Laminate flooring- which way to go?

onejontwo

I would please appreciate any tips on how to lay laminate flooring as regards to which way to lay the boards i.e parallel to the door or at 90 degrees to the door.
Is there a proper way of laying them or is it a personal choice. Help mich appreciated (plus any tips on any problems you D I Yers out there have encountered when laying laminate):beer:

raymond

Its normal to put them longest way running along the longest wall if that makes sense.

Make sure you use a really good quality underlay, dont forget the gaps at the edges and if your floor is not totally level then forget laminate.

adrianbrak_2

raymond wrote:

Its normal to put them longest way running along the longest wall if that makes sense.

Make sure you use a really good quality underlay, dont forget the gaps at the edges and if your floor is not totally level then forget laminate.

If your floor is not entirely level then you should put a layer of plyboard down first. Usually when you get laminate it will explain how to lay it anyway, unless of course you have been given it! Not very hard to lay but it would help much better if you could use an off-cut to butt the pieces up closer.;)

arnie&caseysma!

It should be laid with the natural light coming into the room, ie out from the wall with the window in and not parallel with that wall. Does that make sense? Apparently its to do with being able to see the joins etc.

Dennis99

As arnie&caseysma! says is correct but personally I think laying as raymond says just "looks right".

moonrakerz

raymond wrote:

Its normal to put them longest way running along the longest wall if that makes sense.

But be careful, if the room is fairly long and narrow and you lay laminate with a distinct pattern (wood planking) it will make the room look look even longer and narrower.
Laying it across the room in this case can make the room look a lot bigger.

supermick

arnie&caseysma! wrote:

It should be laid with the natural light coming into the room, ie out from the wall with the window in and not parallel with that wall. Does that make sense? Apparently its to do with being able to see the joins etc.

This is the propper way. If you look on ebay you can get instruction DVD's for cheap and they are full of useful tips. A jigsaw is a must in my experience.

Avoriaz

supermick wrote:

This is the propper way. If you look on ebay you can get instruction DVD's for cheap and they are full of useful tips. A jigsaw is a must in my experience.

Yes, you need something to do when you take a break from cutting the wood.

weekendwarrior

There is a comprehensive guide to fitting laminate here-

Fitting laminate flooring

I have fitted a fair bit of laminate and even I have learnt something from this!

onejontwo

weekendwarrior wrote:

There is a comprehensive guide to fitting laminate here-

Fitting laminate flooring

I have fitted a fair bit of laminate and even I have learnt something from this!

Thanks for the link , it was very useful.
Now while you're in a laminate mood and experienced in fitting the above!!
How would you get around the problem I have?
The room I'm going to lay is similiar to the one in your link but with an additional alcove on the same wall, and the problem I see is if I follow the link in the guide I will eventually come to the chimney breast and will not be able to fit a full width plank and so would have to cut possibly up to two planks lengthways (one to fit the alcove). And unless the cut is perfect it will affect the finish as it's in a very visible position as opposed to being in the corner somewhere.
The only way I can see around this is to lay the boards at a90 degree angle to the recommended way.
Your reply would be much appreciated:beer:

weekendwarrior

I'm not 100% certain what you mean here, I normally cut long lenghts with a circular saw, so that I get them perfect, I don't suppose you could do a sketch ?