How To Install Laminate Wood Flooring And Keep It Straight

Slide the first two rows into their final position and repeat steps 5 and 6 above using the same alternating plank technique to complete the process.

How to install laminate wood flooring and keep it straight. If the wall is too long to snap the chalk easily kneel by the midpoint of the line and press it down to the floor with one hand. Unlike tile which is started in the center of a room laminate flooring is typically installed by starting at the wall. Mark the expansion gap use your chalk snapline to make a line 1 4 inch out from the starting wall. Install baseboards and molding remove the spacers around the border and install baseboards and quarter round molding covering the plastic moisture barrier on the wall and the gap between the wall and the flooring.

In order to keep the floor straight and square start laying the laminate away from the wall because the wall may not be straight. The solution is to angle cut the lengths of the first and last courses for your laminate floor layout pattern so the floor is straight even if the walls aren t. Lining the flooring up based on the angle of the wall can cause big. They should acclimate for at least 48 hours.

Lay out the unopened boxes of laminate planks in the room. Measure away from the wall the width of one piece of flooring and add 1 4 inch for example if flooring is 5 inches wide measure out 5 1 4 inches and snap a chalk line across the room. If you are installing the flooring below grade or in a room like a basement with high humidity or moisture lay down a vapor barrier before you install the flooring. This will allow them to acclimate to the room s temperature and humidity.