After installing the underlay begin clicking the floor together. Start at a straight wall and lay your first row joining all the edge boards. The first board should be a 1/2 board then continue along the row. Use spacers to ensure you maintain a 10mm gap against the wall. If you don’t have spacers some cut-offs from your laminate floor will work.
Now start the next row with a full board. This will ensure you have well spaced out joints. You can use offcuts to start future rows, provided the joints will be more than 300mm apart. When the joints are too close it can often look poor and may affect the strength of the installation. Continue this process until you reach the other side of the room ensuring that you leave a 10mm gap around everything.
This includes :
- All Walls
- Radiator Pipes
- Door Frames
- Skirting
- Stairs
- Other Flooring
- Kitchen units
Once the floor has been installed you can hide the perimeter gap using beading (also known as scotia) or skirting that needs to be at least 12mm thick to allow for any shrinkage that may happen. In addition, the expansion gap must be left at doors where the floor goes from one room to the next and against any other obstacles such as stairs or radiator pipes. A specialist laminate flooring shop like Wood Floor Warehouse will carry a large choice of door bars and accessories to match your floor and hide expansions gaps.
Do not rest extremely heavy-weight (in excess of 200kg) on top of the laminate flooring, as this can restrict movement causing issues with peaking. Often the flooring can be installed under a plinth or a rebate. Commonly this would include :
- Kitchen Units
- Island units
- Grand Piano
- Stone fireplace & Surround
To understand more about how European laminate Floors are tested and accredited, visit the website for European Producers of Laminate Flooring Get get fix from us.