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A do it yourself laminate floor installation can be a nightmare if things do not go as they should, but a professional takes care of problems before they happen. If you are thinking about a DIY project installing laminate floors in your home, consider first whether you have the knowledge and experience to work with anything that comes up. A pro can, and here is how he will work.

Evaluate the Room

An amateur will usually begin laying laminate right away without taking time to evaluate the room. He will be blindsided when the underlying problems become evident. Every corner that is not square, every hump in the subfloor and every bowed wall will come as a complete and utter shock to the do it yourselfer who has not taken time to look the situation over thoroughly before beginning. A professional will take this step in laminate floor installation every time.

Perfect the Subfloor

The first physical work the expert installer will do will probably be dealing with the subfloor. An uneven subfloor must be evened out before the laminate floor installation can begin. This may involve sanding or using some kind of filler in the gaps to smooth the subfloor out. After the subfloor is evened up, it is cleaned and covered with a waterproof barrier.

Layout the Boards

The expert in laminate floor installation will begin with the planks by laying them out in order several boards across to get a good start. He will make sure that the boards are staggered correctly, with 6 or more inches between an end of a board on one row and another end of a board on the next row. He will make sure that no two boards of equal length are sitting side by side, exactly matched together. This is how he will get ready to start laying boards.

Put the Boards in Place

The professional will continue the laminate floor installation by putting spacers next to the first wall before placing the first row of boards. This will provide room for expansion with the temperature and humidity of the room after the installation is finished and the spacers have been removed.

The installer continues laying row after row, snapping each plank into place and tapping and locking them in when the entire row is set. For this procedure, two installers will usually work together. They will continue the process, using their tools to cut the boards when necessary for fit, until the room is completed except for the last row. On the last row, they will rip the final boards to the right width and fit them into place.

Do the Trim Work

The mark of an excellent laminate floor installation is that it looks solid and complete from every angle. A part of this is fitting the boards correctly in the first place. The professional installer will complete the look by putting the old trim back on, or by adding new trim that you have chosen. You will get a great result if you lean on people who are more experienced than you are and hire a professional installer.