Are you excited to step into your new home? Before moving your furniture and appliances in, consider giving your home a makeover, starting with its floors. Your floor should look pleasing to the eyes and feel comfortable underfoot. As such, your flooring solution is crucial to the overall look and feel of your lovely home.
If you’re on a tight budget, laminate flooring might be the perfect solution for you. It is one of the most affordable flooring solutions on the market. Aside from their low cost, laminate floors are resistant to moisture and scratches. For these reasons, many homeowners deem them as an attractive flooring solution for their homes.
Compared to other flooring solutions such as hardwood, laminate floors are very easy to install. However, this doesn’t mean that you wouldn’t encounter problems along the way. In this article, we will tackle the common mistakes when laying laminate flooring.
If you wish to know more about laminate flooring and the solutions to the most common problems, read on!
What Is Laminate Flooring?
Laminate flooring can be a practical solution if solid hardwood floors are a bit out of your budget. Laminate floors offer durability and style without breaking the bank. Don’t be carried away by the common prejudice against laminate flooring. Laminate floors have been significantly refined and enhanced over the past few years.
Unlike solid hardwood flooring, laminate flooring has different layers made of various materials. Each layer contributes to the durability and flexibility of laminate floors. In addition, this construction makes laminate floors resistant to scratches and moisture. Laminate floors usually have four layers: the protective wear layer, the eye-catching design layer, the shock-absorbent core layer, and the stable back layer.
Why Should I Choose Laminate Flooring?
When it comes to budget-friendly flooring solutions, you have plenty of options, including engineered hardwood and vinyl flooring. However, laminate flooring stands out among the rest for many reasons. We have gathered the top five reasons you should consider buying laminate flooring for your home.
Quick Installation
Hardwood floors are difficult to install, so much so that you might need to hire a professional to do the work for you. In addition, some flooring solutions need to be nailed or glued down on the floor, which complicates the installation process. Others require a meticulous preparation of the floor before you lay down the flooring itself.
That having been said, laminate flooring is easier to install with its click system. You can even do it by yourself without any outside help. Of course, you have to make sure that the laminate floor pieces “click” with one another. DIYers might even enjoy doing the entire installation process as a weekend project.
Reliable Protection
Offering you reliable protection, laminate flooring is made of synthetic materials that can withstand moisture damage and surface scratches. As a result, you can depend on the durable wear layer to endure the demands of everyday life at home.
Easy Maintenance
Fortunately, laminate flooring is fast and painless to maintain. You only need to grab a damp mop or rag and wipe it across the floor. Then, within minutes and without breaking a sweat, you can keep your laminate floor clean and shiny.
Amazing Visuals
Many homeowners prefer the warm tones of the most popular wood species on their floors. But, achieving a homey and cozy look can now be possible without tearing a hole in your pocket, thanks to laminate floors. The most common laminate flooring styles feature mahogany, oak, maple, walnut, and hickory.
Affordable Prices
With laminate flooring, you don’t have to be stressed out about making compromises. You can achieve beautiful floors without emptying your pockets. Laminate floors can be bought for as low as $2.00 per square foot. Since you can install laminate flooring by yourself, you can save more money by not hiring a flooring expert to install it for you.
Common Mistakes When Laying Laminate Flooring
Known for being easy to install, laminate flooring can be a little tricky to lay down across the floor too. You might encounter some problems along the way despite the supposedly straightforward installation instructions. We have gathered the most common mistakes anyone might make while installing laminate floors in their home.
Mistake #1: Floating Floor Not Laying Flat
When you were a small child, you might have spent hours solving jigsaw puzzles. You might have also noticed how each jigsaw puzzle piece fits with one another like a glove. Laminate floors are not so different. They are designed to fit together perfectly as you assemble your floor.
However, there could be instances where the laminate floor just won’t stay flat despite your attempts to push it down. This happens because of many reasons, including moisture damage, temperature, and an uneven subfloor. Whichever the cause might be, you have to disassemble the affected parts of the floor and reinstall them.
Mistake #2: Laminate Flooring Won’t Stay Together
Pieces of laminate flooring simply lock into place seamlessly. Unfortunately, there are times when this isn’t the case. For example, due to warping, an uneven subfloor, or even a random protruding nail or debris, your laminate floors won’t stay together.
With click-lock laminate floors, you only have to ensure that the edges click into place. Then, if you have a rubber mallet, you can use it to tap the affected pieces to secure the connection. However, you have to be very careful not to break the grooves.
Mistake #3: Unchecked Moisture
Synthetic flooring solutions such as vinyl and laminate are hailed as being highly water-resistant. This is true to a certain extent. The surface layer can withstand liquid spills, but the core layer is hygroscopic. In simpler terms, the core layer of a laminate floor absorbs moisture. Unfortunately, moisture can harm your laminate flooring.
Laminate flooring can contract and expand when exposed to moisture and high humidity for a long period. The contraction and expansion of laminate pieces can lead to deformities in your flooring. In addition, these can make your floor turn into a bumpy mess.
Mistake #4: Uneven Subfloor
One of the most common causes of laminate flooring problems is an uneven subfloor. While you don’t need to treat your subfloor in the same way as you would for hardwood floors, you still need to make sure that it is flat and devoid of protrusions. Doing so will save you from headaches and frustrations in the future.
If you don’t have a smooth and even subfloor, you will find difficulties as you lay down your laminate floor. One way to make sure that your subfloor is even is by using a straight edge from one end of the room to the other. In addition, you can use leveling products to compensate for the low parts of your subfloor.
Mistake #5: Skipping the Underlayment
The most glaring weakness of laminate flooring is its thinness. You can easily bend it with your two hands because of how thin it is. In some cases, this can be an advantage, but it can easily turn into a problem. If you have an untreated subfloor and have skipped applying the underlayment, you will be able to feel the imperfections of your floor underfoot.
You can address this problem by preparing your floor beforehand. Make sure to apply an underlayment before you install your laminate flooring. An underlayment works by absorbing the shocks and pressure applied to the floor. Aside from that, it evens out the small protrusions and depressions across your floor.
Final Thoughts
We know how exciting it can be to lay your beautiful laminate flooring. However, you have to familiarize yourself first with the most common mistakes that you might encounter as you do so. If you head on without doing the necessary preparations, you run the risk of ruining your stylish laminate floors in the long run. Eventually, it will weaken and have a shorter lifespan.
Save yourself from frustration and avoid these common laminate flooring mistakes! Read more here.
June 3, 2022
