Thankfully, laminate flooring is very easy to fit but requires a little preparation before you come to lay your boards. There are some things though that must be done properly or the life of your new laminate floor will be drastically reduced. Most are common sense but there are some that don’t naturally spring to mind.
Firstly, if you are intending to lay your laminate boards over a concrete floor, the concrete should have had at least 60 days to cure. You should ensure that there is no dampness in the subfloor then fit a vapour or dampness shield if needed. This is rare but to do the job properly you may need a layer of tiles or vinyl on top of the concrete. If the floor is suitably dried then you can proceed by smoothing any lumps with a concrete grinder.
The surface must be flat before laying your laminate flooring. Any lumps could cause splitting as could any dips in the subfloor. If you are laying your laminate on wood then use a plane to remove any surface problems. You should also fill any low points with a little cement and give it time to set properly.
Now that the surface is ready to be worked on you should make sure you have all the tools necessary for the job before you start. There’s nothing worse than having to nip out to pick something up every five minutes. You lose momentum and the job will take a lot longer.
You will need some obvious things like a saw, measuring tape, pencil and a square for marking straight edges. There are lots of other tools that will make your job a lot easier though. A rubber mallet and tapping block will enable you to make small adjustments without damaging the boards already down.
A set of large G-clamps will speed up your job incredibly. When you have the length of the cuts you have to make at the end of each row, measure and cut one board. Now as long as the room is uniform and built with right angles in the corners, you can clamp a load of boards together. Now when you saw right through the 5 or 6 boards you are doing 5 or 6 rows worth of cuts. It turns a 4 hour job in to two but just make sure you cut one row first to ensure it is right.