---
title: 'How to lay laminate flooring | DIY'
source: 'https://youtube.com/watch?v=yo3Dkw1YFyY'
video_id: 'yo3Dkw1YFyY'
date: 2026-06-28
duration_sec: 243
---

# How to lay laminate flooring | DIY

> Source: [How to lay laminate flooring | DIY](https://youtube.com/watch?v=yo3Dkw1YFyY)

## Summary



## Transcript

Laminate flooring is a wonderful solution
for when your floor needs a refresh.
It's hardwearing, water resistant and excellent value.
First, we'll need to work out how much floor you need.
Measure your room and calculate your total metre squared.
The total is your length times width, plus 10% for wastage.
Think about which direction you want to lay it.
Floor is best laid out along the longest wall
or toward a big window.
Before we get too carried away, it's important to prep.
Leave your packs of flooring in the room
to acclimatise for 24 hours.
Make sure your subfloor is clean and free of debris,
and ideally, remove your skirting boards.
Now let's design our layout.
Lay your boards in a staggered pattern,
laying offcuts at each new row
to minimise wastage.
Try to leave at least half a board gap at the width edges.
You'll likely want knee pads for comfy working.
Before putting the floor down,
you'll need to sort the underlay.
These wood fibre square underlay tiles
simply slide into place.
But don't forget, before doing any cutting,
grab your safety gear
and use a sharp utility knife to trim around obstacles.
Then use foil underlay tape to secure them,
giving you a perfect foundation to work from.
Now onto the flooring itself.
Use spacers to create a 7mm expansion gap
around all walls and ensure an even fit.
These planks should easily slot together,
but you can use a tapping block
and a rubber mallet to tap the join.
If it's not flush. Need to cut your edge piece to size?
No problem. Just flip it around
and mark the length you need.
Then use a mitre saw for a quick clean cut.
Just don't forget to keep the offcuts
because you can use these offcuts on the next row
to stagger the joints.
Repeat this simple technique
and you'll have a shiny new floor in no time.
If you've got radiator pipes in the way, don't panic.
This is simple. Just mark the location
of the pipe on your plank.
Then clamp down your plank with an offcut underneath.
Ready for cutting? Drill a hole in the marked location
using a spade bit.
Then grab a jigsaw
and cut along your marked lines towards the hole.
Keep this offcut for behind the pipe.
Slide the plank into place,
add some glue to the offcut
and pop it in behind the pipe for a clean finish.
Then repeat the laying process across your floor.
You'll almost certainly have to tackle at least one doorway.
So let's show you how.
Use an offcut as a height measure and grab a multi-tool.
You can cut the door frame using this as a height guide.
Measure Into the door jamb and mark it on your plank,
and then measure along the width.
This shows you how much you need to remove
so it fits like a glove.
You can use a pull bar
to secure any pieces in hard to reach areas.
Time for the finishing touches.
Grab a threshold bar for a clean finish
and make sure to use the appropriate bar type
if you have carpet on the other side.
Remove the handy spacers
and reattach your skirting to the wall.
Or if you decided not to remove the skirting,
you can neaten up the edge with a stylish scotia trim.
Consider some pipe coverings
to give your room a really polished look.
Now all you've got to do is make the space your own.
Sit back and admire your handiwork.