Ways to Install Hard Wood Flooring. Lay down the first board, tongued edge facing out into the room. The board should leave a small gap at the wall for expansion check manufacturers recommendation and be placed in line with the room so consider measuring guidelines. Place spacers in the gap. Installing Laminate Flooring Under Door Trim' title='Installing Laminate Flooring Under Door Trim' />Guidelines can be placed by finding the center point of each wall and marking a line between them, creating a cross at the center of the room. Where one of these lines meets with the wall, mark the manufacturers recommended expansion distance and then draw a line at that point which is perpendicular to the center line. Nail the boards to the subfloor. Use the drill to make guide holes and then, using a hammer, nail the board into the subfloor with nails placed 1 3 from the end of the plank, from the groove side, and every six inches down the board. Use a nail set to finish. Lock your boards together. When the first row is done, place the next board so that the tongue of the first fits into the groove. Call 18885225456. Armstrong Architectural Remnants Woodland Reclaim Old Original Dark 12mm Laminate L3101. Discount price FREE SHIPPING Other color options. You will want to place the boards so that they are offset, beginning six inches or so from the ending of the previous board. Use a mallet and tapping block to tap the boards together and create a tight seam. Continue until you have completed three rows. You will nail the first three rows just as described in Step 2. Remember to cut boards to size. Since you are staggering boards, you will likely need to cut boards in order to fit in the gaps at the end. Measure the distance that it needs to be, keeping the expansion gap in mind, and then with the board face down cut it using a saw. Begin laying rows with the flooring nailer. Once you have enough space, you should begin using the flooring nailer though you could technically do the entire floor with the hammer and nails. Simply align it with the board to be nailed and then hit it. Use a hammer for the last few rows. You will eventually run out of room to use the flooring nailer. Hammer the last few rows the same way you did the first ones. Cut the final board to size. If it does not fit properly, you will need to cut the final board so that it is narrow enough to fit. Measure carefully and use a circular or miter saw to cut the boards to size. Place the final boards using the crowbar. Since you will not have enough space to tap them with the mallet, use a crowbar instead to wedge them into place. You are now ready to finish your floor. How to Install Laminate Flooring. Laminate flooring has become a very popular choice for do it yourselfers due to the fact that its economical, durable, and easy to install. Several varieties of laminate wood flooring are available, offering consumers a vast array of aesthetic choices. Most laminate flooring products share similar characteristics a pressed wood base a durable, adhered laminate finish and a self locking tongue and groove system. These systems typically do not require fasteners or adhesives they just lock into place, basically floating above the subfloor. Join the At Home channel host, Jeff Wilson, for a tutorial on installing a laminate floor. Area Prep. Before laying any of the laminate floor it is important to prep the work area and subfloor. Installing laminate flooring in mobile homes can be more challenging at times. Some of the differences between mobile homes and regular homes are door jambs, sub. Hey guys Im so excited to finally share with you all the flooring choice that I made for our wood floor areas If you missed my options, you can see them HERE I purchased and had installed TapGo laminate flooring 6 months ago. Ever since the floor has been down, there is considerable clicking when you walk on the floor. Remove furniture and appliances from the room. Adobe Photoshop Coats. Remove shoe molding andor baseboard trim as necessary. You will need to install new or salvaged baseboard or shoe molding to cover the expansion gaps at the perimeter of the space to complete the floor installation. If baseboard is left in place, shoe molding can typically be installed to cover the expansion gap. Remove existing flooring as necessary and check the subfloor. Most laminate flooring can be installed over a wide variety of subfloors and materials, so removal of existing flooring is generally limited to carpet or any loose or unsecured flooring. Its a matter of personal preference. Laminate flooring can typically be installed over concrete any wood, cement, or gypsum based underlayment board old hardwood flooring tile vinyl or in some cases even glued down, low pile carpet. Prepare the subfloor as necessary. Sand any ridges in wood subfloors. Apply cement based self leveling underlayment over floors with excessive variations more than 14 in flatness. Sweep the floor to remove any loose dust and debris. Underlayment and Padding. Once the work area and subfloor have been checked and prepped, the next step is to install any required padding and moisture barriers. Many laminates include an attached padding or underlayment, typically a thin, firm cushion applied to the underside of the board. Laminates with an attached underlayment pad typically require only the installation of a moisture barrier prior to installing the floor. For laminates without an attached underlayment pad, several varieties of underlayment pad are available that provide a cushion, a thermal barrier, some sound absorption, and a built in moisture barrier. Roll out the moisture barrier, or padded underlayment, along the starting wall and cut to length. Place additional sections as necessary with taped butt seams. Planning the Layout. Before installing any pieces of the laminate flooring, it is important to consider the layout of the floor. Generally it is best to run the laminate flooring parallel to the longest wall in the room. However, if you are installing laminate over an existing hardwood floor, it should be installed perpendicular to the existing planks. Use a tape measure to check the room dimensions and compare with the dimensions of the laminate flooring boards. Divide the width of the room by the width of the laminate boards to determine the width of the final row. If the final row will be less than 2, you may want to consider trimming an inch or two off the width of the first row. Divide the length of the room by the length of the laminate boards to determine how long the piece will be at the finishing wall. If this piece is less than 3, trim 36 off the starting piece. Installing the First and Second Row. With the layout determined, it is time to start laying the laminate floor. Open three or four boxes and select boards from each box to minimize repeating patterns in the floor. It is typically best to begin on the left side of the room and work toward the right. Use 14 spacers and set the first full board in the corner with the tongue facing the wall. Check the manufacturers instructions for proper orientation of the boards to facilitate the locking method. Continue to install the first row by aligning the short ends and locking them together. Lift the board at a 4. Push and lower the board to lock the boards together. For the last piece in the row, measure the distance to the wall, subtract 14, and cut the board accordingly. Use a pry bar or tapping block as necessary to lock the joint together. Start the second and subsequent rows with the leftover piece from the last board in the previous row. If the leftover piece is too small, cut a piece to fit, maintaining a minimum 8 stagger between butt ends. Continue using 14 spacers at the beginning and end of each row. Laminate floor boards are typically all the same length, but they must still be installed like hardwood flooring, with staggered butt joints across the floor. For a staggered, random look, pay attention to keep the joints from lining up or creating a repeating pattern across the whole floor. Use a string line, level, and framing square as necessary to keep the rows straight and square to ensure a good foundation for the rest of the floor. Installing the Remaining Rows. Once the first few rows are set, the rest of the flooring is pretty easy to snap together. Continue to install the floor boards one row at a time, using a 14 spacer to begin each row and staggering the end joints 8 minimum. Align the long end of the boards and insert the tongue into the groove at an angle. Position the short end over the groove of the previous board and press flat to the floor to lock the long ends of the boards together. Use a pry bar or tapping block to ensure that the joints are tight. Always use a block with your hammer to distribute the force of the tapping using a hammer alone can damage the flooring. Cutting Laminate Flooring. Laminate flooring can be cut by using any saw and high quality carbide tipped blade that can be used to cut wood. A power miter saw, or chop saw, is a useful saw for square cuts along the length of the board. A jigsaw is handy for cutting out holes and notches to fit around piping and corners. To minimize chipping, cut the board with the finished surface up. Use masking or painters tape along the cut to minimize chipping the finished surface. Cut in a separate area to minimize sawdust in the work area. Doorways and Transitions. Every laminate floor installation will have at least one or two doorways or floor transitions to finish. Some installations may include a stair edge to finish as well. These areas require extra attention and a little patience to achieve quality finish details. Whether the finished floor stops in the doorway or continues through into another space, it is often necessary to trim the doorjambs first. As shoe molding cannot be installed against the doorjamb, the finished floor must fit under the jamb and any casing to hide the expansion gap. Using a scrap piece of flooring as a guide, cut the doorjamb with a jamb saw or flush cut saw. Use a wood chisel as necessary to cleanly remove the cut off piece of doorjamb and casing. Once the flooring can be laid under the doorjambs and casing, the transition strips can be installed. The transition strips hide the edge of the laminate flooring as well as the adjacent flooring and cover the necessary expansion gap. Most transition strips come with a track and can be configured in multiple ways. Fasten any transition strips and tracks to the subfloor, not the laminate floor, maintaining the 14 expansion gap. Measure the opening and cut the track to fit.