How To Install Laminate Wood Flooring And Keep It Straight

Lay out the unopened boxes of laminate planks in the room.

How to install laminate wood flooring and keep it straight.

This will allow them to acclimate to the room s temperature and humidity. 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. They should acclimate for at least 48 hours. 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.

Unlike tile which is started in the center of a room laminate flooring is typically installed by starting at the wall. In order to keep the floor straight and square start laying the laminate away from the wall because the wall may not be straight. Snap the chalk line leaving a straight chalk mark on the subfloor. 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.

How to install laminate flooring. 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. 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.