any one got good tips on fitting laminate flooring,,,,fitting laminate onto floor boards,,,alll tips welcome?
Answers:
buy a good underlay. the cheaper stuff feels gritty under foot. its easier to lay if you take the skirtings off first and use the skirtings to cover the gap aferwards. when starting use a full board and dont connect too many in one line. start the second section by cutting a board in half, so you never get a joint in the same place. use the 'offcuts' at the other end of the room. Most important. make sure the floor is level before you start. big dips will weaken the boards when walked on. if you need anything else contact me.
Other answers:
hire someone who knows what the f**k their doing.don't be a cheap a-s-s.
hire someone who knows what the f**k their doing.don't be a cheap a-s-s.
Do not buy the cheap stuff.. go for quality, it will pay in the end and also use a good quality underlay...
Don't bother with one of them tool use an off cut or scrap that you have not used it taps in just as well and it was going in the bin anyway.
Hope you used the proper underlay I didn't in one small area and it is still taunting me with its little squeak's
just use another scrap board,thought you was talking about under laminate at first
tips !
1) get knee pads
2) use the board type underlay if laying onto floorboards
3) use a good quality saw (mitre saws are good to ensure straight cuts.
dont bother hiring someone , its pretty easy to do !
You need to put down a foam underlay for insulation and sound proofing first. (its relatively cheap). Also, go and buy some small plastic wedges to hold the laminate away from the walls to leave a small gap (use blue tack to hold in place) When you are putting the laminate together use a soft rubber mallet and don't hit straight onto the laminate but instead use a block of wood and hit that onto the laminate. This will stop the joins in the laminate from getting damaged. Leave a 3 inch gap if the laminate is going under a door i.e from room to room. then connect the gap in between the rooms with a simple fitting you can buy from hardware stores like B&Q.
Don't be afraid to use some force when you are laying them.
Good luck
If this is all you know about the system, don't attempt it on your own. Hire a contractor, but if you must do it yourself, go to Home Depot and sign up for an installation class.
if your floor is not absolutely flat . don't even try its a nightmare
Isn't laminate floor a bit cheap looking and everyone has got it these days. Go for a nice seagrass carpet.
yes get one of those tools and just get the flooring which clacks together like a jigsawe without glue.
I used "UNICLICK" this si very high quality and its very easy to lay. You will need a laminate flooring kit...which has the proper rubber basher and leaver/puller etc...well worth buying or hiring if your flooring provider has that facility. Useing UNICLICK you insert each board and just push down....it never comes apart and or stretches/contracts or whatever....does not reveal gaps etc.
Make sure you use good foam laminate flooring underlay...if damp is a concern...get the foil backed stuff
Think about laying your speaker wires under the floor ..great place to hide them
lay the boards out first and make sure you know what area each board will cover so you don't end up with needing a tiny edge of board at any time
leave 10 mm gap all around the walls area.
Remove old skirting ....it always look better to have the skirting over the top of the new floor
UNICLIK make matching skirting.
Have a really good chop saw to hand
Knee pads
This is very tough flooring and a pice of cake to lay...everybody thinks I had it done.....but I did it all meself in no time
we laid it upstairs. then realised the rubbish chipboard floor had not been put down v well.
it creaks and growns, fatty rich walks across it on tip toes it makes that much noise.
the people before us put in central heating and didn't put the floor back down properly.