How We Installed Our Laminate Floors

Picking out flooring for the new house was one of the very first things Todd and I started doing once we bought the house. Even though there was so much demo and other things we had to start in on, I wanted to make sure we had plenty of time to source flooring we liked. Today, I’m sharing all about our process in picking the flooring we chose, and how we installed our laminate floors!

Affiliate links are provided below. Full disclosure here. 

Like most people, our goal was to find flooring that would be durable, but also reasonable in price so that we’d have money for all the other things this house needed in order for us to move in. We searched high and low to find the best options. We visited our local home improvement stores and found a few options, but they didn’t feel quite right, so we kept looking. We went to all of our local flooring retailers, but couldn’t decide on anything for our price range. After exhausting all of our local resources, we started looking online. It was a good thing we’d given ourselves plenty of time, because in order to choose a flooring online, we’d need to see samples in order to make any big decisions. We ended up on Build Direct’s website and found so many different options in our price point. We went through everything our budget would allow, and started ordering the free samples so we could get a good idea of what they looked like in person and in the house.

A few days later, we had 5 samples in hand and we started laying them out in the house. It was clear really quick which ones were a potential option. Our favorite, was Lampton + Long Legendary Collection in Simply Taupe, but we wanted to see a larger sample, so we ordered a second sample just to see if there were any variations on the first color sample we received. 

When we received the second one, there were a few subtle colors that slightly differed from the first sample, but we loved it! I know in the past laminate flooring has had a bad reputation for being a cheaper flooring option, but we were honestly impressed enough to take a risk in ordering it! Plus, the price was perfect, so we went forward with ordering enough for the entire house, minus the bedrooms, bathrooms and laundry room. 

It took about 3 to 4 weeks, but the flooring showed up damage free and beautiful. We honestly thought the price of shipping would sway us against buying flooring online, but it was incredibly reasonable!

Here’s how we installed our floors!

Materials/ Tools:

• Lampton + Long Legendary Collection in Simply Taupe
• Underlayment
• Razor Knife
• Mallet
• Tapping Block
• Tape Measure
• Pry Bar or Flooring Pull Bar
• Table Saw
• Chop Saw
• Reciprocating Saw
• Square
• 1/4″ wood shims, cut from scraps
• Knee Pads, for real
• Vacuum

First, we made sure to vacuum the subfloor really well and removed any drywall mud that had clumped up on the floor from having the walls and ceilings retextured. Basically, we removed anything that would create a mound underneath the floors. 

We started with the long wall of our living room and began by laying down Underlayment…

It was incredibly easy to use and helps control sound, as well as acting as a moisture barrier. It even comes with its own tape! (Which we realized after we had bought tape…) We used a razor blade to cut the length we needed. 

For the direction of the flooring, we chose for it to run the length of the living room. In order to make sure the other side of the room didn’t end up with a narrow piece of flooring, we measured the room width to determine how many boards would fit across the space. After taking measurements, we decided to rip the first board down a couple of inches so that we wouldn’t end up with a 2 inch board on the other side of the house. 

This flooring also needs to have expansion room, so we cut 1/4″ shims and placed them along all the walls as we made our way through the house. 

On the large living room wall, we started installing the first two rows. This was the hardest part, since the pieces wanted to move on us as we worked our way across the room. My mom came over to help, and we found it helpful to stand on the flooring as Todd joined it together. 

The mallet and tapping block were essential in order to get tight seams. We ended up going through two tapping blocks because they wouldn’t hold up to the  amount we were tapping on it, but this one seems to be better quality.

We worked our way across the room, making sure to variate the different flooring patterns/ colors that were included in each box. I wanted to make sure the floor would have a scattered appearance, so I opened up a few boxes at a time to see how the layout would look. 

To get the most use of our material, we cut shorter pieces for the ends, but made sure to scatter the sizes so we never ended or started with the exact same size. As we worked our way across the room, none of the seams matched up, which gave the floors a nice variated feeling. 

Around the sliding glass door, we had to notch the flooring to fit around it, and then held it back 1/4″. We had to cut the existing door jamb to allow the flooring to go under it. It’s not perfect, but this door will be switched out sooner rather than later. 

We like to make things fun around here…

In one night, we were able to lay a pretty descent amount of flooring. Once we got the hang of it, and I had the pieces designated where I wanted them to go, it was a smooth process. 

The next day we came back and continued the process. Todd would measure…

I’d give him the piece I wanted to go in that space…

Then he’d cut it…

And start tapping it in place…

As we worked our way across the house, we’d run into new challenges, like notching a piece around the wall separating the living room and kitchen…

Or notching around the plumbing and gas line in the kitchen…

In those areas, we’d use our square to measure the area we’d need to trim…

Then use the table saw to rip the material down to the size/ shape we needed…

In any areas where we were up against the wall and couldn’t tap the flooring in place, we used a pry bar to latch them together…

Our entry was the same way…

We used the pry bar and a piece of the flooring to protect the wall, then locked the two pieces together…

With the main floor done, we started on the upstairs hallway, which went quickly, and then we moved onto the basement…

Because there were several large gaps between where the drywall met the concrete, and they were on exterior walls or connected to the crawl space, we decided to use some caulking to fill in the gaps to help with bugs crawling inside, especially where the crawl space connects to the house. Fixing up the crawl space is definitely on our future project list.

We used this window, door and trim sealant and filled in all the gaps…

Once the caulking was dry, I laid the underlayment, then we started installing the flooring on the wall with the stairs…

We worked our way across the room…

And then laid our last few boards in front of the fireplace…

We used the pry bar again the get a nice, tight fit…

And with that, the floors were done. We were thrilled, and that meant we could move onto other fun things, like installing the kitchen cabinets! 

I can say, that since I’m late in sharing this tutorial, we’ve been living with these floors for several months now. We love them. They don’t make any sound when we walk, which I’m sure is due to the good underlayment we used, but they’re also incredible durable. We’ve slid furniture and boxes across them. We’ve dropped dishes. We’ve had spills. They clean up wonderfully and I’d lay them all over again if we had the choice. The color is also perfect. We love the subtle variation from the light colors to the darker colors, and the light white wash that’s on several of the boards. 

If you’re looking for a beautiful, but cost effective flooring, this is it! And this post isn’t at all sponsored by Build Direct, or the flooring manufacturer. We’re just really happy with the floors. 

We still have a few areas where we’ll need to install the matching moldings to finish it all off, but we’re waiting to replace the stair treads before installing them. 

Hopefully you enjoyed seeing how we installed our floors. Needless to say, we love them and they are such a huge game changer for finishing the house!