How to Prepare Floor for Laminate
- 1). Clear the floor of furniture. You can move all of the furniture to one side of the room temporarily, then transfer it to the finished side later.
- 2). Remove any carpet or planked or tiled flooring on top (such as an older laminate installation or vinyl flooring) to expose the actual floor of the room. Remove any old padding or underlayment---if the underlayment from an old laminate installation is still in good condition you may choose to leave it in place for this new round.
- 3). Remove the molding from the place where the wall meets the floor. Be sure to pull up any stray nails using the back of a hammer or pliers. You will have to re-nail the molding back to the floor after the laminate is installed.
- 4). Remove any nails that are sticking up more than an 1/8 inch from the floor. Sand down any lumps or bumps in the floor so that everything is even.
- 5). Sweep up the floor and clean it with a slightly damp mop. Allow the floor to dry completely before starting the installation.
- 6). Place your underlayment on the floor. This may be plywood, foam, rubber or cork. The underlayment helps to pad the floor so that it absorbs sounds when people walk over the laminate floor. It also helps to even out some of the imperfections in the floor before the planks are installed.
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