Hi all!
I'm new to this forum and am in need of some help - quick!
We just ordered our laminate floor in oak natural by Torly's - it should be here this week. We would like to do our two small br's (total sqft: 240) this weekend.
We are planning to borrow a saw and are installing over concrete - we bought a plastic padding to go under the laminate.
Should we get an installation kit from home depot?
Our rooms our pretty much square and the doors are kiddie corner to each other with a window in each room on the same wall. Which way should we lay the planks? I was thinking perpendicular to the window wall (to match the laminate already on the mf.)
Any tips would be great!
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I would recommend laying the flooring in the long direction, ie parallel to the long wall. Real hardwood is laid perpendicular to the joists for structural support which usually corresponds to the long direction as well. It really doesn't matter with laminate, but looks better when you enter a room if it is running parrallel to your line of sight.
Is the concrete floor suspended or poured on grade? If it is poured on grade make sure the underlayment is at least a 2in1 and tape the joints....it needs to be a moisture barrier.
The flooring should run parallel to the existing...especially if they butt up to one another.
Is it a 'click' type or a glue together? If it is a click type be sure that the 'hammer block' you get in the installation kit is laying flat against the board...if not it is REALLY easy to bugger up the edge of the board.....and you will really notice it with sunlight streaming in. I use a 'sacrificial' scrap of the flooring (about 1 foot long) which can be snapped onto the board to be installed and then hammered into position.
Good luck!
Thanks Jello!
I'm glad to have some help here!
That's great to know that the light will hide the seams and that the previous owners did that properly!
Thanks for the tip with the installation kit too :)
yes get the kit from home depot or you can buy it from IKEA. As far as i know the seams should run perpendicular to the window walls, it helps to hide the seams.