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View Full Version : Have you installed laminate flooring?



Lincoln Myers
03-09-2009, 3:30 PM
I have previously installed laminate floor in our kitchen about 5 years ago, holding up nicely. My question relates to installing laminate 'hardwood' flooring in a space where it will be VERY difficult to move all the furniture completely out prior to installation.

This flooring will be going in my Mother-in-law's townhome at ground level on a slab. I've already got all the old carpet and pad removed. In the attached diagram, I will be able to get most of furniture into the Dining Room to install the field of the Living Room, once that is done, I can then slide all furniture over to far wall of Living Room to then install the Dining Room.

See any problem with doing this? My sister-in-law said "the guys at the store said you can't do it that way, it'll mess up the way the planks connect together". My thinking is, seems like the only way it would impact the joints and 'snapping together' is if the weight of the furniture was too close to the working area of the new planks going down and deformed the plank or altered the angle where the 2 planks interface. This, should be immediately obvious to me, the installer, and I could make adjustments to where the furniture is, or, worse case, move the offending furniture out at that point.

Any thoughts or experience doing this will be appreciated.

Thanks,
Linc

george wilson
03-09-2009, 3:40 PM
I installed only 1 laminate floor in the upstairs of our 30X40' workshop. I wish to warn you that I had a problem: After we got flooring down about 6' or 8' from the 40' starting wall,I saw that the edge of the flooring was very convex,and was getting worse as we progressed. I had to pop off all the flooring and start over.

I drilled little holes along the starting edge,where the baseboard would cover them,and nailed the first strip down. That way,it couldn't begin to produce a convex edge as more flooring was laid. That worked fine.When we got to the other side of the building,the flooring was perfectly parallel to the wall.

I do not see why you couldn't carefully put your furniture on the finished area,but I could be wrong.

Do make sure your flooring stays straight as you progress,and don't be reluctant to take it apart and do what I did if needed. You will regret it if it doesn't stay straight.

Todd Pretty
03-09-2009, 4:36 PM
I installed the flooring in my first apartment that way. It was a 500 sq ft bachelor pad, and there was no where else for the furniture to go. I was even working on a floating floor that had a glued joint, not a click together so we had to leave little pathways for the ratchet straps to pass through from one edge of the room to another.

We finished the first half of the floor, let the glue set for a few hours, moved all the furniture to the finished side and finished the floor. We left only a few boards, from the first half, uncovered by furniture and there was no problems. I also regularly check any flooring install with a string line/chalk line. If you're concerned I'd leave four to five feet of the flooring uncovered by the furniture.

Lincoln Myers
03-12-2009, 12:26 PM
George, Todd, thanks for the input guys, I appreciate it.

-Linc