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Laminate Flooring - Trimming Jams
The Stanley Bostitch gun we had came with a white block that is used to tap the laminate into place. This is a great tool that did a great job. It was also nice of Stanley to include it with the purchase of the gun. You lay the block up against the laminate and tap it into place. You have to tap on the end as well sometimes. You want a fairly snug fit at all times. Once it's in place, staple away. You can now go from one end to the other because you do not have to worry about the board moving on you.
You basically continue on in this way staggering your seams and keeping things tight. Every once in awhile measure from one end of a course to the snapped line that you have, then measure from the other end of the course to the snapped line. This will tell you if you're drifting and if you check often enough, you can 'fix' this by tapping harder on one end or relaxing the other end a bit to make up for it. You do not want to do something like that in just 5 or 6 courses though, so check often. Again, we are talking a hallway here, so there is little room for error. It's short pieces.
Dealing with Door Jams when laying laminate flooring
What do you do when you come to a door jam? Jams usually go down nearly to the subfloor.
Two options for door jams
You have two options. One is ugly, at best, and the other is tedious. You could try to cut around the jam and try to make a fairly tight fit. You probably will not succeed in doing this.
Expansion of the wood
You actually need to leave a little gap around the jam to allow for expansion of the wood. This gap also allows for looking ugly and for debris to fall into the crack. The other option (this I is preferred by me) is to lay a scrap piece of laminate flat, near the jam Then take a cut off saw and, using the laminate as a guide for the proper height, rest the saw on the scrap piece and trim off the bottom of the jam I think this is a much better solution and allows you to cut the jam straight, and gives you a heavy 1/16 of an inch between the jam and the laminate.
The laminate moves freely under the jam
This will allow the laminate to move freely under the jam When you actually put your piece under there, make sure it is still about 1/4 of an inch away from the actual wall that is behind the jam This way, as the floor expands and contracts, it will always appear the same, no gap between the jam and the flooring.
About the Author Find more information on flooring and how to install wood laminate flooring at home-remodeling4u.com - a comprehensive resource for home improvement and remodeling.
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