Off-topic, laminate floor installation question

Doug · Jun 14, 2005

Anybody try this themseves ? I'm talking the stuff that's toungue and groove, and "free-floating", ( no glue, nails, screws, etc.) It comes in lengths about 54" long and 8 " wide. I can get this stuff for about $30 a box, 8-10 planks depeding on style, covers about 28+ sf, made by kronotex, looks good at the local discount junk store ( joblot), they have pallets of it.

I want to cover about 376 sf, so about 14 boxes, a bit over $400, not bad !

I've read stuff about it. It seems you leave a gap of .25 inches or so around walls, I have some HVAC vents that are in floor and wonder if cutting out for them would effect the flooring system's stability, it has to be done, I'm not going to cover them.

The sub-floor should be fine and level (wood) once I rip -up the awful old white carpet that's there now. I know enough that you space it like a brick-layer does.

Diagonal installation would be nice, but maybe too advanced to attempt.

Any of you guys do this yourself ?

What are/were your results and experiences with it ? It doesn't look too hard to do, but better to ask opinions first.

buddyboy · Jun 14, 2005

usually you have to put down foam padding first and let the wood floor you are putting down "float" over the padding.

your 1/4 round molding around the walls holds down the floor and the molding gets nailed to the wall, NOT the floor.

cutouts for registers is not a problem, the register cover "floats" with the floor

read this: http://www.ehow.com/how_15087_install-wood-laminate.html

good luck

Doug · Jun 14, 2005

Buddy : Thanks for the link. It mentions a lot about glueing, and this system uses no glue. I didn't know about pad. So it seems you have to take up all the moulding, then re-install it.

I wonder how many hours this job would take ?

Any more opinions ?

BoratSagdiyev · Jun 14, 2005

of course you have to take up the moulding. that is how the gap gets hidden. if time is a major factor then forget the 1/4 inch gap and get as close to the wall as possible . You can nail in a piece of trim to cover it if it looks bad afterwards.

volhound · Jun 14, 2005

I did 400 sq ft last year and it took all weekend(3 of us) - you need at least two, one will need a cutting station set up with a skilsaw

I moved everything out(furniture) the first night and ripped up the carpet and pad and swept up the mess that was underneath. Then we hit the ground running the next day
the molding has to come off and then you have to put it back after you are done. I ended up getting new molding and was lucky enough to borrow a finishing gun that was CO2 powered.
Time : a lot depnds on how many cuts you have to make. I had a foyer and an eat-in area that ended up taking the most time. Big open areas go a lot quicker.
I started in a corner and worked my way out.
Go to Home Depot's class, if they have one. but it is not necesary.
Do buy the block that they make for knocking the pieces together with a hammer. All the boards will not fit together perfectly, you have to bang the hell out of most of them. It will take longer and go slower than you think. Have a calculator and pad of paper on hand while working.
It can be done by the inexperienced, like myself. My main problem was that there were too many chiefs(my wife and her dad). So I played 2nd fiddle, if you know what I mean. Set the pecking order and plan out ahead of time.

Doug · Jun 14, 2005

Can you move furniture to one side of the room, floor the other half, then immediately put furniture on 1st half of floor, or is that not advisable ?

BoratSagdiyev · Jun 14, 2005

Volhound you little devil. I saw you ontv the other day. It goes" the greates movies of all time" and then it showed you in that pose.

BoratSagdiyev · Jun 14, 2005

why in the world would you not be able to do that?

DougJ said:
Can you move furniture to one side of the room, floor the other half, then immediately put furniture on 1st half of floor, or is that not advisable ?

volhound · Jun 14, 2005

I guess that depends on if you will have enough working space, you will need a path to where th boards are being cut. I would move your stuff if you could because there will be a lot of dust undeerneath what you have now and you will want it as clean as possible

also I forgot to tell you to put plastic wrap under the pad that will be under the laminate flooring

The job is doable and will be a bitch, but well worth it, especially if you are replacing carpet

volhound · Jun 14, 2005

Borat Sagdiyev said:
Volhound you little devil. I saw you ontv the other day. It goes" the greates movies of all time" and then it showed you in that pose.

I love the smell of napalm in the morning, Smells like victory

Doug · Jun 14, 2005

Just checking. I don't understand why they tell you to store the material in it's original boxes for at least 48 hours in the rooms you are flooring, before starting either.

The padding underneath it seems odd also. It seems it would go directly on floor.

volhound · Jun 14, 2005

so the temperature is the same

if you are storing them outside in the heat and they are hot when you lay them in a cool room, then tomorrow they might not be as snug as you want
just like a bridge expands and contracts, same goes for these

Doug · Jun 14, 2005

volhound said:
I did 400 sq ft last year and it took all weekend(3 of us) - you need at least two, one will need a cutting station set up with a skilsaw

I moved everything out(furniture) the first night and ripped up the carpet and pad and swept up the mess that was underneath. Then we hit the ground running the next day
the molding has to come off and then you have to put it back after you are done. I ended up getting new molding and was lucky enough to borrow a finishing gun that was CO2 powered.
Time : a lot depnds on how many cuts you have to make. I had a foyer and an eat-in area that ended up taking the most time. Big open areas go a lot quicker.
I started in a corner and worked my way out.
Go to Home Depot's class, if they have one. but it is not necesary.
Do buy the block that they make for knocking the pieces together with a hammer. All the boards will not fit together perfectly, you have to bang the hell out of most of them. It will take longer and go slower than you think. Have a calculator and pad of paper on hand while working.
It can be done by the inexperienced, like myself. My main problem was that there were too many chiefs(my wife and her dad). So I played 2nd fiddle, if you know what I mean. Set the pecking order and plan out ahead of time.

That sounds like an honest explanation of what to expect. I called a contractor, they said about $6-6.50/ sf, so over 2k by a pro.

How were your results ?

volhound · Jun 14, 2005

good results, and like Borat said - you can cover the inaccuracies with the molding

unless money is no object, do it yourself - you'll be better for it

sherman · Jun 14, 2005

doug let keep us posted as to how it comes out if you do it cause i have been thinking about going to Ocean State Job Lot also for that same stuff, or Lumber Liquidators....

HacheMan · Jun 14, 2005

Doug J, I've been meaning to ask you about your avatar.....

Do you "get into", or are you intrigued by ufo's, aliens, etc?

Doug · Jun 14, 2005

sherman said:
doug let keep us posted as to how it comes out if you do it cause i have been thinking about going to Ocean State Job Lot also for that same stuff, or Lumber Liquidators....

I haven't decided either way. It seems to be one of those things that will be more difficult than originally thought. I'm a little leary of the quality of Joblot merchandise. Don't ever buy things like light bulbs, batteries, etc there. Their bulbs last about 1 hour.

The flooring is made by Kronotex. Some research on that manufacturer is in order. The product does look nice in the store.

Hache: I'm a fan of the X-files. The avatar is meant to look like the poster Mulder has on the wall in his office. The whole UFO and alien thing does interest me. Have you ever seen old ( Rennaisance-era) paintings with what appear to be UFO's in the background ?

There's also a lot of photos and videos that are convincing.

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