Project 4: Laying Laminate Flooring (part 2)

Now that I've gone over supplies (in the last post) it's time to get to the fun part; actually installing the laminate flooring. We had a LOT to do so we invited over a bunch of friends to come help. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by how many people were willing to give up part of their weekend to come over and do very demanding physical labor for someone else. 

When the floors were prepped and it was time to start, everyone gathered round to learn. I had never done this before, but you'd be surprised how far some self-confidence and you-tube research can get you. I just showed everyone what I had learned from research, passed out the installation kits and we had three groups work, each on a different room.

Putting down laminate is actually not very hard. A bunch of noobs were able to figure it out pretty fast. Each board had grooves along the edges. Two sides have grooves that stick out (male) and two sides have groves cut into them (female). Here is what a small board looks like. You'll notice the male sides are the top and right sides, the female are the bottom and left sides:
(pick of small board here)

So, you start buy getting your your spacers and putting a board in left corner of the room. It doesn't matter which direction you're laying the laminate (north/south or east/west) as long as you start in one corner and lay it down left to right. My suggestions is to find a wall that is uninterrupted (no closet doors or doorways to the hall) and start there. Technically you are supposed to lay the flooring down the same direction that light comes into the room. However, Since we had to replace almost all our flooring I found it more important that all the laminate in all the the bedrooms face the same direction. Having it all run north/south will give it a nice continuous flow from room to room.

Anyways, Here is what the first board looks like with the spacers keeping it away from the wall:

Why can't it touch the wall? Because the boards will expand and contract slightly (due to the weather/humidity) so it needs some space to expand. The spacers are 1/4" and they are removed after the laminate is put down, but before the quarter-rounds are attached.

Once the first board is down it is a simple process of adding another board (with another spacer keeping it from the wall). Adding a board isn't just putting the groves together; one must make sure the fit is air-tight. To do this you use the block tool and a mallet. First, you fit the boards together as much as you can. Next you attached the block to the opposite side of the laminate (it has a grove cut in it to keep the boards groove from getting damaged. Lastly, you hit the block with a rubber mallet (quite hard) to lock it into place. I believe this picture will help it make more sense:

You can see why the spacers are necessary. Without them, when I hit the block with the mallet the first piece of laminate would slam against the wall, possibly damaging both.

This process is continued all the way down the wall until you get to your last piece. The last piece will have to be cut to size using a miter saw. To do this you will first have to measure exactly where to place your cut. The easiest way to do this is to get a piece of laminate and flip it. Put it where the laminate should go and then turn it like you would turn a page in a book. 

This is the last board for this row but it needs to be cut

This is what it looks like when I flip it like a page in a book.

Then slide the wood over until you hit a spacer. Once it is in place take out a pen and mark where the new board meets the last board installed. I suggest using a square (the triangle shaped tool) to mark a nice straight line for your cut.

Once cut this will leave you with two halves; one that has no grooves on the right and side, and one with no grooves on the left. The board without grooves on the right side should fit perfectly into the last spot in your first row. The board without grooves on the left side will start your second row (using another spacer of course).  

 

You may be wondering how to tap the last board in a row into place since there is no room for the block and mallet. This is where the pull comes it. It is a piece of metal shaped like an 's'. You put one end at the edge of the last laminate piece in a row and then hit the other end with a mallet. This pulls the last piece into place perfectly. You will have to use the pull for every end piece in a row.

I have to be honest, the first row is one of the trickiest; so do not be discouraged if it takes you a while to get it right. Once it is in you will be able to go much faster because the boards will have something to attach to (and will thus not move around so much).

Now, if you read directions online, you will notice that it tells you to lay down row one cutting the last piece of laminate and using it to start row two, like below:

Orange first row end piece is cut and used as the first piece on the second row. Second row last piece is cut and used as the first piece on the third row...ect.

There is a problem with this method. When two people are working on the same room, worker A is stuck just sitting around waiting for worker B to cut the end piece each time a cut is needed.

To fix this, my intelligent husband came up with a new method; one that allows two people to work on the same room with maximum efficiency. He suggests you start row one as usual, but when you get to the last board, take the extra cut and wait to use it on row three. Start row two with a brand new piece and continue down the line until the last board is cut in half. Then you will start row three using row one's half board. Row four will be started with row tow's half board. Hopefully this makes more sense:

Worker A lays down orange row, goes to cut last piece while Worker B lays down blue row. Worker B goes to cut his last piece when worker A gets back, who puts down their last orange row piece and starts on the green row and so on and so forth.

This allowes one person to work on the even rows while the other works on the odds. Meaning LJ can be using the miter saw to cut an end piece for an even row, while I start working on the next odd row. Then by the time I get to the end piece, LJ is back to work on the next even row while I cut my end piece for the odd row. This method speeds up the process quite nicely.

That's how the regular walls go, but they aren't all regular. You will have closets and walls that turn and doorways to worry about. There are special pieces made for where two floors meet. For example, where the tile from the bathroom meets the laminate in the hallway. I wish I could show you these special transition pieces but they are still back-ordered. So, for the time being, you will just have to take my word for it. I'll be sure and post information on transition pieces once they come in. That said, the other abnormal part is when you're finishing up a room. 

Very rarely does the last row of laminate fit perfectly into the remaining space. More often than not, you will have to cut the boards lengthwise to insure a proper fit. This is much easier said than done. We used a circular saw to make the cut. It would be easier with a table saw, but we don't own one of those at the moment, so we had to make do with using wood clams to hang the laminate off the edge of a crate. Not the ideal way to use a circular saw, but it worked. (I wouldn't suggest trying it though, I'd suggest making friends with someone who has a table saw.) These last skinner pieces will need to be installed using the pull bar on both the bottom and right hand sides. I have to warn you, it is very frustrating to put down laminate through the whole room at a pretty good pace, and then hit the last row and suddenly you move like a turtle. However, it is very hard to get this last row just right, so don't rush it. It's more important that it is done properly than you finish the floor quickly.

Hammer is touching the bottom of the pull bar. To hammer in I would draw my hand back and hit the pull bar.

See how thin that last row is? Not so fun to cut those piece out so perfectly.

I will tell you that there is something crazy satisfying about laying down the laminate floors. It's one of those few chores where you see an instant change, and it makes such a difference to the whole look of the house. I feel like our house doesn't look as old as it used to. Everyone who has come over can't believe what a difference it makes. 

Speaking of people who came over. Here are some action shots of our team of 'professionals.'  Thanks everyone! (I didn't get pictures of everyone working, sorry about that!)

L. working on the Master Bedroom Floor

Mandy putting together my new chairs on the 90% completed Dining Room floor

A. can cut laminate like a BOSS

My S.I.L. finishing up the nursery

B. working hard in the study

I think that's where we will stop for today. Here are some pictures of what a floor looks like when it reaches this stage. The good news is you can start putting stuff on it. The spacers should be tight around the edges, keeping the while thing from shifting. And the boards themselves should be stuck together pretty airtight, so you don't have to worry about them shifting. We set up our dining room table and at dinner at it for the first time.

This project is continued here.