Introduction
Learn how to lay laminate flooring with snap-together wood. It's so easy to install that you can lay a beautiful, yet durable hardwood floor in a weekend—no messy glue and no heavy nailing. It's prefinished too, so no dusty sanding and painstaking finish work. In this article we'll show you how to prepare your floor and then lay the boards. It's the perfect project for the novice who has some simple carpentry skills.Buying advice and the tools you need for laminate flooring installation
Floor board interlocking system
Family Handyman
Snap-together floors have specially milled tongues and grooves that lock together tightly when joined when installing laminate flooring. The flooring we’re using for installing laminate flooring is similar to snap-together plastic laminate floors except that it has a surface layer of real wood. The 5/16-in. thick snap flooring has specially shaped tongues and grooves that interlock to form a strong tight joint without glue or nails. Once the click lock laminate flooring is assembled, the entire floor “floats” in one large sheet. You leave a small expansion space all around the edges so the floor can expand and contract with humidity changes.
The cost of wood veneer floors (often called engineered wood floors) varies, depending on the species and thickness of the top wood layer. Most home centers sell a few types of snap-together floors but you’ll find a better selection and expert advice at your local flooring retailer. You can also buy snap flooring online to start a how to install laminate floors project.
Before you go shopping, draw a sketch of your room with dimensions. Make note of transitions to other types of flooring and other features like stair landings and exterior doors. Ask your salesperson for help choosing the right transition moldings for these areas. You’ll need a few special tools in addition to basic hand tools like a tape measure, square and utility knife to know how to install wood flooring. We purchased a laminate flooring installation kit from the manufacturer that included plastic shims, a tapping block and a last-board puller, but if you’re handy you could fabricate these tools. A pull saw works great to undercut doorjambs and casing (Photo 3). It’s difficult to get close enough to the floor with a standard handsaw.
You’ll also need a circular saw and a jigsaw to cut the flooring, and a miter box to cut the shoe molding. A table saw and power miter saw would make your how to install laminate floors job easier but aren’t necessary. Here, we’ll show you how to install laminate floor:
