| Advice please on installing laminate floors
Posted: 7/22/2007 6:02:22 AM | My problem, parquette floors now exists, most of the rooms the parquette is fine, but in one room the parquette is lifted and falling apart.
My question is - do I have to remove all the parquette from that room or can someone tell me how to fill in the gaps.
My next question, dremmel has a hand saw, is this good enough to cut the laminate or what better saw should I use to cut the flooring with.
Any other advice to install the floors would be greatfully appreciated. other than hire a contractor unless your offering to pay the workers.
Thank-you! | |
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| Advice please on installing laminate floors
Posted: 7/22/2007 6:41:11 AM | well u can cut out pieces of the old floor and put floor leveler in it place to make floor even, although that is the cheap way to fix it, myself i would tear it all off, make sure old plywood is screwed to floor joists, then put new floor on top
an 8 inch miter saw is best to cut yr new laminate flooring with when u have yr first row of laminate down and its level and square i suggest u put some finishing nails between the wall and first row to keep it from moving closer to the wall< the laminate people give or sell u some rubber shims but they move as yr installing the laminate, make sure u have nails atleast 1 inch from both ends of the laminate other then that its pretty straight forward, good luck and dont forget yr knee pads | |
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| Advice please on installing laminate floors
Posted: 7/22/2007 6:50:36 AM | You can use self leveling floor leveler to fill in the gaps. Make sure to remove all the lose pieces including the areas that have heaved. you will need a 1/2 drill and a mixing paddle. You can probably rent those.
For cutting you will not want to use a hand saw. you can ,but after a cut or two the blade will be shot and so will your arm. I would advise renting a miter saw. for the same price of a good hand saw will yield you two days of rental. Or if your budget allows for it you can buy one at princess auto for under $100 just make sure it will cut the width of your flooring. | |
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| Advice please on installing laminate floors
Posted: 7/22/2007 7:26:37 AM | I have a good drill,no intention of using a hand saw. I wants my cuts to be nice and clean.
Buying the right saw for a majority of wood projects is really what I need.
There's 700sq ft of floor to do, by the time it's done, it'll be cheaper to own a saw rather than rent one. We know what I'll be doing over the next few weekends.
Yes, I know to grab a few extra bundles just in case.
Just looking for quik tips to help me along, which so far are greatfully appreciated. | |
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| Advice please on installing laminate floors
Posted: 7/22/2007 8:56:48 AM | if its just little patching that has to be done on the old floor you dont need a drill a simple container and a paint stick will do, you might also have to cut all the door casings and jambs, to get the new floor under them, looks like chit if u dont cut them, if you want to rent a tool called an undercut saw it will do the job in minutes, if yr cheap just take a piece of the new floor lay it upside against the casing and jambs and cut the casings and jambs, leaving the piece of new flooring there will ensure u have the right height for the new flooring to slip underneath..........ill put homes on homes to shame...........cuz i got hair....... | |
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a/c
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Joined: 6/21/2007
Msg: 7 | |
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| Advice please on installing laminate floors
Posted: 7/22/2007 9:45:45 AM | | We just did this and we ripped out the old stuff, made sure the subfloor was well screwed into place and then filled in the screw heads with floor leveler. We used a sabre saw with a special bit for laminate floors and it went very well. | |
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| Advice please on installing laminate floors
Posted: 7/22/2007 9:59:19 AM | A friend of mine did this almost two years ago, and the one thing she did wrong was NOT use the rubber shims. She nailed the edge piece in place, and didn't allow the full amount of room for expansion and contraction, as instructed.... and she ended up fixing about a year later. It is a floating floor and is designed that way.... which is why you are given the rubber shims, and are told how to space it. I have not done it, but have been considering it in my basement, and this is what she gave me for advice. I know Mike Holmes of "Holmes on Homes" fame has a fair bit on his website about it.
Good luck, and let us know how it turns out! | |
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| Advice please on installing laminate floors
Posted: 7/22/2007 6:25:42 PM | Hi Bluedew....been awhile since I last saw you.
I just did this to my bedroom floor...the tile that was there was tarred on so I just left it and went over it with the laminate...now the parquette flooring is different but the suggestions above are good.
I, though, would suggest mixing a good couple of batches of strawberry daquaris and finding someone like Mike Holmes to do it for you so you can sit back and enjoy the entertainment. lol | |
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| Advice please on installing laminate floors
Posted: 7/26/2007 10:41:49 PM | All advice greatly appreciated and I'll let you know how it goes.
My project starts next weekend and I'll let you know how it turns out, wish me luck, thanks about the doorjambs, totoally forgot about those headaches.
Just the one room that the parquette is lifting, the other looks good.
Going to an internet site to look, you come here and find it, I'm not that savvy when it comes to surffing the net. The advice is appreciated, but my patience is not that good at the moment when it comes to figuring out that.
I undersatnd it does come with instructions which I plan to read, but advice from people who have done it, much better for quik tips.
I still haven't won the lottery, so, Mike Holmes is out, darn.
Strawberry daquiries and observing would be a nice idea, I'll save the drinks for when I'm done.
My boss forgets I do like to come home once in awhile and he keeps me at work much longer I might as well forget the floors , buy a trailer and park it at work, hence my being a little cranky, lack of sleep. | |
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osh42
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Joined: 10/18/2005
Msg: 15 | |
| Advice please on installing laminate floors
Posted: 7/27/2007 9:27:26 PM | just buy a laminate skill saw blade, they are a couple of bucks, there is 90% of your cuts, the other 10% you have to rip on a table saw to fit, if you don't want a laminate blade put some painters tape over the area to be cut so the laminate won't chip do to the saw blade being the wrong design. You'll need some new corner round at minimum also.
Whatever you do have safety glasses on always when cutting laminate. and watch your fingers when working with a cut edge. I've been cut a couple of times on jagged edges. The glasses are a must as pieces of the surfaces likes to chip and fly off the blade when cutting.
Good luck | |
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| Advice please on installing laminate floors
Posted: 8/2/2007 11:12:40 PM | | 700 sq ft of laminate won't take more than a day and as far as using self leveling flooring compound don't bother it's not needed your sound barrier will make up for any uneveninous just make sure your subfloor is screwed down tight or you'll have to live with a squicking floor for the next 15 yrs lol. ps if you're planning on doing this job right now with the humidity being what it is don't use the spacers or come wintertime you'll have a nice big gap between the edge of your new floor and the baseboard, right now a 1/4 in is enough of a gap even in a large room and in a hallway you can practically take it right to the wallboard. | |
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| Advice please on installing laminate floors
Posted: 8/5/2007 4:46:40 AM | Thanks for the tip on the blade.
All the parquette has been removed, baseboards gone, I'll see about getting that blade today, thanks for that tip. All rooms will be painted today and floors will be done tomorrow.
I got the do it yourself kit and I think your right about those shims, awful short, so tacking the finishing nails down first looks like a good idea, should make the job go faster.
I had someone who offered to help me with the putting down of the floors, but that never happenned. Another frind of mine came through, hence between my daughter and my friend, the parquette is gone.
At this point I'm ready to swallow my pride and take any offer of help and assistance.
I need a new roof as well, so I've been working all the o/t I can get to hire a contractor for that job.
IIf painting gets done quickly I may attempt doing the floors late today.
Updates as I get er done. | |
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| Advice please on installing laminate floors
Posted: 8/5/2007 2:33:31 PM | | personally i would go with wood floors instead of parquette,but that's just me.besides what is parquette flooring anyways,never heard of it before?i can't offer any advice on installing because i suck at all that kind of stuff.(TR) | |
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| Advice please on installing laminate floors
Posted: 8/5/2007 7:16:10 PM | I use to install hardwood floors so I have some advice on this ...
First thing you got to look at is if the floor you are going to replace is it in good flat condition .. If it is then you won't have to start doing extra work by removing the floor underneath .. Just go over the top.
If you have damage then it may be easier to just fill any cracks with a polly resin or some sort of filler to make it flat and smooth ... Don't do more work than you have to unless you really want to start from scratch ... I seen many floor with 2-3 layers on top of eachother and they looked just fine - you even get less creeks as you walk over the floor with those extra layers ....
If you're all good with that ... Fill the cracks like I said above and go ahead and put the new floor down ... Now, you will probly need some new threshold trim and touch up here and there ....
I have removed some old flooring in the past and found myself with more work than I needed to do .... If you can go over top, I think this is probly the best way to go about this .. and nobody will ever know ... :) | |
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osh42
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Joined: 10/18/2005
Msg: 23 | |
| Advice please on installing laminate floors
Posted: 8/7/2007 8:35:40 PM | You do not need the shims anyway. Just make sure your not touching the wall.
Generally at smallest you'll see with baseboard plus the width of the Quarter-Round will be. 1 and 3/16 of a inch and in most cases even larger. Hence judge half a inch away from the wall and your all set. Even with Expansion and Contraction, You'll be very hard pressed to find somewhere where the floor has binded, or developed gaps, unless the install was messed up really bad. The trick is to let the floor climatize for a few days by letting it sit in your house before installing it. By doing that the odds of a future problem will be nearly impossible by the means of contraction or expansion. Of course unless you flood the floor daily! | |
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| Advice please on installing laminate floors
Posted: 8/8/2007 12:16:25 PM | I went to homedepot to learn how to install laminate floors.....
fill the gaps in with mortar you use for ceramic floors or drywall compond. level it off the the old floors and that should do it.
To start ...face the wall, start on your left side, use the spacers for laminate floors, it will give you the right distance to start away from the wall.....make sure you put down the padding first, i just use duct tape to secure it. and the way you go. It's easy once you do a few it gets better.
hand saw is fine. | |
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| Advice please on installing laminate floors
Posted: 8/9/2007 4:39:30 AM | | toobad??? homedepot told you to use drywall compound to act as a floor leveler?? lmao, did they also tell you to screw down your old floor with drywall screws? lol, drywall compund is made for drywall not a floor leveler, just like a drywall screw is made to screw in drywall and not flooring.................. | |
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