One of the easiest ways to add value and beauty to your home is to change your flooring. Changing your flooring can be as easy as picking it out and having someone else install it, or taking on the challenge yourself and learning how to do it.
First, you want to consider the room you are going to re-floor. This is a very important step, because this is going to help you decide the type of flooring you are going to purchase. For example, you do not want to put carpeting in a room that has a lot of water in the room like a kitchen or bathroom. For this, you are going to want something that will not absorb water, but make it stay on top of the flooring.
The next step you want to take is budgeting. This will also directly affect what type of flooring you are going to get. Some wood flooring can be very expensive, while carpeting or vinyl floor covering can be inexpensive.
At this point you are going to want to decide how you are going to go about having this new flooring installed. Are you going to hire someone or are you going to do this project yourself? There are many installers out there that would happily install your new flooring for you, at a price of course. Think about adding a dollar or two per foot to the final cost of the project if you hire someone to do it, which can run into a lot of money.
So, to save money, try installing it yourself. Not only will you save a lot of cash, but you also learn a new skill, and you have the pride of being able to tell your friends that you did this beautiful floor. So, let’s say you have decided on a laminate floor to install in your living room. Let’s see what tools and which process you are going to use to get this done, and have it look like a professional job.
This job can be completed in 8 easy steps. These steps are as follows:
Step 1: Stack the flooring before installation. Temperature and humidity can affect flooring planks. Acclimate the flooring in the house for at least 48 hours before you install it. Stack the flooring flat on the floor, and remove any plastic wrapping. Leave an air space around each box to allow air to freely circulate around them. Make sure you have about 10% more flooring then the square feet of the room to allow for waste.
Step 2: Clean the subfloor to make sure it is free of dirt and any debris that may have been left behind from removing the old flooring. If installing on concrete, wait for the floor to be fully cured. At this point, you will want to use a hammer and pry bar to remove the baseboard (if necessary) and place it out of the way, being careful not to break any of it.
Step 3: Start by laying out the underlayment with the vapor barrier side up, one row at a time, starting at the longest wall in the room. When sealing the joints of the barrier together, follow the manufacturer's directions.
Step 4: Trim the door jambs by laying a piece of the flooring flat on the subfloor and against the doorjamb. Use a "flat" saw or a coping saw to cut the jambs, making sure to cut parallel to the subfloor. This will give a nice finished look without having to remove the entire doorjamb.
Step 5: Installing the first row is a very important step. Lay the first plank flat of the floor with the groove towards the longest wall of the room. Place 1/2" spacers against the wall and push the plank up against them. This will allow a space so the floor can "breathe" or expand and contract without warping or buckling. Place spacers every 12" or so along the wall and push the next planks against these. Also use the spacers at the end of each row.
Step 6: Install each plank matching the tongue and groove and tap into place using a scrap piece of flooring to protect the planks. Make sure the pieces fit snugly together and that there are no gaps along the length of the planks. Do not forget to stagger the joints of the planks. When starting a new row offset it 6" to 8" so the joints at the end of the planks are not lined up creating a “step down” effect at the end.
Step 7: When you get to the last plank, it will have to be trimmed to fit. To mark the plank to the correct length, place a plank directly over the next to last plank and place another on top of that and slide the top plank until it sits evenly against spacers against the wall. Draw a line along the plank below the top plank along the edge of the top plank. This will mark the width of the gap between the next to the last plank and the wall. Rip cut the plank along this line and install.
Step 8: It’s time to finish up the job by re-installing the baseboards you removed and new thresholds. Thresholds come in different styles to accommodate the kind and height of the new laminate flooring you installed. Do not forget to remove the spacers before you install the baseboard.
There you have it. You have now installed your new laminate floor and saved a lot of money in the process. The final thing to do is look at the wonderful job you have done. Happy flooring!
Leo Schultz - I have 21 years experanice in the construction industry, from building homes to building hospitals, also security, and retail.
