You don’t have to call a professional contractor to install beautiful laminate flooring in your home. If you are comfortable using basic tools and can follow instructions, then you’ll be able to install quick step flooring on your own.
Required tools and materials:
- Quick step flooring
- Plastic sheeting
- Hammer
- Baseboard
- Quarter-round molding
- Transition strips
- Glue, masking tape, and duct tape
- Finish nails
- Tape measure
- Utility knife
- Wood putty
- Spacers
- Tapping block
Steps:
- Prepare the subfloor by making sure it is clean, smooth, and flat.
- Place plastic sheeting onto the subfloor to serve as a moisture barrier. Use masking tape to secure the sheeting along the walls approximately two inches above the floor. If necessary, overlap the edges of the plastic sheeting by about six inches and fasten with duct tape.
- Insert ¼-inch spacers (unused planks work well for this) along the wall to allow room for the laminate flooring to expand. Install the first row of planks against the spacers and trim the last row about ¼ of an inch short of the wall.
- Start the next row with the shorter, trimmed planks from the previous row. This ensures staggered joints in adjacent planks.
- Follow the manufacturer’s instructions for getting the planks to lock together. Use your hammer and tapping block to gently force each plank into place against the previous one. Continue installing planks row by row across the entire room.
- Use transition strips in doorways, around built-in furniture, and near carpet or other flooring material.
- After removing the spacers, proceed with installing the baseboard and quarter-round molding with the finish nails. Be sure to cover the plastic sheeting on the wall as well as the gap left by the spacers.
- Fill all nail heads with wood putty and touch up with paint if desired.
Installing quick step flooring is a DIY project that can be completed in a single afternoon. By following the manufacturer’s instructions and the above guidelines, you can have your beautiful new floor in place in just a few short hours.
