Solid Hardwood, Engineered and Laminate Flooring - How easy to install Laminate

Hey guys/gals.

I have a 1/2 of a duplex I want to rip up the carpet and install laminate.

I have about 100 sq. ft., and have no experience with installing laminate or flooring.

How easy is it?

Everyone says its easy, but I want to make sure before I tackle such a big project on my own.

Are you sure you only have 100 sq. ft. to lay ?? Thats only an area of 10' x 10' !! To me the hardest part was under cutting the door facings. Plenty of reading material on how to do it on the web and the big box stores have mini " how to " classes in their stores.

Anyone can have trouble with any project, but this tends to be one of the more straightforward ones.

Are you sure you only have 100 sq. ft. to lay ?? Thats only an area of 10' x 10' !! To me the hardest part was under cutting the door facings. Plenty of reading material on how to do it on the web and the big box stores have mini " how to " classes in their stores.

oops! That should say 1000

:D I think one of the biggest problems DIY'ers have on this project would be to make sure the subfloor is flat. If you can read directions and understand them, follow them, have the tools...you should be good to go. If you don't understand something, ask before proceeding. ;) I think I did 1000+ sqft as well and it was my first time. The hardest part for me was reading the instructions and understanding them. :D (really)

I plan to buy one of those laminate install kits.

What other tools do I need. What kind of saws, etc.?

:thumbup: That's what I did too.

Undercut saw or handsaw to undercut the door jambs and/or casings.

Miter saw (do you have one of these? If not, you could always rent or borrow one).

Jigsaw - I used this b/c I had some weird cuts that the miter saw couldn't do and too much work with a handsaw. Check to see if you have any weird angles, cuts, etc. first.

Moisture meter, hammer, tape measure, goggles, face mask, pencil, square and knee pads :D I didn't really buy knee pads but I wrapped the left over pieces (cut up pieces of the underlayment) around my knees b/c after the first day they were pretty bruised up!

Those are just some basics that I could remember.

Most likely the instructions should give you heads up on what tools to use.

Here's a good sticky for you to read about concrete subfloor flatness or...concrete subfloor prep ;)

http://forum.doityourself.com/showthread.php?t=245099