Laminate flooring - what do I need?

milliebear00001

Hi there

Am planning on buying laminate flooring for my new house. Need to do hall, lounge and dining room. It is a Victorian terrace, but according to the surveyor, has solid floors (am assuming some sort of concrete). Can I lay laminate over this? What do I need to consider? I know the floors need to be level, and so may need to be screeded first, but do you have some sort of liner/underlay underneath? Then I assume I need beading and those 'joins' between rooms?

Another concern is the noise factor. It's a mid-terrace and to avoid annoying the neighbours, I wonder if some underlays are better than others at reducing noise?

Would I be better getting a few companies out to have a look at the floors and advise before I buy the laminate?

bobhawke

If the floor is really uneven then it will need screeded, if it isn't too bad then self levelling compound will do the trick. If you are laying the flooring on concrete I think you need underlay with a dpm in it or a seperate damp proof membrane first.
You need underlay and they vary in price and quality. If somebody is living below you i believe you are required to have certain standard underlay for sound proofing so you don't annoy your neighbours.

loracan1

There shouldn't be any noise problems for the neighbours unless there are existing problems - especially with solid floors. Floors need to be level, I don't know whether you'd need some dampproof membrane or not in your case (do they still do the integrated foam underlay with the sheeting?). The thicker boarding is better for sound and insulation properties.

Have you considered taking the skirting off or replacing to get a better finish to the floor?