DIY Laminate Flooring Installation: My Experiences!
I have installed laminate flooring in 3 homes now. I am talking about the type of flooring that looks like wood planks, but it is actually a type of pressed micro-board material (something to that effect). I am a huge fan of laminate flooring! It is fairly easy to install and you do not have to be a professional. Just do your research first. Watch videos and make sure you have a good grasp on the requirements.
Here is what I have learned about it...
Pros:
- It is excellent for DIY. It is fairly easy to cut with a table saw and jigsaw. I also use a Dremel to do intricate cuts or sanding down to increase space in complicated areas.
- No glue or nailing required.
- Interlocking pieces just snap together.
- Typically cheaper than hard wood or bamboo. Great for middle class or lower class homes.
- Comes with a pretty good warranty.
- Looks just as beautiful as hardwood if you buy a decent style.
- Quiet when walked on.
- Slightly flexible so you can bend it into places you could not with hard wood.
- Durable. Not as much as hardwood or bamboo, but holds up quite well.
- Easy to clean.
Cons:
- Can be a bit fragile during installation or package transportation. The edges that snap together can be easily broken off if banged around when not snapped in place.
- It can sometimes be difficult to get 100% proper alignment of all edges. You may have to fuss with it a little to get it right.
- Planks can sometimes be a little warped horizontally, but so can hardwood. A little finesse or using a different plank will work it out.
- Should not be used in bathrooms, due to the high moisture and water contact probability. This material is not made for wet areas. If exposed to too much water, it will expand and deteriorate, leading to breakage/warping/peeling of upper layer. I have not experienced that myself because I would never do that, but I have read about it.
- Not considered a high grade material, so not something you would really want to put in a million dollar home.
- There have been some incidents where some brands have contained physically harmful chemicals that off-gas into the home and make people sick. This is supposed to be better regulated, but you just never know these days. Do you research.
My recent installation was in a home that had animal urine soaked carpet and minor urine soaked subfloor. We tore out and removed all carpet, debris, staples, and removed any raised bumps that were in the floor. We hammered down any nails where the floors were squeaky. We added screws to reinforce squeaky areas. We replaced a small section of water damaged subfloor. We pulled up the quarter round. We coated the entire subfloor in Kilz Original which is the BEST method for sealing in foul odors! I undercut around the stair case, room divider railing, doorway trim, and stone fireplace to allow the floor to slip under. We removed all of the floor vents. We used floor leveler on uneven concrete areas. Then we lay down underlayment and installed the flooring.
Backside of old carpet! EEEW...
Stinky room now smells clean with the walls and subfloor coated in Kilz Original:
You can do all your cuts with one of these, if you don't have a saw. Pretty easy!
Undercutting so the floor will slip under...
Dremeling out the leftover bits of the extra layer of subfloor that extended under the cabinets...
Apply concrete gap filler/floor leveler as needed:
Undercut the stone fireplace. Then slipped a layer of underlayment, a laminate floor plank, and another top layer of underlayment under the lip. Then, I used mortar to fill in any gaps where the old stone/mortar broke off. The top layer of underlayment served as a removable barrier between the mortar and temporary flooring I slipped in there. Allow the mortar to dry. Gently pull out the temporary flooring and then peel away the top layer of underlayment from the dry mortar. Use a Dremel to sand down any ugly spots. Voila! Now you have perfect mortar/stone alignment when you install your new flooring! PS... I used Valspar Stone/Concrete Stain to paint my stone.
Note: The color of the new mortar will match after painting it.
Nice clean undercut around the stairs and railing...
Looks brand new!