Best Laminate Flooring
This is the exact product I have in my man cave. You'll trick 9 out of 10 people. They'll think it's reclaimed oak from a barn. CLICK THE IMAGE NOW TO HAVE THIS DELIVERED TO YOUR HOME.
Best Laminate Flooring TIPS
- Buy the one Tim Carter uses in his own man cave!
- Get one that's so realistic it fools most visitors
- WATCH the DIY install video series below
- Follow simple instructions for a one-day install
- CLICK HERE to Get Tim's FREE & FUNNY Newsletter!
Cynthia Russell wants to install laminate flooring in her Standish, MI home. But she's having trouble locating the best brand. Here's her tale:
"We are considering putting laminated flooring in our house.
We were looking at Pergo flooring, but after doing some research I found only negative reviews.
We also looked at Diamond flooring. The Diamond flooring is 5/8 in thick. What would you recommend using?"
Here's my answer:
Cynthia, I recently installed a laminate floor in my man cave / ham radio shack / office. I'm really pleased with the product and how easy it was to install.
If you’re interested in learning more about the estimates to install laminate flooring I have an article here.
My floor was a laminate that looked just like reclaimed oak from an old warehouse or barn. It's so realistic it fools just about everyone that looks at it.
How To Install Best Laminate Flooring Videos
I also taped a three-part video series about my project. Here are the videos.
When you watch them, I believe I'll convince you this is a project most DIY people can do. You just have to follow the simple instructions.
One key element, not mentioned by Tim, is to check the toxic emission levels (formaldehyde, etc) of laminate products. Many are manufactured in China with no emission standards, and the off-gassing could cause considerable mental and physical problems.
Thanks for the video Tim. I have a few questions about the installation. I have carpet down now and I want to replace it with laminate flooring. I don't want to remove the base boards for fear of damaging the walls. Can I just leave a space between the base board and laminate and use toe molding? Also, I'm not sure the room is square. How do I keep the laminate square?
Yes you can leave baseboard on. You start installing the first piece on the wall where the flooring will be the most visible.
I'm sorry Tim but no real man cave would actually be painted yellow!
Well, mine is. I wanted it pretty bright. With everything up on the walls now, it's pretty subdued. 😉
Hi Tim ,
Watched all three videos and can't find where you explain wash - rinse - repeat. It probably just me but i'm still rewatching to find it.
Yeah, it's you I hate to say. That phrase means "repeat what you saw me do until you're finished."
😉
The videos cover the information needed to install this type of flooring with the exception of the actual mating of the individual flooring pieces. Because we needed Kahrs flooring in our living room and dining room to match self-installed flooring in our entryway in a short timeframe, we hired a contractor experienced in this flooring installation. They took the installation diagrams provided on the manufacturer's boxes to heart and pounded the floor together rather than carefully finessing the pieces together (as I had done with the previous installation) leading to some damaged edges. In your description of the locking mechanism for your flooring (almost exactly the same as the Kahrs flooring we have), it would be useful to demonstrate how to carefully angle the flooring pieces together, push down to ensure complete mating, then gently tap a scrap piece of wood on the edge to further seat the joint. Heavy pounding of the flooring is not necessary and can be counterproductive.
Tim,
Thank you for the video, I remember when the tongue and groove had to be cut on each piece. I may try it again.
awesome video series tim, very informative as I am getting ready to install some vinyl plank flooring in some of my apartments I own. we are going to use this material instead of carpets to help keep dust and dirt down and to make it easier to clean. wondering if you have ever done any of the vinyl stuff where you have to glue it down?
Mike,
Yes, I've done my share of glue-down vinyl. It's a magnificent product as long as the subfloor is perfectly flat and solid. Just look at how it wears like iron in your local grocery store or ???? They install it on concrete slabs that are flat and free of cracks.
Thanks Tim. I am actually having the same floor installed in my weekend cabin. Now I'll know if the installers are doing it right. Janet
Thank you, Tim! Don't the linear joints in the pieces tend to open up, given the freedom provided by the perimeter gaps?
No, not at all. The pieces interlock and when you put them together the only way to create a gap is to tilt them back up to the same angle as you had to do to insert the tongue into the groove.
Tim
I normally think of "laminate" flooring as vinyl. And I think of the flooring that you are talking about as "engineered hardwood". Am I wrong in my terminology?
Norm
Hmmmm. I'm going to say "Yes, you're wrong."
But it could be a maybe. The industry calls this product laminate flooring because the top surface is plastic laminate.
Engineered hardwood is generally a product that resembles plywood with a top layer of some hardwood.