Which way do I lay laminate floor?

Question

I'm all set now, the underlay is down, do I lay the laminate along the floorboards or going across the floorboards? Some of the floorboards aren't quite level, only about 2mm out, but does this make a difference as to which way I lay it?
Thanks = )

Answer 1

Hi, ALWAYS lay the laminate across the floor boards - never lay them in the same direction as the floor boards. This is for strength ie. all floorboards expand and contract with heat/cold - that's why they creek.
As floors are continually moving, if a laminate board is on the same join as a floorboard it may crack.
For this reason, also lay the laminate in a brickwork pattern so that any movement will not send a crack across the whole of the floor - it will also help with the overall floor strength making it more rigid.
Lastly, leave around a 2mm gap around the perimeter of the room to allow for shrinkage/expansion of the laminate. A nice edging strip will attach to the skirting board to tidy this space.
I hope that this helps.
N.B. Don't try to match patterns in the design - it will look un-natural. Real wood floors are full of different colours and patterns - it is part of their charm.

Answer 2

Start in one corner and work left to right. You always lay seams with your light source. Depending on how uneven your floorboards are you may want to look at ways to level them like putting down a layer of plywood. I know that I was considering putting laminate in my basement but a friend who knows flooring said my basement wasn't level enough, even though you wouldn't really notice with no flooring he said it would become noticable once the flooring was laid.

Answer 3

Laminate flooring should be laid across the floorboards. Remember to stagger them so that they are placed in a brickwork-type effect. ie start your second row with a half plank making sure you use the correct half. Also make sure you use underlay boards.

Answer 4

always across the boards, if u lay them along the boards and end up with a join ontop of a ridge underneath, the joint will probably open up.
How ever, if u use the 9mm green matting as underlay, lay this across the boards and then its okay to lay in the direction of floorboards
Generally lay in the direction of the window, light, if u can
Have fun!

Answer 5

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Answer 6

It depends on the size of your room.

Normally you lay the boards lentghways along the room to make it look longer.

If the room, however, is quite narrow it is sometimes better to lay them across the width of the room as the finish makes the room look bigger.

Answer 7

if you read the instructions, depending on what floor you have bought, normally they say start in the top left hand corner looking from the entrance to the room, working your way across, hope this helps, thats what i did, and it looks great, it doesnt normally make a difference which way across the floorboards it lies

Answer 8

You want to lay them with the main source of light. So the seam is running towards the source. Windows, doors. Or along the longest wall.

Answer 9

Lay them across the existing boards.

Answer 10

Lay them along the length of the room, it should not be affected by the floorboards.