Solid Hardwood, Engineered and Laminate Flooring - Newbie installing Laminate!!

Hi guys and girls, I am going to venture into installing laminate flooring in my kitchen, dining room, living room and hallway. i have been doing research and have a few questions. It says to lay the laminate vertically to the windows ( so the sun shines down the seam), however my hallway runs the opposite way, which way should I run it? Can the fridge sit on a floating floor or do you install up to it? I take it expansion joints are a must around all walls, cabinets, etc, but what about stair posts (on landing). Do you just use shoe molding around these areas? Thank you for all your help!

Hi!

Lay the floor the best it will look in your eyes. I have my flooring run parallel with the longest wall, so the sun shines on the sides of the seams, if that makes sense? Haven't had a lick of issues yet.

Having my flooring this way also made it so I did not have to have a transition strip going into my hallways.

Expansion gaps are critical, usually about 1/4", even around banasters. But, you could undercut the stair posts enough so the the planks can slide under them, eliminating the need for molding?

Thanks for the info/ One more question, if I do decide to undercut the posts, I still have to be 1/4" away from the post, so I should probably cut it 5/8 and it will hide the rest? Thanks for the input, I hate trying new things!

You could just undercut it 1/2" and be fine.

Thanks for your valuable info, I will be attempting this chore next weekend. I have 1 more question though, I am putting this all through the mainfloor and I have carpet and linoleum. Once the carpet is removed there will be a 1/8" betweek the linoleum and carpet. Will this matter if I just install the underlayment and then laminate or do I have to remove the glued on linoleum? Thanks again