Laying laminate Flooring

[ratus]

Hi

 

Promised the wife that if she got a job we could have Laminate flooring laid in the kitchen & Hall, well bless her she's stuck to her side of the bargain now its my turn, as this Forum is a wealth of knowledge, wondered if i throw a few questions to you all if you would bee kind enough to answer them.

1) Can you lay Laminate straight onto a Tiled floor?

2) Can you lay Laminate straight onto a Carpeted floor?

If the answer is no to either question would you be kind enough to give a quick breif why.

Really appreciate anyone who gives their time and expreience/Knowledge, and the quicker i can get this done the longer i can get among the pigeons at the weekend!!

 

Paul

[Imperfection]

You cant lay laminate onto carpet because the effect would be a bit 'spongy' to say the least and the joints would open up.Tiles are no problem,but you will need an underlay to cushion footsteps.

 

The cheapest underlay is a thin polysterene on a roll and is fine for use upstairs where you get floorboard bounce anyway,but on a solid conrete floor you could do with having the better quality felt stuff.End of the day it comes down to cost-the felt is much more expensive.

 

Do also bear in mind that its advisable to put a vapour barrier down first when installed downstairs.This is to prevent moisture coming up through the floor and being absorbed by the laminate-which expands and buckles.Thin polythene is best used and remember to tape all joints.Lastly-ensure you leave an expansion gap all the way round the room.

[PaulABF]

Ratus me old mate - how the devil? I've layed (I say "I" it was my mate the expert assisted by me) on tiles and on floorboards. If you lay on a carpeted floor then you may get away with it if it's the hard, commercial type carpet. If it's a sh&g pile then you'll have to get rid. Remember your underlay - don't use cheap 1mm packing stuff which you nicked from the QMs store. I did and had to re-lay as it was proper pants!

Edited May 17, 2010 by PaulABF

[Greenhunter]

Hi

 

Promised the wife that if she got a job we could have Laminate flooring laid in the kitchen & Hall, well bless her she's stuck to her side of the bargain now its my turn, as this Forum is a wealth of knowledge, wondered if i throw a few questions to you all if you would bee kind enough to answer them.

1) Can you lay Laminate straight onto a Tiled floor?

2) Can you lay Laminate straight onto a Carpeted floor?

If the answer is no to either question would you be kind enough to give a quick breif why.

Really appreciate anyone who gives their time and expreience/Knowledge, and the quicker i can get this done the longer i can get among the pigeons at the weekend!!

 

Paul

In my experience the brief answer is 'no' to both. You will need underlay, either the tiles or rolls of foam material underneath. This cuts down noise and makes the laminate lie evenly on what could be an undulating surface.

You will need to remove the carpet but the tiles should be ok. You may find that you need to remove a suitable amount from the bottom of any doors that open over the tiled floor but you may get away without if you remove the carpet in the other area.

 

Not a two-minute job IMO!

 

Good luck!!

 

GH

[agusta]

I've laid several floors, it needs to be hard - either concrete or wood/plywood, then use underlay which has a silver backing.

 

You can buy kits from the DIY stores which includes spacers for the edges.

 

I prefer the straight forward tongue and groove laminate which you need to glue, the glueless interlocking stuff is a pain if you have pipes/odd layouts etc.

 

Dont forget to stagger your laminate sheets!

Edited May 17, 2010 by agusta

[vampire]

You cant lay laminate onto carpet because the effect would be a bit 'spongy' to say the least and the joints would open up.Tiles are no problem,but you will need an underlay to cushion footsteps.

 

The cheapest underlay is a thin polysterene on a roll and is fine for use upstairs where you get floorboard bounce anyway,but on a solid conrete floor you could do with having the better quality felt stuff.End of the day it comes down to cost-the felt is much more expensive.

 

Do also bear in mind that its advisable to put a vapour barrier down first when installed downstairs.This is to prevent moisture coming up through the floor and being absorbed by the laminate-which expands and buckles.Thin polythene is best used and remember to tape all joints.Lastly-ensure you leave an expansion gap all the way round the room.

Exactly as quoted above,athough you can get underlay/vapour barrier all in one with sealing/overlapped edges.If your intending doing it properly take the skirtins off first and refix after,this makes for a much more proffesional job,oh and just to add its easier to lay solid wood than laminate

ATB

Karl

[ratus]

Cheers Fellas for speedy and constructive replys, really appreciated, i'm sure it will be emotional!!

 

 

Thanks again

 

Paul

 

PaulABF hello pal, reference the polythene from QM'S, thats just the northern money saving genes in our blood mate!!was gonna paint the floor in the 'floor board effect' but her in doors may notice!!

[bruno22rf]

Here goes-remove carpet if you have one-if your floor is in a bad state get it screeded-rip off your old skirting boards-use a decent underlay "tile" and lay them with a 2mm gap and in a pattern like bricks.Buy the proper fitting kit and borrow a cross cut curcular saw (saves oodles of time).Lay the boards as per instructions but get them as close to the wall as possible without actually touching it.Buy wood effect plastic skirting boards and stick them on the walls in place of the originals putting them on top of the laminate-this looks really tidy.If ants have ever been a problem spread ant powder under the skirting boards before fixing and use a thin bead of flexible sealant to finsh the join.Lay back and let her repay you with some loving.Dont forget to leave the boards in the intended room for a few days before you use them-this lets them settle at the room temperature.

[bennyblanco]

My best advice is to beg, steal or borrow a sliding mitre saw, I bought a cheapy from B&Q and it made the job so much easier.

[jasper3]

You cant lay laminate onto carpet because the effect would be a bit 'spongy' to say the least and the joints would open up.Tiles are no problem,but you will need an underlay to cushion footsteps.

 

The cheapest underlay is a thin polysterene on a roll and is fine for use upstairs where you get floorboard bounce anyway,but on a solid conrete floor you could do with having the better quality felt stuff.End of the day it comes down to cost-the felt is much more expensive.

 

Do also bear in mind that its advisable to put a vapour barrier down first when installed downstairs.This is to prevent moisture coming up through the floor and being absorbed by the laminate-which expands and buckles.Thin polythene is best used and remember to tape all joints.Lastly-ensure you leave an expansion gap all the way round the room.

 

 

 

Personly..(as a flooring contractor).I hate the stuff if you have pets..ie Dogs..you will get a tap tap tap noise

I don't know what you budget is... but don't buy the cheap stuff.....

If you can afford it..look at Karndean.. plenty of wood effects , warm and quiet, can ce washed without worry

 

There is a website called loveflooring(google it) ...the prices are very good and very easy to fit

 

jasp

Edited May 18, 2010 by jasper3

[Paddy Galore!]

as above, the cheap stuff is pants, if you can afford it then get solid boards, if you get solid boards then you dont need underlay, just fix every 400mm into the screed, beware of under floor heating/ radiator pipes. Done loads like this and haven't had a single problem.

atb,

gram.

[terence]

as above, the cheap stuff is pants, if you can afford it then get solid boards, if you get solid boards then you dont need underlay, just fix every 400mm into the screed, beware of under floor heating/ radiator pipes. Done loads like this and haven't had a single problem.

atb,

gram.

if fitted right the cheap stuff is ok fitted b/q cheap about £8 a box been down in my hall about 5 years no problems and i youse the outside door from hall all the time