Things You Must And Must Not Do Before Installing Laminate Flooring

Laminate flooring is becoming the prominent choice of every practical homeowner. But, before you jump into the bandwagon, there are some things you need to know before you start installing laminate flooring in your own home. Of course, reading the manual is the best first approach to avoid future problems regarding your laminate flooring as it will be a permanent fixture in your home for years. So, installing it correctly is the key

Here are some things that you must and not do before installing laminate flooring in your house

1. First, and foremost, you need to read the manual provided by the manufacturer.  It is the most basic thing yet most homeowners neglect. Don’t skip this step!
2. You need to know and select the pattern of the flooring. You don’t want a messy pattern, do you? Decide which pattern you are going for. Take your time to decide and don’t rush things otherwise, you’ll spend most of your time removing the planks to change the patterns when it does not suit your preference.

3. 48 hours before the installation, let your floor cool down to room temperature. This is to avoid moisture and humidity build up in the room.
4. Clean, and level your subfloor. Repair it if there are squeaks or nail heads that are popping out. If your floor doesn’t have an underlayment, make sure to install the proper one. After that, tape the seams of the underlayment to prevent it from shifting from position.
5. To avoid the hassle, prepare your tools you think you will use in installing beforehand.
6. Check three random boxes of planks to see if there is any damage.

7. Laminate installation kit will be your best friend during the installation.
8. Make use of the scrap laminate to maintain the size of the expansion gap.
9. Around the perimeter, leave a .25 inch expansion gap but if you have a larger area, .5 inch will do. You may want to stagger rows one plank from each other. To give a structural support, joints must be 12 to 18 inches apart from each other.

These are the things that must NOT DO:

1. You must not install laminate flooring with a drain, on an unbalanced subfloor, on damp area or with an extreme high or low temperature, outdoors or on residential carpets.
2. You must not double the the layer of the laminate underlayment to maintain the locking systems function and its joints.

3. Without transition strip, you must not install your laminate flooring over 30 linear feet. You must not proceed with the installation process if there are openings that are less than 48 inches wide only.
4. You must not do the cutting process in the area of installation. You may want to keep your area of installation clean. When cutting the laminate, you must not cut from the back of the laminate instead, cut through the decorative layer of the laminate.
5. You must not nail the molding into the floor. Instead, nail it to the wall so that it can contract and expand.

Now that you know the things you need to and not do before the installation, you can now have a laminate flooring that offers a more modern design and efficiency.