If you’re looking at installing new flooring in your home, laminate is a great choice. It continues its rise in popularity, and for good reason; laminate flooring can not only completely transform the look of a room, but it can also make cleaning much easier. This kind of flooring is also quite durable, making it ideal for high-traffic areas of your home.
But installing laminate flooring yourself requires a few considerations. If you are planning on installing your flooring yourself, you will need to understand the importance of proper measurement.
Tools for Proper Measurement
Properly-installed laminate flooring is completely flat without any visible joins. And careful measurement is the only way to achieve this. The best-looking laminate floor will be one that was installed according to the exact size of a room. To do this, you will need a calculator and tape measure.
Finding the accurate size of a room may require the help of a second person. The measuring tape should be extended to the back of all door frames in the room. This will ensure proper extension and fitting of laminate under doors and into doorways.
If Your Room is Oddly-Shaped
An oddly-shaped room can be caused by anything from a fireplace or a bay window to pillars and other features. In order to properly measure for laminate flooring in rooms like these, measure those walls which are unobstructed by features first. Then, measure the length of the features. When added together, you will get your total length.
If your Room is Round
A round room will require a bit more calculation to come up with the right sizes. To do this, find the midpoint of the room’s recess, and measure width and length from that point. Then, divide your length measurement in half and multiply this number by the width.
The total will need to be calculated using 3.14 (pi). Doing this will give you the total area of the circle. To achieve the room’s exact area, simply divide your circle in half. The final number can be obtained by adding the divided circle’s number to the other area totals previously obtained.
If your Room is Rectangular or Square
These rooms represent the easiest to measure for laminate flooring. All that’s required is to measure the length and width of the room, and then multiply them to obtain its surface area.
Selection and Fitting
Unlike Karndean wood flooring which is vinyl, laminate flooring must be inspected to ensure that various packs will have grain which runs in the same direction. This will ensure that the flooring will have a unified and cohesive appearance.
Once the grain direction has been assured, it’s time to fit your flooring. This should be far more easily done now that you have all of the measurements you need. However, there are other issues that can pop up during installation that you should be aware of.
One of these is gapping, which can occur as the result of changes in temperature. While this is rare, it could affect you if the room your flooring will be laid experiences regular drops in temperature. During cold temperatures, the planks of laminate flooring can retract, causing gaps. To rectify this, it’s important to ensure that your flooring has had time to acclimatise to the temperature of the room in which it will be installed.
Another thing to watch for is chipping, which can occur due to poor methods of installation. Any installation of laminated flooring should be done using a tapping block and mallet, with no forcing of pieces.
You’ll also want to ensure that enough room has been left around skirting boards for your laminate planks to expand. Otherwise, your flooring may peak, or the boards jam up against each other.
Proper assessment of the floor area is crucial in order to ensure that no problems will be encountered during installation. This may require the eyes of a professional or a second person in order to confirm.