INSTALLATION HELP - LAMINATE FLOORING Laminate flooring is resistant to wear, stains and fading from sunlight. These features make it a great flooring choice for most areas in the home. Golden Select laminate flooring can be installed in any room inside the house where the floor is solid and flat. Laminate flooring is not recommended for bathrooms as the humidity and water in the environment is not ideal for laminate. Laminate flooring should not be installed in rooms with sump pumps, floor drains, motor homes or boats Laminate flooring can be installed over concrete floors provided the concrete is fully set and has been cured for 60 – 90 days. As well, a moisture barrier must be used on top of the concrete floor before installing the laminate. Ideally the planks should be installed along the length of a room; this applies best to long and narrow rooms. It is suggested to lay down the floor planks parallel to the longest wall to make a room appear larger. Laminate flooring can be installed over some existing floors, such as vinyl or ceramic.

If the vinyl flooring sits on top of concrete, a moisture barrier must be installed on top of the  vinyl flooring, prior to installing laminate flooring Concrete floors must be level, dry and clean. A vapor barrier of at least 0.15mm (0.006”) must be placed on top of the concrete with 25 mm (1”) of the barrier extended vertically on the walls. The concrete must be fully set and be cured for 60 – 90 days before installation. All Golden Select laminate flooring comes with a foam underlayment attached to each plank. This eliminates the need for any other underlayment to be installed. Depending on the type of subfloor a vapor barrier may be required. It is necessary to leave an expansion gap around the perimeter of the room and fixed objects to allow for the natural expansion and contraction of the flooring with fluctuations in seasonal temperatures. For laminate flooring please follows the following guidelines For rooms 7.6m (25ft ) long/wide or less, leave 10 mm (3/8”)

For rooms greater than 7.6m (25ft), leave 15 mm (5/8”) Laminate flooring can be installed over radiant-heating but it is recommended to reduce the temperature control to 15°C (60°F) one week before installing the laminate flooring. Radiant heating must be in operation for a minimum of 2 weeks prior to installing the laminate flooring. It is necessary to install a vapor barrier of at least 0.15 mm over the radiant-heating. Wait at least 24 hours after installation before changing the temperature settings and increase the temperature gradually, a maximum of 5°F per day. Once the laminate is installed the temperature of the radiant heat must be kept below 27°C (80°F) at all times. Laminate flooring should be acclimated in a climate-controlled location for 48 hours before starting installation; ideally in the room where the flooring is going to be installed. Ensure you make note of the correct direction to install the planks that is noted at the top of the installation guide.

Some products need to start at the top right hand corner of the room and be installed from the right to the left-hand side of the room and other products are required to be installed in the opposite direction. Please make note of which direction the product you have purchased is designed to be installed.Cheap Tires La Mirada Inspect the laminate planks for colour, finish and quality prior to installation.Bully Pitbull Puppies For Sale Sc Stagger the end seams of the planks by a minimum of 20 cm (8”) as this creates a more natural look to the finished flooring.Wall Mirrors For Sale In Sri Lanka T-Mouldings need to be installed every 10m (33ft) in large rooms as it allows the laminate floor to increase or reduce in length with the normal variation in relative humidity inside the home.

It is highly recommended to install a T-Moulding in every doorway. Account for some material waste in your calculations for flooring material needs. We estimate the amount of material wasted to be 5%. Calculate your flooring needs by measuring your rooms dimensions and then add 5% to the surface area of the room. A quarter round gives the floor a finished look and protects the edges of the laminate flooring. Never secure the quarter round to the laminate flooring. Quarter round should always be attached to the vertical wall. During installation, mix and match planks from several different boxes to minimize any potential shade variation. Click here to learn how Quick•Step® flooring products may be installed over underfloor heating. Simply click on the link below to download a PDF version of our installation instructions in English, Spanish, and French. If you do not have the Adobe Acrobat Reader, you can download it here. Watch our laminate flooring Installation videos and learn to install our laminate floors like a professional.

All our videos can also be found on our YouTube™ page. We continuously make technological advancements that improve product performance or installation techniques and methods. To confirm you have the most recent installation instructions, please contact Technical Services at 888-387-9882, option 1.(the following is an article written by Anthony Palandro, NALFA certified senior installer, which appeared in FCI Magazine) As laminate flooring continues to gain in popularity, the need for proper installations grows in importance. For peace of mind, a laminate floor certified to NALFA standards is a good place to start.  Through my experience teaching professional installers and also my years of installing, I have found there are several common mistakes that might occur during installations.  Fortunately, these mistakes are easy to avoid. Laminate flooring must float. Sometimes the installer gets comfortable and forgets this basic rule.  A ¼” to 3/8” expansion, depending on the product, is required at all vertical obstructions including doorframes and at each transition strip.

Doorframes: When undercutting doorframes, the installer should confirm there is enough room for expansion.  This may require cutting back the sheet rock.  It is also necessary to cut the baseboard back from the casing about one inch.  This will give the floor room to expand or contract in all directions. Transition strips: Transition strips become problematic if an installer uses construction adhesive to secure the strip to the subfloor.  If too much adhesive is used, it oozes on the flooring and locks the entire floor in place.  If it is necessary to use an adhesive to secure the subfloor, silicone is a strong adhesive and remains flexible.  I recommend using the track that is included.  On wood subfloors, I recommend screwing the track down.  On concrete, I recommend drilling holes with a masonry bit and fastening the track with plastic anchors and screws. Floor Flatness may also be a problem during installations. Installing over an uneven subfloor could result in excess movement that might cause gaping and possible breakage. 

All subfloors require some preparation.  Industry standards specify that the surface of the subfloor must be flat to within 3/16” in a 10-ft. radius.  Laying a straight edge across the floor to find the high and low spots will check the flatness.  All high spots need to be ground down.  To fill low spots in the subfloor, I recommend using Portland-based leveling compounds approved for this application.  Allow the patching compound to dry thoroughly before proceeding with the installation.  Consider using a self-drying patch.  Also, never use additional layers of foam underlayment to fill voids. Another issue to be checked before installation is the moisture content of the subfloor.  The moisture content of the subfloor is just as important for laminate as it is for hardwood floors.  High moisture in subfloors will cause peaked seams in laminate.  Laminate flooring has a core that is hygroscopic, meaning it absorbs moisture.  Similar to hardwood floors, laminate floors will expand or contract as it changes moisture content. 

It is critical that all subfloors are tested prior to installation, and I recommend recording these measurements for future reference.  New concrete must cure for at least 60 days and then be tested.  Cover all concrete slabs, regardless of grade level, with a non-recycled resin 6-mil polyethylene film as a vapor retarder. End joints on adjacent rows need to be staggered according to the manufacturer’s recommendations. Poorly staggered end joints coupled with an uneven substrate will result in planks disengaging.  Boards are staggered to add structural integrity.  The best way to determine the distance between end joints is to read the instructions.  For many of us who have installed countless floors, instructions are often passed over. The floor you are installing today is not the same floor you were installing a few years ago.  If you have not recently read the latest instructions, there is a possibility that you are making a mistake. Laminate flooring is praised for ease of installation, but mistakes are still possible.