Laying the laminate

[sudsmaster]

Well, had the entire week off but one thing led to another and tonight I finally got the master bedroom cleared out, and all the wall/floor molding removed. Just got to bring the flooring in from the shop (where it's been sitting, elevated, for the past six years or so) so I can finish its acclimation and start laying it tomorrow.

After 12 years of living with the plywood subfloor in the bedroom I figure it will feel quite luxurious to have a "real" floor underfoot for a change. I had covered up most of the plywood with an (expensive) carved wool Chinese carpet, which is beautiful but took sort of a beating over the years in the traffic areas (and the spot under the bed where the house cat liked to nap).

I'd take some photos but I think you've all seen plywood... lol... well maybe later. Still gotta get my second wind and hump the flooring into the house. And then there's some undercutting of door molding to be attended to.

Still it's kind of fun. Almost like moving into a new house... Will be sleeping in the spare bedroom for a few nights until it's all done... maybe a whole week, we'll just have to see.

The cat is quite confused.

 

[scott55405]

We'll look forward to hearing of your progress. I love the laminate floors, as well as the wood like vinyl flooring I have.

My friend had hardwood floors installed recently and her cat wasn't quite sure what to do either, so finally he spent the balance of the week at Grandma's house.

 

[sudsmaster]

Thanks, Scott.

Well, the cat found a new refuge in the spare bedroom, under that bed (I usually keep the door to that room closed, but it's open for now). I just hope she remembers where the cat box is... in the master bath, just off the master bedroom... she'll have to walk through some chaos to get to it for the next few days...

 

[sudsmaster]

Thanks, Scott.

Well, the cat found a new refuge in the spare bedroom, under that bed (I usually keep the door to that room closed, but it's open for now). I just hope she remembers where the cat box is... in the master bath, just off the master bedroom... she'll have to walk through some chaos to get to it for the next few days...

 

[sudsmaster]

Oops, sorry for the double post...

 

[whirlcool]

We were thinking about doing a laminate floor in the kitchen, but weren't sure how they would hold up to big dogs walking on them and leaving indents from their claws. We keep the claws cut relatively short. Anyone have experience with this aspect of laminate floors?

 

[sudsmaster]

Well, this is my first laminate floor, but from looking at the stuff it's probably unlikely that the dog claws will dent the stuff - it's very hard. More likely they might wind up scratching/wearing the surface a bit... how much would depend on the dogs and maybe the laminate itself. Different laminates have different surface treatments, some are much harder than others. At least that's what I recall when I did some research on it five years or so ago.

But I'd be a bit leery of putting laminate in any wet area... this particular laminate says NOT to use any detergent on it... which pretty much rules out mopping the kitchen floor with any old thing. Again, it's about six years old so there might be more moisture/detergent resistant versions out there, I don't know. I'm assuming that it could still be cleaned with a wood-friendly type of soap, such as might be used with a Hoover Floor Mate. In the bedroom I'm not too worried about it. Interestingly they say to remove stains with acetone.

 

[sudsmaster]

Some photos

Bare room. Walls partially repainted. Nighttime.

Room looks smaller than it really is... It's about 16' by 11'.

 

[sudsmaster]

First row of underlayment

After finishing painting the walls. It started as a touch-up but after 12 years it's apparent that the pale blue paint (called "chambray") faded a bit over the years. I happened to have about a gallon left and it went on fine - but in the morning I realized I'd have to cover all the walls. Didn't take too long but it set me back a couple hours. At this point I'm resigned to this taking till next weekend. I have a job, nighttime classes, and some oral surgery scheduled for the rest of this week...

The underlayment is probably great for moisture control, but it is kind of a pain to install. I understand why the mfg has gone to offering its latest flooring with the underlayment foam padding built into each plank. I think they still recommend putting down plastic sheeting first, though.

 

[sudsmaster]

About 1/3 of the way done. Making good use of the table saw and jigsaw... (note the cutout needed for the heating vent)...

After the first few rows I finally got the hang of it... some subtle nuances in how to assemble the panels, use the spacers, and use the drive block...

 

[scott55405]

So far so good! That's going to look really nice.

 

[autowasherfreak]

Looks great. I like that light color.

 

[whirlcool]

Maybe a Haan steam mop would be good to use on a laminate floor so you don't get it too wet.

 

[alanlendaro]

"Laying the Laminate"....

Does she have a brother????

*Ducks and runs really, really fast!*

 

[sudsmaster]

Almost done...

Had to take a break from the flooring work due to Tue/Thur night classes, and on Wed afternoon had a molar pulled (failed root canal, infected to the bone, got a bone graft in prep or an implant) and was a bit done in for the rest of the week. Today I putzed around until about 2 pm and then got started again... used the thunder/rain as an excuse, lol. Then spent some time after dark cutting away the wood work around the closet doors so I can slip the laminate under it. The closets have cedar flooring and I won't be changing that - it's in very good shape. The last few feet will be a bit of a challenge due to all the jigsaw work needed, but I think it will go ok. Then I have to see if the original floor molding will be thick enough to cover the mandatory 3/8" gap between the laminate and the walls... or go shopping at HD/Lowes for some fake molding.

 

[sudsmaster]

Whew!

Just finished putting down all the laminate. The closet doors (two double door closets along one wall) was indeed a challenge. And I still might add about 1" of laminate to the gap between the laminate and the cedar closet flooring... but basically it's done. Well, almost. I still have to install the floor/wall molding, and I think I'm going to have to pay Home Depot a visit because the old molding (which I carefully preserved) is only 3/8" thick and probably won't cover up the gap between the laminate and the wall in some places. I think it will need 1/2" or thicker molding instead. I don't mind if it's fake wood at this point, since the entire floor is fake anyway ;-).

It does look nice, but is not yet ready for photos since I had to empty the closet floor of bins of whatnot and the room needs tidying.

The rains have started up here again...

 

[petek]

Re dogs and laminate

Sister has two large German Shepherds (Alsations for the Brits) and numerous cats plus extra dogs depending on who's dog she's also minding at any given time. She redid her livingroom, kitchen, diningroom and familyroom all laminate about 3 years ago and it's held up beautifully. I'm thinking of redoing my livingroom carpet now with laminate.. I need to after this..

 

[sudsmaster]

Almost done...

Found some acceptable real wood baseboard at HD. Needed to give it three coats of some old Conco-Pro semi-gloss "hi-hide" white latex paint, but it looks ok. Today I finished cutting the pieces to size (one is almost 16 feet long!), mitering the edges, and fitting them in place. A few 2 inch 6d nails secure them to the wall base, and some white latex caulk took care of the nail holes, hammer dings, and miter gaps. Tomorrow I'll slap some more semi-gloss over the nail holes etc. and after a bit it will be time to start moving the furniture back in.

I'll take some photos of the empty room tomorrow when it's light out. And of what's become my favorite vacuum cleaner of late.

 

[whirlcool]

Looks like kitty found a horizontal scratching post.