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HOW TO: Lay a Laminate floor

Introduction
This 'How to' describes how to lay a laminate floor. It tells you how
to prepare your subfloor, which underlays you'll need, how to get the crucial
first and last rows right, and how to finish your new floor off to perfection.

The important thing to remember in laying your new floor is that laminate boards
are made of organic materials. They will therefore expand and contract with heat
and moisture. To allow for this, you need to leave an expansion gap of between
9mm and 15mm around all outside edges of your new floor (figs. 1, 2).

What you’ll need

Materials Tools & equipment
Acrylic flexible sealant Chalk line Knee pads
Door threshold strips Claw hammer – 16oz/20oz Mallet
Felting paper – for carpet subfloor Clean rag Pencil
Fibre underlay boards 4–6mm thick Craft knife Sealant gun
Foam underlay Combination try square Steel measuring tape
Laminate floorboards Draw bar Wedges or spacer blocks
Polythene damp-proof membrane 0.2mm thick Electric drill and sharp bits
Water-resistant PVA adhesive
Electric jigsaw or coping saw
Fine hard tooth panel saw
Firmer chisel – 6mm
Hitting block

About laminate floors

A laminate floor consists of laminate boards glued together at the tongue-and-groove
edges. It's a 'floating floor', meaning that the boards are not attached to your subfloor.
An underlay goes between the subfloor and the laminate floor to insulate for warmth
and against noise (figs. 3, 4).

Laminate boards are sold in packs. Different manufacturers offer different sizes
and wood-effect finishes, so check packs for suitability, area covered, and any
special instructions.
fig. 1
How many packs of boards?
First measure the length and width of your room, including areas such as the
thresholds of doorways. Multiply the length by the width to give the room's total
area. If the room has a large obstruction, such as a chimney breast, deduct its area
from the total (fig. 5).

fig. 2

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 HOW TO: Lay a Laminate floor
What you’ll need (cont.)

Example
3.2m x 2.9m = 9.28m2
1.25m x 0.32m = 0.04m2
Total floor space = 9.24m2

Now divide the total floor space by the area that each pack of laminate boards
covers. If for example. one pack covers 2.25m2:

9.24m2 ÷ 2.25m2 = 4.106 packs

You will need to buy five packs. fig. 3

Types of underlay
• 0.2mm thick polythene sheet
Moisture barrier for concrete, cement screed or bitumen subfloor (fig. 4)
• Foam underlay
Heating and sound insulation for wooden floorboards, chipboard,
parquet, cork, vinyl, rubber and linoleum subfloors (fig. 4)
• Fibre boards 4–6mm
Added insulation or to enable laminate boards to be laid parallel
to existing floor boards (fig. 3)
• Felting or underlay paper fig. 4
For a carpet subfloor

Before you begin

Is a laminate floor right for you?
• Some flats and maisonettes have strict regulations about floor coverings.
Check that your lease or tenancy agreement allows laminate flooring.
• Some laminate flooring is unsuitable for heavy use areas, kitchens
or conservatories.
• Most laminate flooring is unsuitable for wet areas, saunas, bathrooms
or shower rooms.
• Some laminate flooring is unsuitable if you have underfloor heating.
Check with the manufacturer before you go any further. fig. 5
• You can lay a laminate floor on top of concrete, cement screeds, bitumen,
wooden floorboards, chipboard, parquet, vinyl, rubber or linoleum.
• You can lay a laminate floor on top of cork, as long as the cork is stuck
to wooden floorboards, chipboard, parquet, vinyl, rubber or linoleum.
You'll need to remove the cork if it's stuck to a concrete, cement screed
or bitumen subfloor.
• You can lay a laminate floor on top of carpet, as long as the carpet and
its underlay are less than 7mm thick and they're laid on top of wooden
floorboards, chipboard, parquet, vinyl, rubber or linoleum. You'll need
to remove the carpet if it's thicker than 7mm or if it's laid on a concrete,
cement screed or bitumen subfloor.

fig. 6

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 HOW TO: Lay a Laminate floor
Before you begin (cont.)

Acclimatise your boards

Allow your boards to acclimatise to the room where you'll lay them. Leave the
unopened packs in the room, well away from walls and radiators, for at least forty
hours before you start. The room should have an average temperature of 18˚C.

Remove skirting boards

Lay your new floor under your existing skirting boards. Just remove the skirting before
you start and replace it when your floor is finished (fig. 1). Check first that the skirting
is wide enough to cover the 9–15mm expansion gap.
fig. 7
Alternatively, lay the new floor up to the skirting and cover the expansion gap
with a moulding (fig. 2).

Shorten doors
If laying laminate boards will raise the level of your floor, you may need to shorten
your doors.

To check, place a board with its underlay against the door. If the door will be
blocked, mark the thickness of the board against the door, allowing also for the
thickness of a threshold strip and adding 2–3mm for easy opening (fig. 6).

Remove the door, cut off the bottom strip with a fine-tooth saw, and finish with glass
paper. For more information, see How To: fit a door fig. 8

Complete plumbing or electrical works

Are you planning any changes to your under-floor plumbing or electrical installations?
If so, be sure to complete these before laying your new floor.

Preparing your subfloor

Your subfloor must be dry, level and smooth. A variation of up to 3mm over
2m is acceptable.

Concrete, cement screeds, bitumen

Grind off or fill any highs or hollows. If your subfloor is very uneven, use a self-levelling
screed. A concrete subfloor must have an integral damp-proof membrane and it must
be completely dry (fig. 4).

For new concrete allow at least these drying times before laying your new floor:
fig. 9
Thickness of concrete Minimum drying time
50mm 2 months
75mm 4 months
100mm 6 months

fig. 10

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 HOW TO: Lay a Laminate floor
Preparing your sub floor (cont.)

Wooden floorboards, chipboard, parquet

Plane or sand off any unevenness. Screw down any loose floorboards, taking care not
to screw into pipes or cables underneath.

Cork, carpet
Remove the cork or carpet if it's stuck to a concrete, cement screed or bitumen
subfloor. Also remove any carpet over 7mm thick.
fig. 11

Fitting your underlay

Sweep and hoover the floor before fitting the underlay. Any rubbish left under
the new floor will spoil your good work by making the floor uneven and noisy

Concrete, cement screeds, bitumen

Cover the floor with an 0.2mm thick polythene sheet. Joins must overlap by at least
20cm. The sheet should extend beyond the floor and up the walls by about 2.5cm.
Trim off the excess before fixing your skirtings or mouldings (fig. 4).

Lay a layer of foam underlay on top of the polythene.

fig. 12
Wooden floorboards, chipboard, parquet
Use either foam underlay or 4–6mm fibre boards.

If you're laying on floorboards and need to lay your laminate boards in the same direc-
tion, fit 4–6mm fibre underlay boards at 45˚ to the existing subfloor boards (fig. 3).

Vinyl, rubber, linoleum, cork

Use foam underlay. If the vinyl, rubber or linoleum is stuck to a concrete floor
and any signs of damp are apparent, use polythene sheets as well.
fig. 13
Carpet
There's no need for foam underlay if you're laying laminate boards on top of carpet,
but do use felting or underlay paper between boards and carpet to prevent them
sticking together.

Preparing your first row

1. Choose the direction
Floorboards look best when the light falls along the length of the board (fig. 7).

If you're laying on floorboards, lay your laminate boards at 90˚ to the existing
floorboards (figs. 1, 2). If you have to lay the laminate boards in the same direction,
first fit 4–6mm fibre underlay boards at 45˚ to the existing subfloor boards (fig. 3).

2. Dry lay the first row

Lay the boards from left to right, with the tongues towards you and the groove edge
to the wall. If your first board has a tongue on the left-hand short edge, cut it off.

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 HOW TO: Lay a Laminate floor
Preparing your first row (cont.)

Without using any adhesive, dry lay the first row of boards. Position spacers along
the outside edges to maintain the expansion gap (fig. 8).

To ensure your floor has an even colour, lay boards in the order that you take them
from the pack.

Measuring a board to length

You'll almost certainly have to cut a board to the right length to complete your first
row. This last section of board must be at least 20cm long (fig. 3). If necessary,
shorten the first board in the row to allow more space at the other end.

Here's how to measure the last board to length and ensure a perfect fit.

Keeping the grain side up, lay your last board on top of the second-last board, turning
the board you need to cut so that it's tongue to tongue with the other board. Put a
spacer against your end wall, then push the short edge groove of your last board
against the spacer (fig. 9).

The board to cut, will lie partly on top of the second-last board. Using a combination
try square and a marking knife, mark the board where it crosses the board below.
Saw along the mark, turn your board back round, and position it in place.

Cutting boards

Use a hard point handsaw to cut boards (fig. 10). Or use a power saw, cutting from fig. 14
the underside of the board to avoid chipping (fig. 11).

Laying your floor

1. Lay the first row
Place the first board in position, with the long edge groove towards the wall. Set
spacers between the wall and the board, along both the long and short edges.

Gluing boards

Use the PVA adhesive recommended by the manufacturer or supplier of your boards.

Apply the glue in a continuous stripe to the groove. Try to avoid leaving gaps, because
the wood will swell if water gets between the boards. If glue oozes out as you fix
boards, simply wipe it off with a damp cloth.
fig. 15
Take the next board, run glue along its end groove (fig. 12) and fit it to the first
board. Tap it home using the draw bar and hammer (fig. 13) and wipe off any excess
adhesive with a damp cloth. Position spacers and check that the two boards are prop-
erly aligned.

Continue until the first row is complete, using the draw bar to fix the last board
and positioning a spacer at the wall end.

Remember that the wall might not be dead straight, so keep checking that the boards
are correctly aligned – with each other rather than with the wall.

fig. 16

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 HOW TO: Lay a Laminate floor
Laying your floor (cont.)

Hint
Here's how to check the alignment of two boards you've just glued. Take a third
board and attach it – groove to tongue, but without gluing – across the join of the
boards you've glued, as if it was in the next row. There should be no gaps
between the three boards.

2. Lay the second and further rows

If the offcut from the last board in your first row is more than 20cm long, use fig. 17
it to start your second row (figs. 3,14). Make sure that the joins between boards
in adjacent rows are also at least 20cm apart (fig. 3). If the joins line up, they will cause
a weakness in your new floor.

Apply glue to the long edge groove and fix the board to the first row. Tap it home
using the block and hammer.

As you lay the second and further rows, remember to maintain the expansion gap
by placing spacers between the ends of your boards and the wall. Continue laying
boards until you reach the last row.

3. Lay the last row

fig. 18
The width of the last board may need to be reduced to fit the gap remaining
between the second from last board and the skirting board. Measure the width
of your board, less the tongue plus 10mm for the expansion gap. Lay a board on
top of the previous row of laid boards. Lay an off-cut on top of the two stacked
boards, and butt it up to the skirting board (fig. 15). Remember to put a spacer
between the end of the off-cut board and the skirting board. Mark the end of
the off-cut on to the top board. Mark this line along the length of the whole
board and cut (fig. 10, 11).

Using this technique, cut the boards for your last row, glue and fix into place using the
draw bar (fig. 13).

4. Finish your floor

fig. 19
When the adhesive is dry, remove the spacers. Fit the skirtings back on, or attach
mouldings to cover the expansion gap.

Fit threshold strips in the doorway, remembering once again to leave space
for expansion.

Dealing with obstructions

Radiator pipes
Measure the centre line of your pipe onto the board using a spacer, combination
try-square and pencil (figs. 16, 17, 18).

You need to allow an expansion gap around pipes as well, so drill a hole 16mm
wider than the diameter of the pipe. If your pipe's diameter is 18mm, for example,
drill a 34mm diameter hole (fig. 19).

fig. 20

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 HOW TO: Lay a Laminate floor
Dealing with obstructions (cont.)

If your holes are at the short end of a board, cut across the board (fig. 20). If they're on
the long edge, make two cuts at 45˚ and finish with a jigsaw or coping saw
(fig. 21). Glue the pieces back behind the pipe and use spacers to hold them in place.

Wooden door frames

Lay an offcut with underlays against the door frame (architrave). Mark the height of
this on the bottom of the door frame to indicate the gap needed for your new floor to
fit underneath.
fig. 21
Lay a hand saw on top of the off-cut with the blade facing the door frame. Carefully
saw through the frame, bending the blade of the saw upwards slightly as you work
(fig. 22). Alternatively, remove the frame with a chisel and mallet. Remember to leave
an expansion gap.

Metal doorframes
Use an offcut of a board less its tongue to backmark around the frame, adding 10mm
to allow for the expansion gap. Cut the board and fix it as normal, then fill the gap
between the board and the doorframe using acrylic flexible sealant. Masking tape will
protect the boards and doorframe as you apply the sealant (fig. 23).

Irregular shaped rooms

fig. 22
Use a chalkline to mark a line at 90˚ to the end wall (fig. 24). Measure up to the point
where you have space to fit a whole row and mark this point by fixing a temporary
batten to the subfloor.

Dry lay the first row against the batten. Still dry laying, use the backmarking technique
to mark and cut the boards until the area is filled.

Number the boards. Take them up and then lay them again using adhesive. Remember
to leave an expansion gap. HB

fig. 23

fig. 24

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