Many homeowners choose laminate flooring because it is both affordable and aesthetically pleasing. Many folks in Prescott are going the DIY route for this product, because we are here to help you along the way with the right tools and know-how.
A Good Place to Start Your DIY Laminate Flooring Experience
Installing laminate flooring on your own is one of the easier DIY jobs. You just need to have the proper tools, and you should understand the basic process. We will help you with both. You can also find some great tutorials on YouTube.
Tips for Beginning Your Laminate Flooring Project
While it is a fairly easy job, even for the new do-it-yourselfer, you should not dive right in without understanding what you are doing. It is important to learn everything you can about the process. Here are a few tips to add to your study as you begin the process:
- Acclimate the planks. Before the installation of your new floor, the laminate will need to acclimate to its new environment. Lay the pieces of laminate out on the floor of the room and let them rest there for at least 48 hours. This will allow them to acclimate to the moisture and temperature conditions in the room in which you are installing.
- Before you install, the subfloor needs to be clean and smooth. You can often install laminate over some old flooring, like sheet vinyl, but make sure the surface is smooth and flat. More often than not, you should go ahead and remove the existing flooring. Remove all baseboards and trim as well.
- Just before installation, vacuum away any debris. Make sure the base floor is level. If you are installing concrete basement flooring, check for chips and fix them with a patching compound. On wooden subfloors, be sure to get rid of any loose nails. Patch the cracks, and sand any areas that are not level.
- When laying the planks around doors, cut down some trim from the doorways. This way, you will not need to cut your flooring to suit an irregular shape.
- Install underlayment. If your flooring does not come with its own underlayment, buy some. Underlayment is a thin, but concentrated, foam designed to help with temperature insulation and sound absorption. Some laminate floors come with built-in underlayment. This makes things a lot easier, as it eliminates this step.
- Determine the wall against which you will start the installation. It is usually best to start laying the flooring against the longest wall.
