Installing Laminate Flooring

My sister-in-law has the same problem. She does not have one "do-it-yourself" bone in her body, yet she chose to rip up old carpeting and then apply self-adhesive tile to her particle board floor! We wish she had asked for our input before doing this project. If it were my project I would have thoroughly swept/vacuumed the floor and then painted it with any oil based enamel type paint or polyurethane. It may have needed two coats to seal it well. Then when it was completely dry I would have applied the tiles. In your case......you can buy and use the adhesive that is used for non-adhesive tile. If you brush or vacuum away all the loose particles it should "stick" them securely. Just don't use too much of the adhesive or it will ooze out between the tile seams and make a mess! You could just "glue" the tiles that are coming loose with the adhesive, or you could see if all the tiles will pop off easily. A spatula or wide putty knife would be good to use for that. If all the tiles are easily lifted you could start at one end of the room and gradually lift, sweep off the loose particles and "glue" each tile down......maybe row by row? That's probably what I'd do as I have more time than I have money! Good Luck on your project.

Cover particle board (once vacuumed and clean) with thin (1/4" or more) plywood (luan). this is a general practice for installing new flooring over ANYTHING lumpy bumpy. Tough and smooth. Make sure the joints are butted well, no gaps.

We're installing laminate wood in different rooms of the house. The manufacturer said it would not be good for kitchens or bathrooms. There is too much moisture.

Yes you can. Not all flooring is or needs to be glued down. I have a floating laminate wood flooring (no glue). It can be your choice which way you want to go.

I would put a wood subfloor underneath to even it out, and then put the laminate

I have never heard of a mobile home having brick flooring so this is a mystery to me but perhaps the mobile home is stationary and the previous owner did something like this(?)..
If there is a brick floor then it would stand to reason that it must have a sub-floor underneath the brick.
If you feel the floor is stable and still want to put laminate you may have to add a subfloor if the bricks are uneven. There is also some types of laminate foor covering that has a foam backing that might could be used.

Is it real brick, or a brick tile? If you get to much weight, the floor will buckle. If you remove it, you need to consider the thickness as you may end up with doors to short. Do you have a picture of it?

We have had "Pergo" type laminate flooring in our house for several years. My recommendation would be to buy an extra box for "repairs" and avoid using it in areas that may get wet. While technically you can replace a section of damaged laminate, the "colors" change frequently so when you do need to make a repair, chances are they won't have the exact type that you used.

The laminate looks great in the dining area and entry but has buckled around the toilet in the bathrooms due to a couple little boys with poor aim (gross) and we've had to be very careful around the showers. In the kitchen, we had a hose go out in our fridge that created a small leak and damaged the floor beyond repair (the top layer of the laminate buckled).

Since we used laminate in the entire level of the house and couldn't find a match we ended up tiling our kitchen rather than having a different type of laminate in the middle (A friend that had a similar problem due to a dog accident smack in the middle of their living room and is stuck keeping it covered with a rug).

If I were to do it again, I'd have saved up and used real tile instead in the kitchen and bathrooms.

If you do the job yourself, make sure to follow the installation instructions and leave the recommended space near the walls for expansion and contraction. We bought a small, second house and the contractor that did the updating on it left no space along either the sides of the boards or the ends and we had a lot of buckling. Portions of the flooring had to be taken up and reinstalled. We also put down the "T" strips in doorways to resolve this problem.

Additionally, I also agree with Stephanie, do not use laminate flooring in any room that can get wet. Some manufacturers say it is okay to install this type of flooring in kitchens, but the salesperson at a local big box store strongly recommended against using it there.

I have this type flooring in my home; it was here when I bought it. Only thing I can tell you is I'd rather have carpet. The floor is beautiful but shows everything. I could get by with vacuuming once a week when I had carpet but every day I've having to sweep. Seems every time a door is opened or someone walks in there is something else to get up. I'm a senior living with a short haired dog that always goes outside to do his thing.

This is something you should ask the company who manufactures the flooring. You should be able to find their customer service 800 number at their online site contact link.

I would think the grooves between the tiles underneath would cause problems with the flooring over time. They most likely will tell you that you need a smooth flooring under the laminate/wood.

We are laying laminate flooring. The flooring has a foam backing. The subfloor has some minor imperfections. How perfect does the subfloor need to be?

By Mike from Laurel, MD

Answers:

Installing Laminate Flooring

The most common flooring surface that laminate flooring is installed over is the concrete slab. If the concrete slab is not flat the end result will be your laminate flooring "creaking". It is therefore vital that you check your concrete slab for flatness.

Don't think that the flooring underlay will take up too many of the dips or bumps in the slab, it won't. This really is the most important job in the whole installation process. Please take your time at this stage, it will pay dividends in the long run. Good luck. (03/22/2010)

By kffrmw88

Installing Laminate Flooring

I am not positive, but I think there is flooring mud you can use to fill those imperfections. I would think that the place you purchased the flooring from would be able to tell you what to use and how to use it. (03/23/2010)

By Deeli