How to Install Laminate Flooring
Transform your living space by laying floating laminate planks over proper underlayment, mastering staggered joints, perimeter expansion gaps, and clean edge cuts.
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🧰 Required Tools & Equipment
- ✓ Miter saw or jigsaw
- ✓ Tapping block
- ✓ Pull bar
- ✓ Rubber mallet
- ✓ 3/8-inch expansion spacers
- ✓ Tape measure
- ✓ Utility knife
- ✓ Speed square
📦 Materials & Supplies
- ✓ Laminate flooring planks
- ✓ Foam underlayment with moisture barrier
- ✓ Seam tape for underlayment
- ✓ Baseboard moulding or quarter round
- ✓ 18-gauge brad nails
⚠️ Safety Checkpoints & Warnings
- • Wear an N95 dust mask when cutting boards to prevent inhaling fine high-density fiberboard (HDF) dust.
- • Use safety glasses during all power saw cuts to shield against flying laminate chips.
- • Wear cushioned knee pads to prevent joint fatigue and injury during prolonged floor-level work.
📋 Step-by-Step Guide (6 Steps)
Acclimate Flooring and Prep Subfloor
Stack unopened laminate boxes flat in the installation room for at least 48 hours to acclimate to ambient temperature and humidity. Thoroughly sweep, vacuum, and inspect the subfloor for high spots or dips exceeding 3/16 inch over a 10-foot span. Sand down high spots on wood subfloors or apply self-leveling compound over low spots on concrete before starting.
- • Subfloor is swept spotless and flat within tolerance across a 10-foot straightedge.
- • Plank boxes are stacked flat in the center of the room.
- • Skipping acclimation, causing planks to buckle or separate later due to expansion/contraction.
- • Installing over an uneven subfloor, which results in bouncy spots and broken locking clicks.
Undercut Door Casings and Roll Out Underlayment
Lay a scrap plank upside down against door casings to use as a height guide, then cut horizontally through the jamb with an oscillating multi-tool or flush-cut handsaw. Roll out the foam underlayment parallel to the planned flooring direction, butting seams tightly without overlapping. Seal all underlayment seams with moisture-resistant underlayment tape.
- • A plank slides smoothly underneath all door jambs with minimal clearance.
- • Underlayment covers the entire floor with completely taped, non-overlapping seams.
- • Overlapping underlayment edges, which creates noticeable ridges underneath the floating planks.
- • Forgetting to undercut door casings, forcing awkward, visible profile cuts in the laminate.
Set Up and Install the First Row
Place 3/8-inch spacers along the starting wall and lay the first row with the tongue side facing the wall. Connect end joints by locking the short ends together according to the manufacturer's mechanism, tapping lightly with a block if required. Cut the final plank of the row to length, saving any offcut longer than 8 to 12 inches to start the next row.
- • First row is completely straight with a consistent 3/8-inch perimeter gap maintained by spacers.
- • End joints sit completely flush without visible gaps.
- • Failing to maintain the expansion gap, causing the entire floor to buckle during humid seasons.
- • Starting without checking room squareness, leading to severely crooked rows on the opposite wall.
Stagger Joints and Lock Subsequent Rows
Start the second row with the cut-off piece from the first row to ensure end joints are staggered by at least 8 to 12 inches. Angle the long side tongue into the groove of the previous row at roughly 30 degrees, press down, and lightly tap the edge with a tapping block and rubber mallet. Work plank-by-plank down the row, ensuring each end and side joint locks securely with zero hairline gaps.
- • No visible seams or gaps between the long edges and short ends of joined planks.
- • Staggered joints create a balanced, random pattern across the floor.
- • Tapping directly against the plank's delicate tongue or groove instead of using a proper tapping block.
- • Aligning end joints too close together (under 8 inches), which weakens floor stability.
Rip and Lock the Final Row
Measure the remaining gap to the far wall at multiple points, subtracting 3/8 inch for the expansion gap, and mark your rip cut lines on the planks. Rip the boards lengthwise using a circular saw with a straightedge guide or a table saw. Position the final row and use a metal pull bar hooked over the far edge, striking it gently with a mallet to pull the joints tight against the previous row.
- • The final ripped row fits snugly with an exact 3/8-inch expansion gap along the wall.
- • All joints across the final row are completely closed without vertical lipage.
- • Forgetting to account for the 3/8-inch expansion gap when measuring the final ripped board.
- • Prying too aggressively against drywall with the pull bar, which can punch holes in the sheetrock.
Install Transitions and Baseboards
Remove all expansion spacers around the room perimeter once the entire floor is assembled. Nail baseboards or quarter round moulding directly into the wall studs using an 18-gauge brad nailer, ensuring you never nail through the floating floor planks. Install T-mouldings or reducer strips at doorways to cover transition gaps between different flooring surfaces.
- • All perimeter expansion gaps are fully hidden under the newly installed trim.
- • Trim is securely attached to the wall while the laminate floor remains free to expand and contract.
- • Nailing trim directly down into the laminate planks, preventing the floating floor from moving freely.
- • Leaving unsealed gaps beneath transition strips where dirt and moisture can collect.
Credit: inspired by an original tutorial by DIY Creators — watch the original on YouTube.
Don’t have everything?
- No Tapping block? Scrap piece of laminate flooring with intact groove clicked into place
- No Oscillating multi-tool? Flush-cut hand pull saw
- No Laminate pull bar? Standard flat pry bar padded with a scrap wood block against the wall