Decorating Tips - Laminate

Expert Advice

Learn about the different fashions and high-performance durability making laminate flooring the perfect choice for your active lifestyle.

Use this guide and visit our store to consult with our experts first hand.

Discover the Benefits of Laminate

Laminates' smartly balanced durability, good looks and value pricing means you can expand your decorating ideas without increasing your budget or sacrificing quality.

Choose Laminates to Achieve Your Decorating Goals

Today's laminates are available in a broad variety of handsomely crafted designs. You'll find laminates in vivid, swirling wood grains so natural looking you'd swear they were solid hardwood.

Others re-create the ornate appeal of tile or stone, while still providing the rugged durability at a value price that makes laminates so practical for any room in your home.

Whether you prefer the natural look of wood or stone, or the effect of colors and geometric patterns produced by artisans, you'll find a long-wearing laminate to accomplish your decorating ideas within the budget you've set.

Select Lasting Durability

Rest assured the beautiful design you love today will remain beautiful in the years to come.

All laminates are constructed of four layers: wear, design, core and back.

• The wear layer is a clear layer of aluminum oxide that protects against fading, stains and surface burns.

• The design layer contains a high resolution photograph of the floor's surface appearance and provides you with a variety of looks from the burnished swirls of natural hardwood to the earthen textures of ceramic or stone tiles.

• The core layer is a construction durable high-density board which protects against indentations and moisture.

• The back layer is a stability layer, which protects the planks against moisture and helps balance the floor.

Thanks to layered construction, laminate flooring absorbs the heavy traffic and day-to-day use of an active family, while it continues to look as good as the day it was installed.

All these elements make a difference in how your laminate floor will look. Don't forget to check out Installation to learn all about the little details that make a big difference when transitioning from old floors to new.

Installation

Avoid any bumps in the road to your home design project. Use our installation guide for great tips on the transition of your old floors to the new.

Installation Matters

Laminate is called a floating floor because it is not fastened directly to the sub-floor, but rather the planks or squares are attached to each other. Laminate planks and squares use tongue-in-groove connectors or a trademarked locking system that "clicks" the boards together. The floor is held down by shoe molding that is nailed to the baseboards around the perimeter of the room.

Because laminate is a floating floor, sub-floor preparation generally costs less than with other hard surfaces.

There are basically three types of laminate installations:

Glue laminate requires that the glue be manually applied to the tongue and/or groove of each plank during installation.

Glue-less laminates do not require glue, but rather have a trademarked locking system that hooks, snaps or clicks the tongue and groove together to lock the floor into place. The innovation of these "locking systems" has greatly simplified the installation process for laminate floors. These floors can be installed faster with no messy glue clean up, and are able to be used immediately, whereas most glue laminates need to set for 18-36 hours before being walked on.

Pre-glued laminate is a combination of the two methods above and has glue pre-applied by the manufacturer on the tongue and groove that is moistened prior to the planks being clicked together.

Learn about our Points of Difference Guarantee, because how your floor is installed will impact its performance and life. We provide a warranted installation by a trained, professional craftsperson who will finish the job to perfection - guaranteed.

Things To Do Before Installation

We want you to have a clear understanding of the services we provide as well as to be aware of items you will need to handle prior to the installer arriving at your home. After your purchase, items crucial to the smooth installation of your new flooring will be detailed by your sales professional in a pre-installation check list and may include some of the following:

• Verification of the installation date.

• Ensuring the removal of all "breakables" from the room.

• Determining who will remove furniture, appliances and the sub-floor, if needed.

• Arranging for the disconnection of gas appliances and icemakers.

• Determining if any change to the height of the floor require adjustments to doors in order for them to close.

• Ensuring the removal of items in storage areas and closets where the floor is to be resurfaced.

• Make certain drapes, wall hangings and pictures are removed from walls.

• Verify that your in-home temperature is appropriate for installation.

Installation

Your local Flooring America store offers expert installation for all of the flooring products we carry. You can trust our installers to create a great-looking floor for your home. Whether it's a solid-color carpet or a detailed, custom tile design, our licensed and insured professionals will get the job done accurately and beautifully.

We are so confident that you will be more than satisfied with our professional installation that we will be happy to correct any installation-related problems for free during the intended life of your floor.

Get started today and bring your colors, swatches, photos and ideas into your local Flooring America retailer. Find the store nearest you.

Advantages of Laminate Flooring

One of the shining new stars in flooring is laminate flooring. This versatile, durable and affordable flooring option has become a favorite of builders and decorators, and by providing design options in flooring to shoppers in all price ranges, laminate flooring seems well positioned to become the first choice in flooring for many homeowners.

Simply stated, laminate flooring is a multi-layered wood based floating floor system that replicate the appearance of hardwood, stone, ceramic tile and other more expensive flooring options. It is available in strips, planks, and squares, and has specific features that make it easy to install and practical to maintain.

Improvements in manufacturing technology and in the various components of laminate flooring have created a modern, practical and versatile flooring product that is capturing a significant share of the flooring market.

The fabrication of laminate flooring is by a process wherein four basic layers are compressed into one strong, resilient product. The top layer (the floor surface) when installed, provides the durability against wear as well as the floor’s "finish." The second layer of the laminate supplies the flooring’s pattern, such as the color and grains of hardwood planks, the random variations of polished marble, or the rugged planes of natural slate. The third layer is a wood core that provides the laminate flooring with its stability and comfort, and the bottom layer provides a sealed surface, usually with a moisture barrier, to lengthen the flooring’s longevity, and assist in its simple installation.

Laminate flooring’s affordability is one of the reasons for its popularity. The appearance of much more expensive flooring options can be matched with laminate flooring at a fraction of the price. Furthermore, quantities and consistencies of appearance are unlimited with laminate flooring, whereas certain natural flooring options may not be available, or available in a consistent form, to meet particular flooring needs.

Laminate’s versatility is its other great appeal. The look and feel of hardwood flooring for a bathroom or kitchen has been favored by decorators for years, but using natural flooring products in these areas might be inviting a disaster. With laminate flooring, and its strength, permanence and moisture resistance, the look can be achieved without the risk. It is also a popular choice for high traffic areas. Laminate flooring is particularly appropriate for areas where moisture is a concern. Because of its "floating" installation, laminate planks can be protected by installing a vapor barrier underneath it. Most laminate products offer a 10-year to lifetime guarantee.

With its great looks, simple maintenance and affordability, laminate flooring will undoubtedly hold an even larger part of the flooring market for decades to come.

Do-It-Yourself – Laminate Installation

Because it is designed to resemble wood, stone or tile, and is easy to install, laminate flooring has become a popular choice for do-it-yourself remodelers. Laminate can even be installed over existing surfaces, including wood, vinyl, linoleum, ceramic tile and concrete. In brief, laminate planks are glued together, and then "floated" over a think layer of foam. A "floating floor" is so called because it is not anchored to the sub floor. The layer of foam provides a cushion as well as sound-dampening qualities.

Like hardwood flooring planks, laminate is typically manufactured with tongue-and-groove joints. However, rather than fitting the planks together and nailing them to the floor, laminate is simply glued together after the joints are tightened together. Some laminate manufacturers also create a snap-together joint system that requires no gluing. These floors are so versatile they can actually be taken apart and reassembled in other spaces several times before the precision of the joints degrades.

As a general design tip, strips of laminate flooring should run in the direction of the room, as this makes the room look bigger. Furthermore, remember to alternate the strips of laminate for a more natural appearance. Longer pieces of flooring should be installed near doorways and entryways, while shorter pieces can be alternately placed throughout the middle of the floor. In all cases, never end a row of flooring with a piece less than a foot long. Instead, measure for two midsize pieces to complete that particular row.

Ready to Install:

Now that you’re ready to install, the following steps will help you achieve that perfect floor:

1. Remove base molding and any shoe molding.

2. Roll out the underlayment.

3. Cut the first three rows of planks.

4. Dry-fit the first three rows.

5. Insert perimeter spacers.

6. Apply glue and press planks together.

7. Use a pull bar to tighten the last piece in the row.

8. Clamp the first three rows together.

9. Clean off excess glue.

10. Install additional rows and cut and fit around obstacles.

11. Fit the last row and install transition strips.

12. Reapply the base and shoe molding.

As a first step, carefully remove base molding using a pry bar to pull it from the wall. Be sure to mark the molding to identify its original location on the wall. Note that when installing your floor, you will leave a _-inch gap along the wall to allow for expansion of the flooring. The molding will hide this gap when it is reinstalled at the end of your project.

Manufacturers of laminate flooring products also sell various underlayment foam as a vapor barrier and sound-dampener. Check which variety is best suited for the laminate you are using and the sub floor. The underlayment is simply rolled out one width at a time as you lay the floor. The edges of each strip of underlayment butt together and can be joined with small strips of masking tape to keep the edges flush.

Next, cut the first three rows of planks. For a uniform look, start the first row with a full-sized plank, the second row with a plank 2/3 that length, and the third row with the 1/3 plank cut off from the other. This pattern can then be repeated along the width of the floor.