Wednesday, October 22, 2014

Installing Floating Laminate Floor: How to Work Around Obstacles

A floating laminate floor looks very good in a room, and in most cases is quite easy to install. The problem comes when there are obstacles such as pipes or poles in the room. There are ways around this that are quite simple. It’s a matter of knowing the correct technique and putting it into practice. Do it each time and your floor will look perfect when you finish.

What You'll Need
  • Tape measure
  • Pencil
  • Drill
  • Saw
  • Adhesive

Step 1 - Measuring

Begin by taking the tape measure and measuring the obstacle’s diameter, where it’s a post or pipes. In other instances you’ll need to measure it’s size if it come out from a wall. Having done this, measure the distance you’ll need to cut on the piece of floating laminate floor as you put it on the floor. This will tell you where you have to drill. Mark the laminate to show where you’ll need to drill and saw.

Step 2 - Pipes

If the obstacle is a pipe, or pair of pipes, you’ll need to dill out holes in the floating laminate floor where the pipes will sit. The hole needs to be 5/16 inch larger that the pipe.

Step 3 - Cutting

Having created the hole to accommodate the pipe, you need to be able to fit the floor. That means cutting so the flooring can fit around the pipe. If the hole you’ve drilled is close to the edge of the piece of flooring then you’ll need to make cuts on each side at an angle of 45 degrees, being careful to reach the hole at a place there you can fit it around the pipe.
If the hole you’ve drilled is in the middle of the flooring, the cuts need to be straight, that is 90 degrees. Again, be certain that the cuts you make will allow you to fit the flooring around the pipe. What you’re doing in both cases is creating two pieces of flooring to put properly around the pipe.

Step 4 - Larger Obstacles

Where you have bigger obstacles, such as pillars, you’ll need to cut on two pieces of flooring. After measuring, put the 2 pieces together to mark out how much you’ll need to cut. Again, allow and extra 5/16 inch around each obstacle for expansion. In this case you’ll be cutting, not drilling.

Step 5 - Fitting

To fit the pieces in place, begin by fitting the piece of floating laminate floor that butts up to the obstacle. Use the pull bar, then the rubber mallet and block to tap it firmly into place.
Now you’ll have a small piece of wood flooring to fit around the obstacle. To secure it in place, apply adhesive to the edges where it meets the rest of the flooring. Push completely into place by either using your hands or a pull bar. Allow to dry before putting in the next piece of flooring. If the obstacle is a door jamb, the best looking solution is to cut out a small section at the bottom of the jamb and put the flooring under it. 


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