Installing Laminate Floor Yourself?
Question:I know it is described as an easy DIY task, but can you really do it yourself, or would it be best for a first-timer to have a place like Home Depot install laminate wood floors? I'm not scared to try something myself, but what are the tools I will need and is there a training video or something on the web I can watch? I'm trying to save money, and avoiding installation charges seem like the best way to save.
Have you installed this floor before? What is your advice?
Answers:
easy to install
tools: undercut saw or jamb saw, rubber mallet, tapping block(piece of the laminate will work for this) table saw. if you don't have these items then you can find a flooring installer that will do it on the side. Home depot over charges for there installations. I've installed many laminate jobs and if you are purchasing the laminate from Home depot or lowe's stay away from the Traffic Master and Klaussen brands they are the worst ones to install all of the joints have to much wax on them and they are very hard to get to snap together. Stay with products made by SHAW, MOHAWK,FORMICA, AND COLUMBIA. They seem to just be more workable. The jamb saw is to cut the door jambs so that the laminate goes underneath, all of your baseboards will have to be taken off. Laminate is a floating floor with only the baseboard holding it down. Make sure to buy the underlayment for the laminate they have different kinds depending on what you are willing to spend they have a blue foam, a silver moisture barrier and a heavy rubbber one that will help with the hollow sound that a laminate floor has. You can buy a training video at home depot that will help you out. Normally we start laying it out from the entryway and you want to go in a direction that will make the room look longer and bigger. Hope this helps. What city and state do you live in and maybe we can help you find an installer.
We've installed this floor 3 times in various rooms. It can be done by you without any problem. You will need a rubber mallet and a short block of wood to tap the seams in tight. The hardest part is getting the flooring started square. Once you get that accomplished, it goes together pretty fast. Vary where your seams at the bottoms match up for a tight locking fit. If it starts going a little crooked, you might have to take it apart and start again. Just remember if there are gaps on the sides, that is what they make the moldings for. Once you get the snap, tap and tight system going.it works along pretty fast. A large floor can easily be done in a day.
I installed laminate flooring in my entire downstairs, it was the first time i did it and it came out great. If you can put together legos, you can install laminate flooring. At Home Depot or Lowes, you can buy a laminate flooring starter kit. It comes with the tools you will need and a video. I would watch the video and see if its something you want to get in.
Tools i would suggest are a Miter Saw or Circular Saw (for making straight cuts), a Saber Saw( for making curved cuts), a tape measure and squaring tool, hammer, and this flimsy saw i forget the name to cut the bottoms of the trim around doors ect.
Installing them yourself is cheaper, but how much cheaper depends on how much flooring you install. Figure that you will spend about $300 in power tools and misc tools. So if its only one room, id get it installed. but if you have more than one room, id say do it yourself and you will have some tools for yourself too.
Dont forget to get "quarter round" trim for the edges.
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