Laying a laminate floor

When it comes to replacing grubby and worn carpets there are quite a few flooring options to choose from. Home-Dzine reader, Barbara, opted for laminate floors in this bedroom.

 

You don't have to live with grubby carpets with so many flooring options to choose from, and laminate floors or tiles are one that you can easily DIY yourself over a weekend.

After ripping up old carpets you may find that with older carpets the underfelt has been glued to the floor, and you can remove this with Glue & Bitumen Remover that you will find on the shelf at your local Builders Warehouse. For small areas of glue, try using a hair dryer and paint scraper to remove the glue before you rush out to buy.

Tips for laying a laminate floor

When laying laminate floor, put down a moisture barrier or under lay between the concrete floor and laminate strips. This layer protects the flooring from any moisture that may rise up. You can buy this at the same time as buying the laminate floor.

Unpack the laminate strips in the room where they are to be fitted and let them stand for a day. This will acclimatise the panels to your local humidity levels so that they have time to expand or contract according to your local climes.

Make sure to clean the floor well before installation to remove all traces of dirty and dust.

If you are using a DIY laminate flooring product, this will be supplied with the relevant instructions for this particular product. Most importantly, always allow a gap around the perimeter for the flooring to expand and contract, and this will be specified by the manufacturer.