How to Install Laminate Flooring: A Step-by-Step Guide
Learn how to install laminate flooring yourself. Follow our simple, step-by-step guide to laying your new floors quickly and professionally.
- •Tape measure
- •Jigsaw or circular saw
- •Tapping block
- •Rubber mallet
- •Pull bar
- •Spacers
- •Utility knife (optional)
- •Level (optional)
- •Pencil (optional)
- •Laminate flooring planks
- •Foam underlayment
- •Moisture-resistant tape
- •Transition moldings
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Step-by-Step Instructions
- 1.Clear the room of all furniture and remove existing baseboards or trim.
- 2.Ensure the subfloor is clean, dry, and perfectly level by using a level to check for high or low spots.
- 3.Roll out the foam underlayment across the subfloor and secure the seams with moisture-resistant tape.
- 4.Place spacers along the walls to maintain the required expansion gap between the wall and the first row of planks.
- 5.Lay the first row of laminate planks with the tongue side facing the wall, clicking them together end-to-end.
- 6.Cut the final plank of each row to size using a jigsaw, ensuring you stagger the joints of subsequent rows for structural integrity.
- 7.Connect subsequent rows by angling the tongue into the groove of the previous row and using a tapping block and rubber mallet to ensure a tight fit.
- 8.Use a pull bar to tighten the final row of planks against the wall where there is no room for a tapping block.
- 9.Remove the spacers and reinstall baseboards or install quarter-round molding to cover the expansion gaps.
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