Need any and all information about laminate floor installation,what to look
for

and what to stay away from,I would like to put it over old lino,any good
suggestions?????

"AR" wrote in message news:uNFYd.656592$6l.573536@pd7tw2no...
Need any and all information about laminate floor installation,what to
look
for

and what to stay away from,I would like to put it over old lino,any good
suggestions?????

Cheap stuff is cheap. Use a carbide tipped blade to cut it. Look at using
wood instead. Engineered wood is nice also. One of the good ones is
www.mannington.com

Check out http://www.floorshop.com , lots of info., installation tips,
manufactures installation manuals. DAGS, laminate flooring + installation
tips etc...


Laminate floors do have a place in the home, so choose wisely based on the
application, not just price. Look at alternitives, engineered flooring,
hardwood etc... and do your research.



"AR" wrote in message news:uNFYd.656592$6l.573536@pd7tw2no...
Need any and all information about laminate floor installation,what to
look
for

and what to stay away from,I would like to put it over old lino,any good
suggestions?????

Pardon my ignorance but what is the difference between laminated and
engineered flooring?

"Mike in Arkansas" wrote in message
oups.com...
Pardon my ignorance but what is the difference between laminated and
engineered flooring?


Laminate is a plastic material. The top is a high pressure material,
similar, but tougher than the old Formic countertops. Thee is usually a
center layer and a bottom. The top is the design of course. It is 100%
synthetic. Better brands are very durable. I put some down on my stairs
and entryway. Still looks as good as the day it was installed. While it
has a wood pattern, it is not real wood and I can tell the difference.
www.wilsonart.com is what I have. The foyer is a marble type of appearance
in 15 x 15 blocks.

Engineered wood is a plywood type of material. The top layer is the "good
wood" stained and finished with a durable coating. Some are guaranteed for
15 years. The other layers are criss-crossed, just like plywood. Unlike
regular hardwood, it can be laid over concrete slab with the proper barrier.
In my family room and downstairs hallway, I used stuff from
www.mannington.com They also make a laminate.
--
Ed
http://pages.cthome.net/edhome/

"AR" wrote
Need any and all information about laminate floor installation,what to
look
for

and what to stay away from,I would like to put it over old lino,any good
suggestions?????

I put down almost 2000 s.f in our new home 2.5 years ago.
After looking at all of the types, styles and colors we chose Armstrong,
Swiftlock, Springfield Maple.
This is the non-glue type and is locked on all 4 sides.
Its a vey light color and makes the whole house look bigger and cleaner.
I like the way it feels in bare feet, like I am today.
If any kind of dirt at all gets on it it is very visible.
If I had it to do over again I wouldn't have scrimped on the underlayment.
They had 2 types and I chose the least expensive, that was wrong.
This stuff was put down over a concrete slab that was less than perfectly
flat, so in a few areas there is a slight *clucking* sound when you walk on
it, as the panels somewhat depress in these areas. I think the thicker more
expensive underlayment would have eliminated that sound.
I also wouldn't have put it in the kitchen, as I am now faced with the
*project* of yanking it up and installing tile because our washer in the
laundry room sprung a leak, the water wicked under the wall and came up
under the laminate in the kitchen causing about 1/3 of the flooring to swell
and buckle.
I have 2 extra boxes of the laminate panels but not enough to fix the repair
and Armstrong no longer makes that particular color/pattern. So much for
their 15 year warranty. I guess I should have bought about 10 extra boxes
but at $63 a box it gets kinda expensive.
Whatever types of laminate you are considering, get some samples of the
products and put them through a series of tests.
Soak one sample in water over night and look for swelling or delamination.
Take a blowtorch to the surface of a sample to see how it holds up.
Try to scratch the surface with a sharp knife.
Finally, this is the ultimate test, lay a sample on the garage floor and
drop a can of peas on it from about 5' high, to see if it will dent.
One more thing I will add, alot of the stuff out there has small *grooves*
between the panels, I know not why. These grooves will collect dirt and your
wife will be bitching for ever. My wife bought one of those Swiffer mop
things and she says keeping the floors clean is a breeze. The hardest thing
to clean on it, she says, is dried dog slobber. LOL
We also bought a couple of those rechargeable floor vacuums, I think they
are Eureka brand (available at Target for about $50) and they are invaluable
for spot cleaning, like when I track sawdust from the garage. ;-)
One more thing. My brother and I put this stuff down over the course of
about 5 days, neither of us had done it before. There is a *pattern* or
*repeat* to the pattern that is spread over 7 different boxes of the stuff.
It took us a little while to figure this out. But there was a certain *knot*
in the pattern that we called the Redeye. Once we discover the repeat of the
pattern we were able to match endgrains up between the various panels to
creat an almost seamless look to the floor. Since installing our floor I
have seen numerous other installations, by so called experienced
professional installers, that looked like hell because these professionals
didn't take the time to learn the repeat of the pattern, and the stuff was
just laid down every which way.

Ed, thanks for taking the time to explain. I have been looking at
something at the local Sam's club and it's a laminated product. The
bottom has a foam backing applied. It comes in an oak or cherry finish
and cost is about $28.00 for 18 square feet. IIRC thickness is 9mm.
Just considering it for the den to replace the old carpet.

Don wrote:

snipped...
This stuff was put down over a concrete slab that was less than
perfectly
flat, so in a few areas there is a slight *clucking* sound when you
walk on
it, as the panels somewhat depress in these areas. I think the
thicker more
expensive underlayment would have eliminated that sound.

Do not depend upon the underlayment to fix out of level subfloors. I
should say, out of flat, as level within reason is ok. But if you read
the fine print the floor must be flat to within pretty strict
tolerances. Use an 8ft straitedge and fill or sand to get within specs,
usually 1/8 - 1/4 in 4 feet or so.

As is usually the case it pays to prepare first. Most flooring failures
are due to installation on an improper substrate. Another important
thing to check is moisture content of the subfloor, wood or concrete.
Install vapor barrier if necessary.

One more thing I will add, alot of the stuff out there has small
*grooves*
between the panels, I know not why.

Micro bevel is a necessary evil. Hides a lot of sins. Typical of
prefinished wood flooring. Since there is no sanding step it is nearly
impossible to end up with an absolutely flush fitting floor.

"Mike" wrote
Don wrote:
snipped...
This stuff was put down over a concrete slab that was less than
perfectly
flat, so in a few areas there is a slight *clucking* sound when you
walk on
it, as the panels somewhat depress in these areas. I think the
thicker more
expensive underlayment would have eliminated that sound.

Do not depend upon the underlayment to fix out of level subfloors. I
should say, out of flat, as level within reason is ok. But if you read
the fine print the floor must be flat to within pretty strict
tolerances. Use an 8ft straitedge and fill or sand to get within specs,
usually 1/8 - 1/4 in 4 feet or so.

I didn't say out of level.
And make that variance on flatness about a 1/16 of an inch or so.
Like I said, this only occurs in a few small spots.
Maybe I'm too critical.
But I'm convinced this very small difference in flatness would have been
absorbed by the thicker underlayment.
The underlayment is about 1/8" thick.
In one bedroom we had to float the floor to bring it up to the 1/16"
variance.

As is usually the case it pays to prepare first. Most flooring failures
are due to installation on an improper substrate. Another important
thing to check is moisture content of the subfloor, wood or concrete.
Install vapor barrier if necessary.

One more thing I will add, alot of the stuff out there has small
*grooves*
between the panels, I know not why.

Micro bevel is a necessary evil. Hides a lot of sins.

Holds a lot of dirt, is difficult to keep clean and is certainly not
necessary.

Typical of
prefinished wood flooring. Since there is no sanding step it is nearly
impossible to end up with an absolutely flush fitting floor.

Its not nearly impossible to do with dedicated installers that know what
the're doing.