Solid Hardwood, Engineered and Laminate Flooring - Laying Laminate/Staining Parquet

Hello everyone,

I just purchased a home and I would like to attempt a bit of reno on my own. The second floor is all carpeted and I would like to lay laminate flooring. Is it very difficult to perform such a job? What type of tools and equipment would I need for the removal of carpet and the insertion of laminate? Are there any good guides out there you guys recommend?

The main floor has parquet flooring, which I would like to keep. I was thinking about leaving it as is and matching the laminate with the parquet. But my second option, which I prefer a lot more (pending the additional pricing), is to purchase walnut laminate flooring and to stain the parquet, stairs and railing to match the coloring of the laminate. Would it be very difficult to stain the stairs and flooring on my own? I will probably have to rent equipment for the sanding and prep work of the parquet.

Any opinions and suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks

Welcome to the forums! Removing the carpet, tack strips, and 10,000 staples is pretty straight forward. You will need to determine what was used for subflooring and how thick it is, especially if it is particle board. It will need an additional layer of at least 1/2" plywood. The newer click lock type laminate flooring is a snap (no pun intended) to install. When pricing it, be sure to figure in the foam underlayment necessary for the installation as well as the shoe molding to dress it out against the walls and base molding. Be sure to leave at least 1/4" gap on all edges for expansion and contraction of the laminate.
You would have to remove the existing finish on the parquet flooring before restaining. How bad of shape is it in? If not too bad, leave well enough alone and do it later if you see it needs it. And choose your laminate to the color you want, and don't try to stain the parquet to match it. You will need transition molding where the flooring meet.
Look at your flooring supplier, whether it be a flooring store or a big box and see what tools they recommend. A tap block and a pull bar are necessary (less than $20). Do you have access to a finish nailer? If not, it would make things go a lot faster if you had access to one to do the shoe molding. Remember, too, at no point should a nail be driven through the laminate as it must float.
Go for it. We're here.....sleepy sometimes.

Thanks for the response.

How do I determine if the floors will need an additional lay of plywood? Is their a certain thickness I should measure on the current plywood to determine if the extra layer is required? I actually don't have much of the tools necesarry, so i'm going to have to buy them all. Is their any special tips I should know about to avoid squeeking? I've noticed a few squeeky floors from home laminate reno jobs...I wonder what they did wrong during the install? What causes this? Unleveled flooring?

The parcquet is just a bit worn, few scratches (8 yrs old). I wanted to do a walnut dark brown finish on the second floor and I wanted to stain the main floor and stairs to match it..I like the look a lot better. Will this cost me a lot to do? What type of tools and hardware will I need for the floors? What's the cleanest/best way to apply the stain to the floors and stairs?