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Laminate Floors

Laminate Floor Construction

Installing A Laminate Floor

Repairing A Laminate Floor

Laminate Floor Care

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Grade levels for laminate floors Laminate floors are meant to be floated over a variety of sub floors and never secured directly to any substrate. In other words, the laminate flooring just lays on top of the sub floor, which can be wood, concrete, or an existing floor. This allows the laminate flooring to expand and contract freely as the room environment changes. Laminate floors come in planks and squares of various sizes and shapes. All four sides of each plank have a tongue and grooved edge for locking them together.

Many brands of laminate floors no longer require specials glues at the tongue and groove joints. Many laminate floors now have some sort of special glueless locking systems which makes installation much easier for doing it yourself. There are also laminate floors which have the glue pre-applied along the tongue and the glue is activated by touching the tongue with a damp sponge. Many of the better grade laminate floors have all edges pre-sealed at the factory to help prevent moisture from attacking the inner core structure.

Special polyurethane underlay is laid down prior to installing laminate flooring. This helps the floor to float freely over the top. Some more expensive underlayments are available for reducing sound transmissions and restricting moisture from wicking up.

Floating Installation

Installation is done similar to hardwood flooring. Drying laying several rows first and squaring up the rows in the room. Acclimating the planks to the room is also essential to make the installation easier and to avoid planks bowing and cupping.

Glueless Laminate Floor Installation

Most laminate flooring manufacturers today offer gluess laminate floors. These floors do not require any glue to lock the planks together and are often referred too as "clic-floors". The tongue and grooves are specially designed to lock together and not come a part from foot traffic. Be sure to read the manufacturer's recommeded installation procedures before installing. (Note: The subfloor needs to fairly level (flat) in order for the planks to easily lock together.)

Glued Laminate Floors

Below is a general outline of the various tools used to install glued-together laminate flooring. Always follow the manufacturer's installation instructions and use the manufacturer's recommended installation tools.

laminate tools

1. Glue - most laminate floors require a special glue to secure the planks together and help seal moisture from penetrating the core.

2. Fillers & Sealants - some laminate manufacturers have added color coordinating fillers and sealants. The colored fillers are to fix seam gaps between planks and the sealant is used around the perimeter where moisture may enter.

3. Straps - straps work much better than clamps at pulling plank rows together. Normally you need a strap set for every four feet in the starter rows.

4. Tapping Block - the tapping blocks are used to lightly tap two planks together. Most blocks are designed to fit a specific manufacturers tongue and groove design.

5. Wedges - the V-shaped wedges are used to insure a minimum gap is left between the laminate floor and all vertical walls. Consult manufacturer's installation for required gap distances.

6. Pulling Bar - the bar is used to help pull two pieces of laminate together. Care must be used with these bars so as to not chip the surface of the laminate plank.