Find a trusted laminate flooring expert near you

Once you’ve chosen your laminate flooring, it’s time to book your installation. A professional laminate floor installer will give your floors a professional-looking finish, ensure they’re fitted correctly, and increase their longevity. Before installing your new floor, you’ll need to remove all the furniture and ensure pets and children can’t get in. Once they start the job, you can expect your installer to take the following steps:

Area preparation

Good underfloor preparation is essential for a high-quality finish. This might involve removing the existing flooring if the floor underneath is unstable, uneven, or carpeted. Once the area underneath is stable, level, and clean, your floor installer will may lay waterproofing and insulation. Although laminate flooring is considered less sensitive to moisture than traditional floorboards, waterproofing materials add an extra barrier between the outside and your floorboards. Laying insulation can help to reduce noise and echo, and can help trap heat to regulate the temperature of your rooms, as well. The final preparation step involves removing any existing skirting boards and doors.

Installation

When laying your laminate flooring, your installer will usually start at the longest wall, or in the direction of incoming light if it’s a square room. Starting with the tongue side facing the room, they’ll join the boards together by fitting them into each other. They’ll tap them tightly with a rubber mallet so you get a tight fit with no gap. Some floorboards may be glued directly to the floor underneath, or they may be nailed to the wooden surface underneath. As they work, your installer will add spacers between the boards and wall to allow for expansion as the temperature changes.

Cutting & shaping

The key to a professional finish is in the small details. Professional floor installers will cut, shape, and fit individual boards around the corners, edges, and doorways of your new floor. They’ll use special tools to wedge them into tight crevices and ensure they fit securely without damage.

Cleanup & finish

Unlike timber floorboards, laminate floorboards are ready to be walked on right away. Once your floorboards have been installed, the expansion gaps can be caulked with silicone, which will provide a waterproof barrier, but still allow for expansion. The skirting boards and doors will be replaced and painted if necessary. Your floors are ready to be vacuumed and mopped, and your laminate flooring installer will clean up their work area to remove any offcuts, dust, and rubbish.

Repairs & restoration

If your laminate floorboards are damaged, a professional flooring specialist can replace them if you have some remaining from your installation. To do this, they’ll need to remove the damaged boards by either unlocking all your flooring from the wall until the damaged board is reached, or cutting out the damaged board. Unlike timber floorboards, laminate floors are not designed to be sanded and resealed, so replacement is the most cost-effective way to get your floors back to their shining glory.