets, door frames, etc. and the flooring for expansion. This is on every single wall, cabinet, doorway, etc. You then install the molding over top of this gap, nailing into the wall, cabinet toe kick, etc. It doesn't matter what your cuts look like. they will never be seen. As long as you install the molding. In a doorway, you should cut the bottom of the door jam to slip the flooring underneath. It should still have a 1/4" gap between the floor and the door frame, but it won't show. The door jamb will hide the gap.

Hi AZG

Since you already bought the underlayment, my info is a little passe, but we use 1/4 inch fanfold, it's half the price and produces a higher quality sound when walking on the floor.
If there are imperfections in the original floor, the fanfold absorbs these imperfections.

It is customary to run flooring parallel to the longest dimension of your home, although it is normally the owners choice of how they want it these days.

If you have closets with sliding by-pass doors, and have no baseboard right where the doors touch the wall, still leave your 1/4 inch gap and fill the gap with a resilient caulk.
When up against brickwork, like a fireplace hearth, we used a 1/2 inch thick foam rubber seal and compressed it to 1/4 inch, trimming flush with the floor after installation.
If using fanfold, we would use 1 inch wide 1/2 inch foam, keeping the fanfold 1/2 inch away from the brick and forming a 90 degree angle with the foam rubber strip, taping it to the fanfold to hold it in place.

Even if I'm using the same style of flooring in each room, I still make a SEAM dead center under the door, just in case we redo the room at a later date.
The thing with laminate flooring is, if you need to make a repair, you have to pull most of the floor up and reinstall it to make the repair.
Floating vinyl floors can be heated, separated and repaired without removing more than the damaged square foot.

Have PHUN!

TTUL
Gary

Is the flooring just tongue & groove or is it a locking floor, the installation is different. One just slides together and the other you pick up on.

Hi all: I picked up the flooring today...love the look of it, but I'm a little frustrated with it. I removed a couple pieces to check out the locking system and it is so small you can't even see it. I finally found some instructions in 1 box that clearly shows a tongue and groove but you sure cannot see it. I can barely feel it with my fingernail so I'm hoping these things stay together good. Floating floors seem to me that they would have to lock together good or they will separate when you walk on them. I had a name brand laminate a while ago that had a real good grove and snapped together really good, but I only had 3 boxes and couldn't find it anywhere to match it up and buy more boxes so I gave it away.

I can't lay the floors til next week. I bought the wrong underlayment. Brain freeze on my part. Had the correct one in the basket several months ago when I was going to do this, but this time I seen this other one that was 300 sq ft and 6mil so I thought I was getting more for the same price. But as it turns out, what I bought is a moisture barrier for cement floors. So, now I need to return this and get 2 rolls of the 6mil foam for floating floors that hide imperfections as my subfloors are not plywood but what I call pressed cardboard and they have a few small ridges on them where the 2 pieces come together.

Ron,
I'm not sure what the difference in tongue and groove and locking is....I would guess this is probably tongue and groove since it definitely does not lock like the other flooring I had did. I really do not see how this is going to stay together when it has to be placed 3/8 - 1/4 in away from all the walls. Seems to me that the floating will cause the flooring to separate. None of the reviews mentioned this problem.

After looking at the pattern, I guess it doesn't matter much how I cut it as long as I maintain my 12-16 in board at the end of the runs.

Craig:
That particular handyman was a real jerk!! He was just too lazy to move the stove and frig. Sadly to say, he would have gotten the job had he come back when he said he was going too. After that, I didn't trust him anymore. I found him through the grapevine...he was installing hardwood and carpeting in one of my daughter's employees home in the same park I live in. I met him when I went to see the new floors and how they were turning out. I liked the looks of his work, but didn't feel very secure with him. He was also going to tile my entire bathroom and had quoted me a workable price but wanted 2/3 of the money up front. When he didn't come back when he said he would...I was afraid to give over that much money to someone basically off the streets.

Gary:
Thank goodness I don't have any sliding closets or fireplaces...just a couple doors. The main issue is the back door. It is one of those old trailer trash metal doors with a metal frame all around the casing. I want to replace it eventually with a glass sliding door as this one opens backwards and is way too short and just a wreck. My problem so far is the cost in labor for installing the door I want. The walls will have to be cut out for the additional width and the height will have to be cut out. When I replaced my front door, it cost $350 just to have it installed. And the back door will require a lot more cutting out of the walls. But, trust me, I want it done each and every time I have to use that door!!!! I have to install sliding because the electric meter is right behind the door so if I just change to a door that opens the right direction, it will bang up against the electric meter.

Craig:
I just noticed that you are a Naval Veteran...my granddaughters lifelong dream has been to be a Blue Angels pilot. She is joining the Navy as soon as she graduates in 2013. She has wanted this since she was 3 years old and has been lucky enough to have flown a lot of planes so far in her life. She has also been able to fly a glider.

The term " Floating " was given as to mean no nails.

I wouldn't worry about the locking system too much.  If you are, and to ease your mind, connect two of them together and play with it to see just how strong they are locked together.

As far as the underlayment, you can pick that stuff at any home improvement store that sells laminated flooring (such as Home Depot, Lowe's, etc.).

Some suggestions:
- wear knee pads!  The kind that are either foam or a canvass weave-not the hard plastic ones.
- keep a small hand broom near by to continually sweep away debris as you progressively lay the flooring.
- use just enough pressure/force to lock the boards together.  These are snap and lock...not pound the snot out of it and beat it into submission.  They should go together easily.
- when installing them lengthwise, you can often connect a number of them together at the short end and then lift the entire into the previously installed run.  That way, you won't need to use the installation tools and risk marring the edges.
- get yourself some of those moving pads to place under the feet of the couch to make it easier to return it where you want it.  Same for anything that you cannot pick up to move.  In my house and those customers I've installed flooring in, I leave them there.  Put some felt pads under the dining table and chairs, also.


Inside that installation kit should be nylon tabs/spacers to place at the ends of each run.  The recommended gap between the ends of each run and the adjoining wall is what the manufacturer recommends.

Someone earlier stated 1/4"...IMHO that's excessive.  Yeah, the boards will expand and contract slightly, but nowhere near that amount.  If laminated boards did that, the finish would be cracked and flaking within a year, as well as the joints being seperated around heavy furniture (such as entertainment centers).

I said 1/4" gap because that was the manuf. recommendation for all the laminate flooring that I have installed. The first laminate I ever installed had to be glued together. It did not snap lock together. I'm not sure if they even make that kind of laminate anymore, but if your flooring does not snap lock together maybe it needs to be glued.

If all else fails make sure that you read the manufactures instructions all the way through then read again so the you understand them. if posible do not have any end cut less than 12 inches long. All joints should be offset at least 12 to i6 inches. What I like to do iis offset the joints about 1/3 ofthe length of the laminate board that way it doesnt look like a set of stairs.

Hi guys: I did, finally figure out how it snapped together. I guess this is tongue and groove. The first time I didn't have it on a solid surface. I thought the groove would be much deeper than it is. The picture makes it look much deeper. It did stay together. I haven't started laying it yet. I went back into Lumber Liquidators online and seen that they marked it down yet another $.30 sf so I sent off an email to see if I could get it at the $.59 sf price. Got an email back today and it looks like I will. I tried to order some more of the same stuff to put in my computer room but it was Sold Out. I did find another Black Oak Floor with a 5 yr warranty on it for $.49 sf. so I ordered that too.

I have one knee that I cannot put any pressure on...(cartilage is all gone in it) I was planning on doing the hard bend over method....I've never tried the knee pads...will they still put pressure on my knee if I use them?

The spacers in this kit are like little minnie plastic shims. The widest end about 1/4". I've read so many different directions on laying flooring and seen so many different answers I wasn't sure which one to go with. That's why I knew my dependable Handyman friends who have actually laid flooring before would be able to help me better than reading all these different directions on laying laminate flooring. This particular manufacture (Mabry) says to use 3/8" and 16" at the ends. Out of 7 boxes, I only received 1 box with directions in it. Most of the pictures in their diagrams show the flooring right up against the wall except for the diagram where it shows to leave 3/8" along the wall. I guess I'm concerned because my neighbor has laminate in her kitchen and I can see where the boards are separating end to end and leaving big gaps between the boards. I sure don't want that to happen.

As small as these grooves are I don't think I'll have too many times to try it over if I don't get it right the first time around. I'm the type to measure, measure, and rethink it a dozen times before I jump into it. But, hey, things so far have worked out!!! Before I tackle the kitchen/hall I going to do the computer room for the practice. It's pretty much square without all those extra cuts and angles that the kitchen has. I'll have enough extra (if I don't waste too much) to do the 1/2 bath that is in the computer room as well as the the small closet. I've removed the doors on it and installed prefab shelves for crafts and books. In this room, I have carpeting to pull up and all the tack strips. It will be a mess. We just tore up carpeting in the bedroom to replace the subfloor and what a mess!!

Craig: I love this..lololol " use just enough pressure/force to lock the boards together. These are snap and lock...not pound the snot out of it and beat it into submission. They should go together easily." I have a rubber mallet I think I'll use instead of a hammer.

Ron: So, floating doesn't mean it will actually shift around once it is all down? I knew I didn't need to nail or glue it, but wasn't sure what they really meant by "floating".

Yer getting there!  Rubber mallets are what I use.  Those spacers are more than likely measured in millimeters.  They'll be 1, 2, 3, or 5 millimeters (about 1/16th to 3/16th of an inch).  I'd suggest you stick with the 3mm or 5mm spacers.

Yeah, I know...who uses millimeters!?  Well, we were supposed to convert back in the 1970's...but we never did.

Don't forget those knee pads!  While your cartelidge may have worn away...mine in some sandbox overseas.





ChuckJ - I meant no offense!  Honestly!  These days, an 1/8" or less is more than enough with new installations.  Especailly with laminated boards since they are mini-plyboards with a photographic picture to make the top look like real wood.

No offense taken. I'm not that delicate. I was just giving an example that the installs I did called for 1/4" gap. But different flooring manuf. may call for different size gaps.

You can also use a pillow to kneel on.....

OMG, I picked up the flooring for my computer room today. Not one word is in English! Nothing but pictures, 20 of them to be exact. Some I can figure out, but most, I have no clue what they are trying to show. All dimensions are in mm. This flooring was made in Austria. It's tongue and groove or lock system according to the Lumber Liquidators description. Guess I'll just go by the instructions that came with the flooring for the kitchen.

Will it be a problem if I empty 1/2 of the room and lay the flooring and then move some of the furniture onto the newly laid flooring and then finish the second half? I don't have a lot of room to move all the furniture out of the room until I can complete the floor.

But a picture is worth a thousand words.  This way, the manufacturer saved himself 20,000 words worth of ink.

Run a google or bing check for the maufacturer.  See if their site has an English version.

As far as doing half the room and moving furniture - yes you can.  I've had to do that many times.  To keep the floor from rising up too high, though, keep the stuff as far against the other wall as possible.

Use the empty boxes/cardboard pieces to protect the edges of the boards when moving items over them.

Thanks Craig. I also wanted to ask you about those furniture movers you mentioned before. I've seen them advertised on TV and have wondered if they work like they show. I have some very heavy china cabinets that I can hardly scoot so if they work good I'll certainly get a set. Been trying to find them online with Lowes...have seen them in the store but can't find them online.

Room is almost ready to start...just have to move one Nascar cabinet (solid wood and extremely heavy) and the computer desk...then tear up all the carpet and clean.

Yes, they work.  They work very well, too!

You can pick them up at any box store, large discount stores, etc.