How To Lay Floating Cork Laminate Flooring
To install a floating floor planks are snapped together over a pad 3 with space left at the edges of the room to allow the material to expand and contract.
How to lay floating cork laminate flooring. Step 1 let the boards acclimate. In choosing a wood subfloor many professionals like to use osb oriented strand board or. Place a handsaw or undercut saw on top of the laminate flooring. Moisture can often destroy a perfect laminate floor installation so before you begin it is very.
Installing laminate flooring is a snap literally. Fold back half of one cork sheet and spread cork flooring mastic on the subfloor with a notched trowel. This will mark the height you need to cut so the new flooring will fit under the jamb or casing. This should be done at least 48 hours before the laminate boards are placed so they have time to adjust to the temperature and humidity.
Also the possibility of dampness however small is greater when there are fewer membranes between your concrete foundation and your floating floor. Never nail the molding to the flooring which would prevent the cork from floating with changes in the weather. Fasten the molding to the baseboard with 4d finish nails. Laying down your floating flooring directly onto concrete is a no no.
This will minimize shrinkage or expansion when they react to room temperature and humidity step 2 check for moisture levels. To ensure that your nails aim true into the baseboard and to prevent the molding from splitting drill 1 16 inch pilot holes every 12 inches through the shoe molding. They should acclimate for at least 48 hours. Lay the underlayment back over and press it against the mastic.
A laminate floor is a floating floor meaning it is not fastened directly to the subfloor. Cork is installed in one of three ways depending on the type purchased. To do this first set a scrap piece of laminate flooring on some foam underlayment. For one there s less insulation.
Place unopened packages of laminate flooring in the room or rooms in which they are to be installed. It can be glued to a subfloor 4 stapled to a subfloor 4 or most often installed as a floating floor like laminate. It can be installed over any other tightly bonded flooring making it ideal for retrofits. This will allow them to acclimate to the room s temperature and humidity.
Lay out the unopened boxes of laminate planks in the room.