How to Install Laminate Flooring

Bring the unopened boxes into the room where they'll be installed and let them sit flat for at least 48 hours, with the room held at a normal lived-in 65 to 75 degrees. This lets the planks reach the room's temperature and humidity so they won't shrink or buckle after install. While they acclimate, measure the room, multiply length by width for square footage, and buy 10 percent extra for cutting waste and mistakes.

Pull off the existing baseboard and shoe molding with a pry bar so you can slip planks under the wall line later, then strip the room down to a clean, dry subfloor and vacuum every speck of grit. Lay a long straightedge or level across the floor in several directions: the subfloor must be flat to within about 3/16 inch over 10 feet. Sand down high spots and fill low ones with floor patch or self-leveler. Now is also the time to silence any movement underfoot — fix a squeaky floor by screwing the subfloor down to the joists before you cover it, because you can't reach it again once the laminate is down.

Unroll the foam underlayment across the whole floor, running the sheets in the same direction your planks will go. Butt the edges together without overlapping — overlaps create bumps you'll feel for years — and tape the seams flat with seam tape or painter's tape. Over concrete, lay the 6-mil vapor barrier first, lapping it a few inches up the walls (you'll trim it later) before the foam goes down. Skip the separate foam entirely if your planks have padding pre-attached.

Measure the room's width and divide by a plank's width to see how wide the last row will land. If the final row would come out as a sliver under about 2 inches, rip the very first row narrower so the two edges of the room are balanced and stable — a hair-thin last row looks bad and won't lock well. Loose-lay a few rows without clicking them to confirm the direction and the stagger pattern before you commit.

Start along the longest, straightest wall with the plank's tongue side facing the wall. Set 1/4 to 3/8 inch spacers between the planks and the wall to hold the expansion gap, and connect planks end to end down the row. This first row is the reference line for the entire floor, so check it with a chalk line or a long straightedge — if the wall is bowed, snap a straight line and cut the first row to follow it rather than the crooked wall.

Angle each new plank's long tongue into the groove of the row before it and press down until it clicks, then close the end seams with a tapping block and a few light mallet taps — never hammer a plank's edge directly. Offset the end joints at least 6 inches from row to row, and avoid lining two end seams up into an 'H'. Starting each new row with the cut-off from the previous row keeps the stagger random and wastes almost nothing, as long as the leftover is longer than about 8 inches.

Rather than notch a plank to fit around a door casing, do the reverse: lay a scrap plank face-up next to the jamb as a height guide and run a flush-cut saw flat along it to trim the bottom of the casing, so a plank can slide cleanly underneath. For pipes, drill a hole about 1/2 inch wider than the pipe (centered on the cut line), then saw out a small wedge behind it, slip the plank around the pipe, and glue the wedge back in. Use a jigsaw for any irregular corner cuts.

The last row almost always needs ripping to width. Measure the gap at several points (the wall is rarely perfectly parallel), subtract the 1/4 to 3/8 inch expansion gap, and rip the planks to that width with a table saw or circular saw. There's no room to angle these planks in, so hook a pull bar over the far edge and tap it with the mallet to draw each seam tight against the row before it.