First Time Installing a Laminate Floor

!±8± First Time Installing a Laminate Floor

Different rooms of a home bring different challenges when laying laminate flooring.

In the bathroom the toilet will be an obstacle to lay your flooring under. If you're new to toilets, I recommend going to your local hardware store, and buying a plumber's book that covers the toilet. With that said, when reinstalling the toilet back onto the soil stack flange you will need a new wax ring. If your flange of your soil stack is rusted out, what I mean is, the bolts do not hold the toilet snug to the bathroom floor, you can simply buy a new flange. Drill and screw the new flange onto the soil stack. Your local hardware store will carry the wax ring and new soil stack flange. This might also be a good time for a new toilet, depending on age and beauty.

In the kitchen there are several obstacles to go under with your new laminate flooring. First obstacle is the refrigerator. Move the refrigerator out enough to lay your flooring behind. Check your floor behind the refrigerator to make sure the floor is level before laying new laminate flooring. Second obstacle is the dishwasher. Do not lay your flooring in front of the dishwasher. Why, you will not have enough space to pull out the dishwasher when it is time to repair or replace the dishwasher. It is easy to unscrew the dishwasher from underneath the counter top, pull it out, disconnect the hot water line, and electric. After removing the dishwasher check to see if leveling of the floor is needed. Third obstacle is the stove. Gas stoves are not an issue because you can simply pull them out, and work around them. Your flexible gas line behind the stove should be long enough to be pulled out. If you're not sure have a certified repairman pull out your stove for you, the first time. Remember that you are saving a lot of money on the labor by installing the laminate flooring yourself, safety is always a first priority. After the stove is pulled out, check behind, and make sure the floor is level before laying laminate flooring. When installing laminate flooring this way it looks mint. Take your time, and do it the professional way the first time.

Door jam bottoms will need to be trimmed, so new laminate flooring will fit underneath the door jam. A specific non-electric door jam saw is sold for around fifteen dollars at your local hardware store. There is nice electric door jam trimming tools if preferred. Electric door jam tools start around one hundred dollars and go up from there.

You will need two special laminate fitting tools. They sell for around twenty dollars at your local hardware store. These two tools are critical to make each piece of laminate fit together tightly. Which helps to hide the seams of each laminate piece, cool!

Sawing is time consuming if you do not have the proper saw. I did a little research after struggling the first day installing my laminate flooring. I found a mint table saw with legs for only one hundred and twenty-nine dollars at Sears. What a difference that made. It was like night and day. Also a good electric small hand jig saw for cutting small rounded pieces worked mint. If installing new trim, I would recommend an electric miter saw. I bought an inexpensive miter saw at Sears for only eighty nine dollars.

When installing the floor, follow the instructions that came with your laminate flooring brand. Do not listen to others on how the laminate floor should be installed. The manufacture did an awesome job in the instructions on how to lay your flooring down. If you follow these to the guide lines, then you can fall back on your manufacturer warranty. Many times laminate flooring is installed incorrectly which voids your manufacturer's warranty. Do not be one of these cases.

When sliding the heavy appliances back onto the kitchen floor, I recommend using round plastic skid floor protectors. This makes moving them so much easier and protects your new laminate flooring. You can find skid protectors in the laminate flooring isle of your local hardware store.

Leveling the floor is a preparation before starting. If your floor is bumpy, you can mix leveling compound and troll your floor. You only need to do this in the spots where it is not level. I have used plywood the right thickness to level some spots under appliances were old flooring was never installed. Use either method to level your floor. The method that you use depends on your old floor.

A four foot level is a good tool to use to level your old floor, before laying your new laminate flooring. If you have access to a six or eight foot piece of two by four or six, that works to. If you do use a piece of wood for a leveling tool, check the levelness with a level prior to using the piece of wood.

Now get your list ready, round up your square feet, and head to the local hardware store.

Have fun! Take your time, and be safe around the tools.