Laminate flooring is a beautiful, durable, and cost-effective flooring to have in your home. Not only is it aesthetically pleasing, but it’s also easy to maintain. However, people often worry about how to install laminate flooring in their homes because they think it might be too difficult a task.

Luckily for you, we’re here to tell you that installing laminate flooring is, in fact, really easy. All you need is the right tools and the right process to follow to get it done quickly and neatly.

In this blog, we offer an easy step-by-step guide on the best way to install laminate flooring that will take the guesswork out of the process and makes it simple and easy to do.

The Tools and Materials You'll Need

Preparing for the process is often the most important part. You should only start the job once you have all the tools, products and accessories you need to take it to completion. Here’s a checklist of what you’ll need for the fastest way to install laminate flooring:

• The correct amount of laminate tiles (that you would have needed to have measured beforehand). Experts suggest laying the laminate planks or tiles out in the room for 1 – 2 days to acclimatise to the temperature and humidity of the room.
• Sub-flooring – whichever kind you need including moisture-resistant paint, moisture-resistant padding, concrete, or sheeting.
• Tools like laminate floor tile cutters, spacers, mallets etc
• Edging like skirting boards
• Extra cloths, wipes, and other cleaning tools like brooms and a brush and pan.

Steps to Installing Laminate Flooring

Right, now you’re ready to get started with the job of how to install laminate tile flooring in no time at all. Follow these eight simple steps and you’ll have a beautifully laid laminate floor within a few hours.

Step 1: Prep the room

Prepping the room means taking out the furniture, furnishings and any décor that might be on the floor and walls. You ideally want an absolutely blank canvas with which to work. Also, by taking off any wall hangings or décor items you also safeguard those things from getting dirty from any sandy drilling, cutting, or sanding you might need to do.

Step 2: Trim the doorways

Your laminate flooring will be slightly thicker than the sub-floor or concrete layer of the room and may be slightly thicker than tiles too. Make sure you know the thickness of your laminate flooring in order to trim the doorways sufficiently so that your doors can close properly after installation.

Step 3: Prep the subfloor

Making sure the sub-floor is suitable on which to lay the laminate is vital. First sweep the sub-floor to remove any dirt, debris, or stones. If your subfloor is uneven, cracked, or even unsuitable for laminate, you may have problems with the flooring in the future. The ideal subfloor for laminate is concrete, so it can be laid directly onto the base layer of the floor. Ideally, you need to add a layer of moisture-resistant paint to the floor first or look at laying down a moisture-resistant barrier (which is half-centimetre sheeting) too.

Step 4: Lay an undergarment

Undergarment is also known as padding or padded sheeting, is usually made of soft plastic and can be bought in large square sheets. These can be laid down on top of the moisture-resistant paint or barrier that has already been put on the subfloor.

Step 5: Install the first row of flooring

Now it’s time to lay down your laminate. Start in the top left corner of the room, and aim to finish at the bottom right of the room closest to the door. For aesthetics, you should lay the boards so that they are parallel to the longest wall of the room.

Step 6: Use a mallet and spacers

With every plank or tile that you lay, be sure to knock it down into place using a rubber mallet. This will help gently knock the planks into position without damaging them. We also recommend using laminate floor spaces that are placed every 10 – 20 cm apart along the wall to allow for enough room for the skirting boards to be placed correctly.

Step 7: Cutting the planks

It may be necessary to cut some of the planks to fit around pillars, doorways and other obstacles. Make sure you have a good quality laminate floor cutter on hand to do the work without damaging the planks and make sure you measure the cut you need to make twice before putting the blade to the plank.

Step 8: Install the last row

As you install the last row, don’t forget to sit back for a few seconds and marvel at your work. If you’ve used the right tools and followed the steps, your flooring should look and feel fantastic. Many people ask us how soon can you walk on laminate flooring after installation. The experts advise leaving your flooring for 24 hours in order to let it settle and cure into place.

The cost to install laminate flooring is another question often asked of us at CTM. Laminate flooring in general is a great cost-effective flooring to have in your home, and when it comes to installing it, it can also be slightly cheaper than wood floors or tiles because there is less product required for the installation like grouting or glue.

For everything you need to install your own laminate flooring from laminate floor tiles to moisture-resistant paint. Browse our laminate flooring range today.

Shop at CTM online today.