Laminate Flooring Suggestions.....Please

[scott_vt]

Good Evenin Guys,
Would anyone have any suggestions when it comes to door jams and trim ? I thought of making a 3/8" wood spacer and use one of my dovetail cutting saws to undercut the door jam trim, so that I could hide any irregularities under it ! The flooring that I have been looking at is 5/16" thk . I really dont want to pull all that trim down also !

Thanks !

 

[ray66v]

Good Evenin Guys,
Would anyone have any suggestions when it comes to door jams and trim ? I thought of making a 3/8" wood spacer and use one of my dovetail cutting saws to undercut the door jam trim, so that I could hide any irregularities under it ! The flooring that I have been looking at is 5/16" thk . I really dont want to pull all that trim down also !

Thanks !

I use a piece of the new flooring as the spacer for the hand saw and cut all the door jambs and casings.

As far as the base moldings, you either have to pull them, (my preference), or add a shoe molding at the bottom, to hide the gap. If you use care, you can remove the base without damaging it. Pull any nails that stay in out the back, with channel locks, or pliers.

Set the moldings down on the laminate, but don't push them down so tight that the floor binds.

 

[scott_vt]

Good Evenin Ray,
Thanks, I was kind of thinking that was the best way, but thought I would ask someone that has done it before ! Thanks Ray !

 

[QRTRHRS]

I put a good bit of the glue together Pergo in my last house. I had it for ten years so I don't even think that the snap together type was even available yet. At that time, Pergo's best underlayment was a "homosote" type of material about a quarter inch thick. I searched for squeeks and high spots in my subfloor and repaired all of those.

My floor was quiet and held up really well even with big dogs rough housing, etc. About my only regret was using it in the kitchen. Too hard to stand on for long periods of time and jars do not bounce so well. I would prefer Pirelli tile or something similar.

My current house has Bruce in it. It looks good but I think that the underlayment is something cheap as indeed it does make clicking sounds when you walk on it.

I have some suggestions for someone wanting to install laminate flooring. First, get yourself some really good knee pads. I acclimated my flooring inside but set up my chop saw and my table saw in my ajacent garage to keep the particle dust out of the house. Up until that time, I did all of my carpentry work in feet and inches. When I researched the literature, I decided to buy a metric rule to eliminate mistakes when working with the metric sized Pergo. I did not make a single bad cut on the install, something that I cannot always claim. I spent the extra money for the Pergo wall spacers to maintain that perimeter gap and would readily do so again even though they just collect dust these days.

I also agree that quarter round looks crappy.

Some of my dogs have had trouble walking on the smooth laminates. I ended up using throw rugs here and there so they can find some traction.

 

[czechsonofagun]

I installed the Costco brand in living room - over electric heating cable and it is holding well to the abuse about 3 years now.
Did you consider cork tiles? It is an overlooked flooring in the US, but it sure is nice and warm on touch.

 

[2manyrocks]

For cutting door jambs, I like to use a Japanese backsaw because it is thin and flexible.

The key to removing baseboard without ruining it is to use multiple thin prybars at multiple points and gradually work it loose. A wrecking bar will wreck the baseboard.

If the baseboard is beat up looking anyway, it's not that expensive to replace it.

 

[scott_vt]

Good Mornin Guys,
Im spending my morning on my hands and knees pulling up all those little staples that were used to tack down the carpet underlayment ! Not fun at all !

 

[ray66v]

Good Mornin Guys,
Im spending my morning on my hands and knees pulling up all those little staples that were used to tack down the carpet underlayment ! Not fun at all !

You can drive them in with a hammer, (a lot faster).

Think about where you want to put your butt joints, you want to stagger them, for several, rows stepping over an equal amount each time. The job looks neat, and professional, if you keep them even, and in line. Not just through out the room. But, also spacing the for the pieces at the walls.

Have fun.

 

[scott_vt]

You can drive them in with a hammer, (a lot faster).

Think about where you want to put your butt joints, you want to stagger them, for several, rows stepping over an equal amount each time. The job looks neat, and professional, if you keep them even, and in line. Not just through out the room. But, also spacing the for the pieces at the walls.

Have fun.

Good Afternoon Ray,
Thanks for the tip on the butts !

The staples are a bit of a problem ! I tried hammering them down but the underlayment is like a 3/8" foam material. When you hammer them down, some of the foam gets stuck under the staple, so your really not gettin a smooth surface ! Maybe the underlayment for the laminate would hide any imperfections but I hate to take the chance !

 

[ray66v]

Good Afternoon Ray,
Thanks for the tip on the butts !

The staples are a bit of a problem ! I tried hammering them down but the underlayment is like a 3/8" foam material. When you hammer them down, some of the foam gets stuck under the staple, so your really not gettin a smooth surface ! Maybe the underlayment for the laminate would hide any imperfections but I hate to take the chance !

You can use a scraper to remove any foam that is left sticking up from under the staple.

And yes, the padding is very spongy, and will easily hide the rest.