How to lay laminate flooring | DIY

[00:01] Laminate flooring is a wonderful solution

[00:03] for when your floor needs a refresh.

[00:05] It's hardwearing, water resistant and excellent value.

[00:08] First, we'll need to work out how much floor you need.

[00:11] Measure your room and calculate your total metre squared.

[00:15] The total is your length times width, plus 10% for wastage.

[00:21] Think about which direction you want to lay it.

[00:23] Floor is best laid out along the longest wall

[00:26] or toward a big window.

[00:28] Before we get too carried away, it's important to prep.

[00:31] Leave your packs of flooring in the room

[00:33] to acclimatise for 24 hours.

[00:35] Make sure your subfloor is clean and free of debris,

[00:38] and ideally, remove your skirting boards.

[00:41] Now let's design our layout.

[00:43] Lay your boards in a staggered pattern,

[00:45] laying offcuts at each new row

[00:47] to minimise wastage.

[00:49] Try to leave at least half a board gap at the width edges.

[00:53] You'll likely want knee pads for comfy working.

[00:56] Before putting the floor down,

[00:57] you'll need to sort the underlay.

[00:59] These wood fibre square underlay tiles

[01:01] simply slide into place.

[01:03] But don't forget, before doing any cutting,

[01:06] grab your safety gear

[01:07] and use a sharp utility knife to trim around obstacles.

[01:11] Then use foil underlay tape to secure them,

[01:13] giving you a perfect foundation to work from.

[01:17] Now onto the flooring itself.

[01:18] Use spacers to create a 7mm expansion gap

[01:22] around all walls and ensure an even fit.

[01:25] These planks should easily slot together,

[01:27] but you can use a tapping block

[01:28] and a rubber mallet to tap the join.

[01:30] If it's not flush. Need to cut your edge piece to size?

[01:34] No problem. Just flip it around

[01:37] and mark the length you need.

[01:39] Then use a mitre saw for a quick clean cut.

[01:42] Just don't forget to keep the offcuts

[01:44] because you can use these offcuts on the next row

[01:46] to stagger the joints.

[01:48] Repeat this simple technique

[01:50] and you'll have a shiny new floor in no time.

[01:54] If you've got radiator pipes in the way, don't panic.

[01:57] This is simple. Just mark the location

[01:59] of the pipe on your plank.

[02:02] Then clamp down your plank with an offcut underneath.

[02:06] Ready for cutting? Drill a hole in the marked location

[02:08] using a spade bit.

[02:10] Then grab a jigsaw

[02:12] and cut along your marked lines towards the hole.

[02:15] Keep this offcut for behind the pipe.

[02:17] Slide the plank into place,

[02:19] add some glue to the offcut

[02:21] and pop it in behind the pipe for a clean finish.

[02:25] Then repeat the laying process across your floor.

[02:28] You'll almost certainly have to tackle at least one doorway.

[02:31] So let's show you how.

[02:34] Use an offcut as a height measure and grab a multi-tool.

[02:37] You can cut the door frame using this as a height guide.

[02:44] Measure Into the door jamb and mark it on your plank,

[02:48] and then measure along the width.

[02:52] This shows you how much you need to remove

[02:54] so it fits like a glove.

[02:58] You can use a pull bar

[02:59] to secure any pieces in hard to reach areas.

[03:03] Time for the finishing touches.

[03:05] Grab a threshold bar for a clean finish

[03:07] and make sure to use the appropriate bar type

[03:10] if you have carpet on the other side.

[03:12] Remove the handy spacers

[03:13] and reattach your skirting to the wall.

[03:15] Or if you decided not to remove the skirting,

[03:18] you can neaten up the edge with a stylish scotia trim.

[03:21] Consider some pipe coverings

[03:23] to give your room a really polished look.

[03:27] Now all you've got to do is make the space your own.

[03:31] Sit back and admire your handiwork.