How to Make a Subfloor for Laminate Installation

You can say laminate flooring is a floating flooring system. It is aimed to shield any subfloor surface devoid of fixed to it. So in this way it become possible for this system to cover any floor from ceramic to hardwood, linoleum to vinyl, plywood subfloors and concrete. But if you want successful laminate flooring installation, you should judge the following requirements which given below for the subfloor that either it meets these requirements or not.

The requirements are:

Subfloor should be clean

Before installation make sure that the subfloor should be clean. If there is carpet in the room then take out it along with the padding. For laminate floor installation, carpet padding is not allowable. You may install laminate flooring in those rooms which have vinyl floors in good condition.

Subfloor should be free of defects

Subfloors should be free of any major defects and must be in good repair. The defect may be present in the form of loose boards and nails because of improper plywood installation. Before installation if you have observed any problem then you should fix it.Subfloor should be level

The level of variations in subfloor should not go beyond 1/8" in 8’.You may use level or straightedge for checking the variations. Repair any inequality and roughness if present. All high spots should be ground and then seal all low spots and cracks.

Subfloor should be dry

For installing the laminate flooring always check that the subfloor should be dry. You must ensure that the concrete is fully cured when installing over new cement.

Subfloor should be physically solid

The subfloor should be structurally solid so that it can be able to support generally estimated loads without any alteration.

Choose right underlayment

Cover the subfloor by means of suitable underlayment. Then to the direction of the flooring you should roll out the foam at angle of 90 degree. To start your installation, you should use the above recommendations.

Leveling a Concrete Floor before Tiling

Tiles are comparatively durable floor coverings that can last for many years when laid on a flat substrate. However, if a tile floor is laid on the sub floor that is not perfectly level then the tiles can develop cracks. Because the concrete floor surfaces often have small hills and dips, they must be leveled properly before installing tiles. Using a self-leveling floor compound will make ensure that the concrete floor is totally flat before you lay the tiles on it.

·         In the first step, check the flatness of the concrete floor with a level. Lay the level in several areas on the concrete to locate the areas that require the most leveling. The self-leveling compounds are made to look for highs and lows on the floors, locating where the lowest places are,then start pouring the compound in these located areas, confirming that they get filled.

·         After this, vacuum the concrete floor well and remove all the debris and dust that may be present on the floor. Anything on the concrete floor, involving dust, can slow down the progress of the self-leveling floor compound.

·         Then put on a dust mask and Mix the compound according to the instructions of the manufacturer and hold the container near the lowest regions on the floor. Start pouring the compound slowly onto the concrete. The compound will start to spread over the floor, filling in the low zones and leveling out the floor. Automatically,it will search for the high and low regions of the floor. You only require to make sure that you pour enough compound to cover the whole floor.

·         Allow the compound to settle onto the concrete floor. Once it's poured, you don't have to smooth it. Let the compound to completely dry before laying the tile for at least 24 hours.

How to Lay Tiles on Wooden Floors

Porcelain, ceramic and natural stone tiles serve as the water-resistant and easy-to-clean finish for the floors throughout the home. While the tile can easily be installed over the most sub floors, the wood floors need special care and preparation before they can support a tile finish effectively.
Tiling over Wood: Wood in all form serves as the poor sub floor for the ceramic or the stone tiles. Wood naturally swells and shrinks because of changing in the humidity or temperature. This movement can also cause any tile to be installed on the surface of the wood to break or crack. Rather than directly installing tile to the wood, give time to prepare properly the wood for the tile.
Securing the Floor: The first step in making wood floors to obtain new tile includes securing the plywood sub floors or the hardwood to the below joists. Use two inch screws every three inches across the length of every board to fasten the wood to the below joists, then cover the whole surface with one by two inch thick sheets of the plywood.
Laying a Cement Board Base: After this, cover the plywood with one by two inch layer of the cement board. Secure the cement board by a thin layer of the thin set mortar. Cover the seams between every board with the cement board seam tape, screw the cement board to the floor through cement board screws at every six inches across the edges.

Installing Tile: Snap a chalk line from center points to the opposite one. The point where these lines meet show the center of the room. By initiating the installation of your tile at this point, you can mask all the walls that are out-of-plumb or uneven. Start laying out the tiles at the center point without the use of mortar. Keep laying out the tiles till you have found your favorite layout or the pattern. You may desire to number the tiles or make a sketch to keep tricky layout organized. Before applying the mortar, cut the tiles as required to fit your layout. Continue applying the amount of thin set until you have covered the entire floor.

How to Lay Out Laminate Flooring of different Lengths

Most of the homeowners prefer the laminate flooring to the hardwood flooring because of its price and durability. Laminate floor screeding provides the similar look as hardwood flooring and it is easier to install. Frequently called "floating floors," several laminate floors don't need nailing in the place. The laminate boards safe together by sliding the locking the tab from one row into the groove on the next row. In hardwood flooring, it is very important to stumble the seams between the rows so that no two seams line up. This needs cutting different lengths of the laminate floor screeding in installation.

·         Let the laminate flooring to adjust to the temperature and humidity in the room where you organize to install it.

·         Remove the baseboards in the room and insert the claw side of a hammer a small pry bar between the wall and baseboard at the nail location. Pull down on hammer the pry bar softly to pull away the baseboard from the wall.

·         Detach the old flooring tiles or carpeting and score the grout through a grout scoring tool and remove the grout dust with the help of a wet-dry vacuum. Insert a pry bar under a tile, and hammer the edge of pry bar until the tile lifts up.

·         Scrape up thin set mortar by a putty knife, and vacuum to remove the dust or debris.

·         Examine the sub floor.Apply the leveling compound by a hand trowel.

·         Lay out the six mil plastic sheeting when you are installing on the concrete floor.

·         Apply the foam under layment to the floor.

·         Measure each wall to locate the center point.

·         Repeat this for the other two walls.

·         Cut the first row's board widths to the 1/4 inches.

·         Lay out the boards of first row end to end.

·         Reinstall the baseboards in the suitable positions as marked on the board sand on the wall.

How to Keep the Laminate Floating Floor from Unlocking

The Laminate flooring is the best way to enhance the visual request of your real estate investment. The Floating floors are the best option when you don't want to paste the laminate planks to the subfloor. The floating floor planks are designed to connect with the adjoining planks and lock in the place to create a solid floor surface. Unluckily, the floating floors can unlock when the subfloor surface is not level completely. When you solve the floor screeding problem, you will feel like you are floating on the cloud nine.

·         Examine a laminate planks to govern which piece is unlocking. Replace the plank if a laminate is ruptured or the tongue and groove locking system is injured. If the planks are in a good working condition, then the sub floor is possibly the problem.

·         Attach a small masking tape to the top of every laminate floor plank initiating with the last plank which was installed. Place a small piece of tape on every plank up to the troublesome floor plank. Number these masking tape portions with a pencil or crayon, by the number one on the plank which was installed at the last.

·         Remove the baseboards or trim through prying them loose with the backside of the hammer. Insert the floor puller under the middle of last plank which was installed.

·         Study the flooring close to the unlocking plank to locate any dips in the sub floor. Smear skim coating compound using a trowel to the uneven floor area. Allow the skim coat to completely dry.

·         Reinstall the laminate flooring in the same order as you removed them, beginning with these pieces closest to the troublesome sub floor region. Due to retraction and expansion, the flooring may give the laminate planks.