How to install laminate flooring

Looking to install a laminate flooring on your own? Follow these eight simple steps.

1. Get your laminate, prepare it for installation – Purchase about 10 percent more laminate flooring than needed because you’ll waste some just from cutting the pieces out. 48-72 hours before installation, you should stack the laminate flooring in your home flat on the floor. This will allow it to become assimilated to the temperature and humidity in your home to prevent mistakes.
2. Clean and prepare your floor – You should clean the subfloor to remove dirt and debris. We have found nails from previous installations underneath the old lamination before. Make sure you remove all base molding (if you have any).
3. Install the Vapor Barrier – Lay down the vapor barrier a row at a time. Read the instructions about whether or not you need to overlap the vapor barrier and some need to go up against each other.
4. Trim the door jambs – make sure the new flooring is able to slide underneath the door jambs.
5. Install first row of laminate – Lay the planks parallel to the longest wall. Install a 1/2″ spacer against the wall between the laminate so the floor is able to expand or contract without warping or buckling. The base molding will cover these spacers eventually. Place the spacers every foot or so along the wall.
6. Install the rest of the flooring – Make sure the pieces of flooring fit together, leaving no gaps. The subsequent rows should have staggered joints to make sure the planks are not uniform (which can make them weaker, and look weird).
7. Install the last plank – You will need to trim the last plank to have it fit. Measure the gap between the last plank and the wall. Trace the amount needed to be removed from the last plank to make a cut.
8. Install the thresholds and base molding – Install thresholds where the end of the flooring meets doors. Remove the spacers from against the walls and install base moldings to cover up the gaps left for expansion.

When looking to make renovations to your home, give Total Renovation Group a call at (913) 451-7800 or contact us on our website,