Dan Simms worked in real estate management for five years before using his experience to help property owners maintain their own homes. He got his master’s degree in English Literature and Creative Writing, and he now enjoys sharing his knowledge about homeownership and DIY projects with others on Today’s Homeowner. When he’s not writing, he’s usually outdoors with his wife and his dog, enjoying mountain biking, skiing, and hiking.
Roxanne Downer is a commerce editor at Today’s Homeowner, where she tackles everything from foundation repair to solar panel installation. She brings more than 15 years of writing and editing experience to bear in her meticulous approach to ensuring accurate, up-to-date, and engaging content. She’s previously edited for outlets including MSN, Architectural Digest, and Better Homes & Gardens. An alumna of the University of Pennsylvania, Roxanne is now an Oklahoma homeowner, DIY enthusiast, and the proud parent of a playful pug.
April 18, 2024 by Dan Simms
Installing laminate flooring is a relatively easy project for most homeowners, suitable for beginners and experienced DIYers alike. However, there are a few things you need to know before you get started, no matter what level of DIY experience you have.
This guide is designed to help you install laminate flooring yourself, avoiding the most common mistakes and working efficiently and effectively every step of the way. Below, you’ll find a list of the tools and materials you need, followed by detailed step-by-step instructions for installing laminate flooring. Let’s dive in.
In general, the cost of hardwood flooring tends to range between $3 and $10 per square foot before labor costs.
In general, the cost of carpet tends to range between $2 and $10 per square foot depending on the material and style.
Laminate floors will cost anywhere from $2 to $8 per square foot depending on the thickness of the fiberboard base layer.
Best Shop-At-Home Experience Next-day service available from some locations Large range of services and flooring offered Provides all-inclusive pricing estimates Get Estimate Best Post-Installation Follow-Up
We know you’re excited to get to work, but there are a few things you should think about before you get started. Laminate floors are extremely popular — for a good reason — but you need to make sure they’re the best option for you and your home. They’re affordable, especially compared to hardwood floors, look great, are durable, and come in a tremendous variety of colors, making them widely appealing. However, laminate floors are often slippery, presenting a challenge to homeowners who own pets. Textured options are available, but most pet owners avoid laminate floors in favor of flooring with more traction, like vinyl plank flooring or carpet. Laminate floors also aren’t the best option for people who live in moist climates. Humidity can wreak havoc on laminate floors, causing unevenness, bumps, and buckling. For a similar reason, laminate floors aren’t great for people who have small children since repeated spills can easily damage laminate flooring. If you decide that laminate flooring is the right option for you, you might want to consider purchasing an installation kit. These kits are available from most local hardware stores like Loew’s and Home Depot, and they can make your life much easier. Using an installation kit is much easier than acquiring the necessary flooring products and flooring material piecemeal, especially if you don’t have much experience with flooring.
It’s a good idea to gather the tools and materials you’ll need before you start your installation. Nothing is more annoying than having to stop in the middle of a project to run to the hardware store for something you thought you already had.
Make sure you have the following materials before you begin.
Installing laminate flooring is a surprisingly straightforward home improvement project and one that’s more than doable for most homeowners—even if you don’t have much DIY experience.
Before you can install your new laminate flooring, you must first remove your old floor, make sure your subfloor is in good condition, and prepare the room for installation.
One of the first things you should do to prepare to install laminate flooring is to lay out the laminate planks in the room to give them a chance to adjust to the temperature and humidity conditions in the room. This process needs about 48 hours, so try to lay them out at least two days in advance.
After you remove your existing floor, check your subfloor to make sure that it is clean, free from mold and mildew, and level. Cement backerboard subfloor is common, but if you have a wood subfloor, make sure to check for protruding nails; these should be removed before installing your new floor.
You need to trim the moulding around your doorways if you want your laminate flooring to sit flush against the wall. Lay a piece of laminate flooring on top of a piece of underlayment against the moulding. Mark where the top of the laminate reaches on your moulding in pencil, so you know where to cut.
Use your oscillating saw to cut the moulding to the proper height. Repeat the process for all of the room’s entryways.
Most people prefer to install laminate flooring so that the planks run parallel to the longest wall in the room. This orientation is more pleasing to the eye and cuts down on waste by reducing how much you need to trim your laminate strips.
Calculate how many pieces of laminate you need by measuring the width of the room, starting at the longest wall and dividing by the width of each laminate plank. It’s unlikely that your result will be a whole number, but that’s totally normal. You should also include space for a ⅜-inch gap against each wall to allow for expansion.
Since it’s unlikely that your room will accommodate a whole number of planks, you’ll have to trim each piece in the last row widthwise so that they fit flush with the other planks and the wall.
Cut the pieces that will go in the first and last row using your preferred saw. We recommend using a diamond blade if you have one since some types of laminate are extremely hard to cut with a regular blade.
