DIY Home Improve

Whenever you lay a new flooring whether it’s laminate or carpet you should check to see if your sub-floor is level as this will determine a good job from a bad. First establish whether your sub-floor is wood or concrete as this will confirm how you need to level it. 

With wooden sub-floors there is a choice of two materials. Your choice is either to use hardboard which is available in different size sheets or the more durable plywood. The main advantage of using hardboard is it is a much more manageable material however this means it is leaves a less solid foundation. For the best wooden sub-floor finish you should always use plywood, also be sure to fix it down with screws rather than pins. 

Levelling a concrete sub-floor is rather tricky and requires using a floor-levelling compound, you may want to leave this to the experts. You will also need to lay a membrane layer over the screed to stop moisture escaping and damaging your flooring. 

Having prepared your sub-floor you can now turn your attention to the laminate. Always start by fitting the underlay to the sub-floor first. Fix your underlay to the sub-floor either by using glue for concrete or staples for wood as this helps the underlay to stay in place when laying your laminate boards. 

Having laid your underlay you can now start to lay your first pieces of laminate. Make sure you start laying your laminate on the opposite wall to the door or entrance. Lay the laminate boards from left to right allowing a 5-8mm gap with spacers. Having moved across the entire width of the room your last piece of laminate will need to be measured and then cut to size so as to fit neatly leaving a 5-8mm gap at both ends. Laminate boards are designed with a wood veneer which is glued on top of mdf so great care should be taken when sawing the board. If you have a particularly cut which you don’t want any chipping to ocur then use some masking tape over the veneer before cutting.
 

Repeat the above procedure for rows 2 and 3 ensuring plenty of wedges are used. Having used plenty of spacers your 3 rows should be well and truly fitted so they will not slide around whilst you fit the remaining laminate boards. 

For the remaining boards just lay as you did the first 3 rows and then when you get to the end allow a 5-8mm gap and cut the boards to size.