What the hell was I thinking? Now, being the arts-and-crafts, fix-everything-around-the- house type of guy that I am, I’m not easily frustrated by DIY projects. I mean, I have a fully loaded toolbox and a craft basket to kill for! But this weekend I helped a friend install laminate floors in his kitchen, and I had no idea what I was in for. This was a project he had started awhile back and 95% of the demo/prep was done, which included removing 30+ years of old vinyl and tar—UGH. At least we’d be starting with a blank canvas, right?
Now how this came to be goes something like this: I said, “OMG Vincent (that’s his name) you have to let me help you finish this project and install these floors. Your kitchen will look AMAZING!” He replied, “You think? Well if you really want to help, let’s do it over this long weekend.” Labor Day for real. I had never installed floors before, but I’d seen it done at least 20 times on those home improvement shows. Really, how hard could it be? :-) I just knew we could knock out a 170 square foot kitchen in, what, a half day. So we begin.
Cut to 2 ½ days later and my back is killing me, I cut (almost severed) my finger with the saw, and I have blisters on every finger. And, oh yeah, we only have half the project done. I wanted to throw every piece of damn wood through his front window! What was this feeling that was coming over me??? I’m a pro painter, I’ve stained driveways, hell, I’ve even installed new cabinets, so why was this project causing so much heartache?
Trial and error is a hell of a teacher, so I want YOU to learn from my mistakes before taking on this room altering project. We could have been done in less than 8 hours, had I known then what I know now.
Here’s what the instructions DON’T tell you about installing these types of floors –
Materials they fail to mention you will need:
• Kneepads – These would have helped me, A LOT.
• A small electric jigsaw – It’ll save you tons of time. The old fashioned type will exhaust you, especially on a big surface with lots to cut.
• A straight edge – You will draw many cut lines, and I found myself always looking for something to draw them with.
• A heavy duty pencil – Tuck one behind your ear and have extra around as they like to disappear.
• Some scrap paper – Just my luck our kitchen had many odd angles—none of them were even. Since I hate math, I would use scrap paper to draw out templates and transfer them to my wood for cutting.
• Tylenol for the pain, LOL!
Installation Tips:
• Let the wood acclimate to your home. Have the package of wood sit in the room it is to be installed for 2 days beforehand. The wood will expand according to the temperature of the room.
• You cannot do the project alone. Have a friend or two help. Assign one to cutting!
• Remove nasty old molding trim (the small piece). This will get in your way and is cheap to replace.
• Tape down the foam underlying—it will move around like crazy.
• Don’t install in HOT or HUMID temperatures. Morning and evening are best for the same expansion reasons.
• Buy 10% more than you will need. It’s better to buy extra, than to start your project and have to run to store.
• Be meticulous and make sure all parts fit together perfectly.
• Stretch before and after the project. Yeah, you laugh now!
Well – good luck. I’m still recovering. I think everyone should experience this type of project. It can transform a room at a very low price. We got our laminate on sale and spent less than $100 to do the entire room. Have you taken on this project before? Let me know your experience. Until next time. I Dare You To Be Domestic. Peace.
