How difficult is it to fit laminate flooring?

Question

It is an average sized bedroom, simple square shaped room, is it very hard to lay? How many people would I need to help? It's just that professional prices are really high and I can't afford them...

Any suggestions are great.

Answer 1

Very easy indeed, but you will need the right tools. Get good quality laminate and underlay and follow the instructions. Have a work bench to lean on when cutting, a good jigsaw and blades (check when cutting so you don't 'tear' the wrong side of laminate) block and tap, usually comes in a kit with spacers, a mitre saw for if you want to cut angles for the beading and some 'no nails' glue to attached the beading to the skirting. The key is to 'measure twice, cut once' lay it out first in brickwork fashion so you get an idea of how many planks you will need per layer, when you attached them, listen for the click sound I did two rooms for a fraction of the price that the shops wanted and they still look fab 4 years on. Don't be afraid and good luck

Answer 2

Laminate Fitting

Answer 3

2 people should be more than enough help including yourself. things to know before you go to the hardware store is.

1- what is the square footage(length of room x width of room)

2- will the laminate be installed on wood floor or on concrete?

3- budget...inexpensive laminate usually = tougher install(not as durable)

4- ask what tools you may need and if you can rent them, they sell a laminate install kit. very much worth the $20.

I am a flooring specialist for Home Depot and I sell tons of this stuff and I also teach the seminars there. I would think this would be a great resource for you. attend the 1hr class and learn the project. I also like for people to learn on my time and with my laminate so as they dont break or damage the stuff they buy. my suggestion would be to go with a laminate made from Shaw/traffic master or DuPont. They have been the easiest to install and they last and look the best.

Answer 4

TOOLS? EXTRA HELP?! What thuh? I did it on my own.. only thing I used was a hammer and duct tape! hah.. that sounded like something mcguyver would say. OMG I'm getting old. haha. I rememer MacGuyver and the kids go.. "who?"

If you have a costco, check it out. It looks absolutely gorgeous. We got the red cherry looking stuff.

Do the middle of the house and work outwards. Nobody else will tell you this, but it's really super dooper helpful in keeping things straight. If you start at one end.. and work towards the opposite diagonal of the house, you could end up having to cut some long wacky shapes.

The hardest part is getting the pieces to fit around your door and trims - but if I could do it so can you! LOL

Steps?

1) Pull off all the base and lay down plastic type .. oh it's about 1/8" thick foam like moisture barrier. (comes in rolls) Also acts as cushioning and sound absorber. Tape seams with duct tape.

2) Start laying the boards! They simply snap together. The Costco stuff we got has the two pieces of tools to help you hammer the pieces together without damaging them. The kind we got.. I really like.. the way they snap together is awesome. It looks just like it did three years ago when I installed it.

You lay one board down., then the next board in line with it and so on until you get to the wall.. then you do the next strip until you're finished. Cut ends go on the outside edges against the wall.

You want to leave about 1/2" or so between board and wall for expansion. If you have a REALLY big room.. like HUGE, sometimes you have to do something special.

Where you have a seam in the long runs of flooring.. the next strip you lay down. .you want to make sure it doesn't line up with the seams above it.. you want to stagger the seams at least about 9".. whatever the instructions say.

Actually.. I remember the hardest part now.. was the kneeling and the moving of furniture.. ooooohhhh that sucked.. it was like moving six times or something LOL. We did our entire house though.

Oh.. and of course.. you'd want a skill saw or table saw.. or chop saw. I actually used a skill saw coz I don't have a table saw or chop saw. You don't have to have perfect 90 deg angles when cutting the strips to whatever length .. just draw the line you're going to cut with a trisquare and eyeball the cutting. :) But a chop saw would be much easier. Freaking you can get them for about $40 bucks now.. sheesh.

Do the cutting outside. Makes a hell of a mess ;) It's not just particle board/wood crud.. it's a thin layer of laminate too... like fiberglass.

Oh.. and you do want a level floor to start with. We have a few dips and no problems yet.. I doubt we ever will have any.. but if you had a big dip somewhere.. as you walk over it, it could break the board.

It's super durable once installed though.. our cats climbed a step ladder.. it dropped.. fell smack on the new floor I about had a heart attack.. not a scratch.. wow. Probably lucky.. but still.. amazed me.

Answer 5

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
How difficult is it to fit laminate flooring?
It is an average sized bedroom, simple square shaped room, is it very hard to lay? How many people would I need to help? It's just that professional prices are really high and I can't afford them...

Any suggestions are great.

Answer 6

That stuff is soooo easy to fit, but work slowly and carefully to get the best finished result.
My tips:
Think about replacing your skirting boards - it's as cheap as beading (fit flooring to the wall) and give a much better finish.

Have a dustpan & brush and remember to sweep out the join before you fit every plank.

Use 'click' stuff rather than glue (but dont take up & re-fit too many times or the joint will wear loose)

Use off-cuts as a tapping block.

You don't really need spacers, just make sure your edges are within 10mm of the wall/skirting.

An extra pair of hand makes fitting loger planks much easier.
There's more but you get the jist.

Answer 7

It's a pretty easy job. I just got done laying the floor in a guest room. Two people make the job go pretty fast - just make sure the other person is someone you enjoy working with. Also, it really helps to have a decent table saw and miter saw. I'm not sure you need them, but I was glad I had them. Good luck, and enjoy the new floor!

Answer 8

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Answer 9

You need a good electric stationary saw. You can do it yourself, alone if you have to. It takes a long time but it isn't that hard. I didn't pay anybody and I'm not a do it yourselfer and I was very happy with my results and all the money I saved. They charge way too much for such a simple job.

Answer 10

Its a piece of cake, you can do it yourself without anybody except someone to make the tea. The only difficult bit is laying the underlay but if you use 2 sided tape to stop it sliding around its easy.
Go for it...