How to Install Laminate Flooring

Learn how to install laminate flooring inwards an afternoon! Everything you lot need to know to lay this DIY flooring including a video tutorial, blueprint tips, in addition to helpful tools.

Are you lot following us on Instagram? If you lot are… I sincerely apologize, lol. Because you lot know that nosotros set downwardly this laminate flooring months ago, in addition to you’re been waiting anxiously for us to finally post service nearly it! We part a ton of our tutorials alive on Instagram in addition to endeavor to practise the projects alive thus that all of you lot tin larn along alongside us. Flooring is thus like shooting fish in a barrel to install inwards an afternoon in addition to we’ve tried to part everything you lot need to know to larn How to Install Laminate Flooring.

*Products inwards this post service were provided yesteryear Golden Select. This post service may comprise affiliate links. As always, opinions are 100% our own. For to a greater extent than info, delight regard our disclosure page.*

If you lot saw my whole dwelling tour before this year, in addition to then you lot may conduct hold seen all of the lovely orangish flooring that used to endure inwards this space. I couldn’t WAIT to take that flooring in addition to add together something novel inwards here! This is our living room infinite alongside all of the flooring ripped out before nosotros started. Each criterion size room nosotros tackle, takes nearly 3-4 hours to complete.

Tools Needed To Install Laminate Flooring

• Rubber Mallet


• Sliding Compound Miter Saw or Circular Saw 


• Table Saw or Jig Saw (for intricate cuts)


• Pry bar for removing mouldings in addition to nails inwards mouldings


• Knife (for opening boxes in addition to helping alongside moulding removal)


• Speed Square


• Tape Measurer 


• Pencil


• Taping Block (or you lot tin you lot a fight slice of woods from your novel flooring)


• Pull Bar


• Shims (or you lot tin purpose fight pieces of woods or flooring for shims approx 1/8-3/8″ thick yesteryear 2-3″ wide)


• Dremel Oscillating Tool (if you lot need to cutting nether door sills or door opening mouldings)

Or you lot tin purchase a kit similar this for the tapping block, clit bar, spacers in addition to mallet

Once you lot pick upwards your Golden Select laminate flooring you lot are going to wish to allow the boxes of flooring climatize  to your house, this takes nearly 48 hrs (review Golden Select’s Installation Guide for specific details). We had seen this flooring at Costco inwards the past. They conduct hold a alternative available inwards our store, or you lot tin lodge from the online Costco flooring section.

How to Install Laminate Flooring

We conduct hold written out all of the instructions for installing our Costco Laminate flooring below (or whatever laminate!), just if you lot are a visual learner (like I am!), you lot volition probable detect this instructional video helpful.

Hopefully the video gave you lot a skillful thought of how to install your flooring. Here’s a step-by-step guide to installing it at home:

How to Prep a Space to Install Laminate Flooring

To start you lot are going to need to take all base of operations board moulding about the expanse that you lot excogitation to install your novel Golden Select laminate flooring. You in addition to then need to take your sometime flooring in addition to underlay. To take the baseboards, conduct hold a knife in addition to lightly score the exceed of the moulding where it meets the wall. This prevents the moulding from peeling whatever pigment off the wall during its removal. Then, taking a pry bar, start from i terminate of the room in addition to slow clit in addition to pry the moulding away from the wall. You tin locomote out the moulding at your door openings (as long equally your novel flooring is the same thickness or thicker than the existing flooring – if it is smaller you lot volition conduct hold a gap betwixt the moulding in addition to flooring). Remove all nails in addition to lay the moulding to the side thus that you lot tin reuse it afterwards i time the novel flooring is all installed.

With the moulding off you lot tin set about alongside the removal of your sometime flooring. Depending on your flooring type you lot may endure able to install over exceed of your existing flooring (check in addition to review Golden Select’s Installation Guide for farther details on this.

Due to flooring heights in addition to door clearances (you should banking concern check this if the novel flooring is a unlike thickness from the flooring you lot are replacing) nosotros removed all the sometime flooring downwardly to the sub floor. You tin also add together peak to your sometime flooring (if your sometime flooring was thicker than your novel flooring) yesteryear leveling it alongside some other layer of plywood or hardboard depending on the thickness you lot need to ambit for your desired terminal peak requirement.

With the sometime flooring cleaned upwards you lot are going to wish to practise a quick await at your sub flooring to ensure at that topographic point was no underlying issues (rot close outside door openings, windows, whatever bumps that may ship on the install of your novel flooring, etc). In our installation the subfloor looked skillful thus nosotros proceed to the next step.

Where in addition to How to Start Your Flooring

With your Golden Select laminate flooring climatized to your dwelling you lot tin set about alongside the installation of the flooring. At this betoken your are going to wish to intend out how you lot wish to lay the flooring (longitudinally or transversely) inwards your space. Depending on next flooring, stairs, hallways, etc if may ship on the await in addition to feel. With that consummate the next stair is going to endure which corner you lot start with, you lot volition endure moving left to right thus depending on obstacles (fireplaces,  closets, openings, etc) at that topographic point may endure a corner that is easier to start inwards that others. This is a groovy resource for where to start in addition to which agency to lay flooring if you’re unsure.

How to Start Laying Your Laminate Flooring

With your starting location determined you lot tin beingness alongside your outset piece. I by in addition to large start alongside a total slice at the start in addition to endeavor in addition to purpose cutting offs from the terminate of the outset row to start the next row. H5N1 twosome of items to note, you lot volition wish to endeavor to conduct hold your outset in addition to finally slice of flooring a minimum of 16″ long in addition to you lot wish to ensure your stagger betwixt rows in addition to boards are at to the lowest degree 8″. This volition practise a ameliorate terminate product.

Taking your outset slice of flooring, identify the long border natural language against the wall (or the grooved border facing away from the wall). You tin at nowadays expire along to install boards until the row is finished. To interlock the  Golden Select flooring into each other you lot tin elevator the slice on the right mitt side at around xxx deg angle to interlock it into the slice on left side. I also flora that i time you lot had all the edges in addition to grooves aligned you lot tin purpose a condom mallet to lightly hammer in addition to lock the curt edges into each other (take caution alongside this because if you lot don’t conduct hold the boards properly aligned on your outset row this tin upshot inwards impairment to the natural language in addition to groove of the boards).

How to Cut The Final Board inwards a Row

When you lot acquire to the terminate of the row, you lot volition probable need to cutting a slice of laminate flooring to check into place. Measure the infinite betwixt your most recent board in addition to the wall, in addition to then subtract the width of your shims. Take that measuring in addition to grade it onto your board, making certain that you lot are cutting from the right side, in addition to purpose a tabular array saw to brand a straightaway cutting across that board. Then install it equally described above.

Placing Shims

With you lot outset row completed install you lot shims betwixt it in addition to the wall. You wish to allow 1/8-3/8″ of gap to protect your flooring when it expands in addition to contracts (e.g. due to temperature changes). You tin purpose purchased flooring shims, or fight pieces of woods that are the right size. You are also going to wish to banking concern check that your base of operations board moulding is thick plenty to comprehend this gap.

Continuing Your Laminate Flooring

With that completed you lot tin movement onto your next row. To install the next row conduct hold the long border natural language in addition to identify it at a xxx deg angle into the previous rows groove. You tin purpose a taping block or fight slice of the novel flooring to record the slice tightly into place. Repeat until you lot acquire to the contrary terminate of the room ensuring you lot maintain a stagger alongside your rows equally you lot movement along the room.

How to Install the Last Row of Flooring

When you lot acquire to your finally row you lot may conduct hold to cutting the width of the board to check it betwixt the finally row in addition to next wall. To consummate this cutting I would recommend a tabular array saw just a jig saw or circular would also work.  Take multiple measurements along the length of the board (ends in addition to center) equally the terminal board may conduct hold a pocket-size taper depending how foursquare or non foursquare your walls are. After you lot conduct hold cutting this piece, a skillful clit bar is actually handy to assist lay it inwards identify (since you lot can’t acquire hands in addition to fingers betwixt that finally row in addition to the wall.

How to Work Around Door Openings

Door opening tin endure tricky equally the doors volition conduct hold a timber or MDF casing that may or may non endure at the right height. If the door opening is also depression you lot tin purpose a oscillating multi-tool in addition to an fight slice of flooring to cutting the bottom in addition to allow your novel flooring to slide underneath (as seen inwards the video above). This is where the clit bar in addition to a skillful taping block may come upwards inwards handy equally well. If your door opening is also high (if your sometime flooring was thicker than you lot novel flooring) you lot may conduct hold to re-case your door or alive alongside a chip bigger gap betwixt the exceed of the flooring in addition to bottom of the door casing. The same procedure tin endure used for the bring down about the door – you lot should endure able to purpose an oscillating multi-tool in addition to an fight slice of flooring to cutting the bottom in addition to allow your novel flooring to slide underneath.

How to Work Around Corners, Vents,  or Objects

You’ll never conduct hold perfectly straightaway cuts throughout an entire room. If you lot come upwards to a corner or location that requires a slice of flooring to locomote about a border or vent you lot tin purpose a tablesaw or jig saw to consummate this cut. Carefully mensurate in addition to grade out the cut, remembering to locomote out some gap along next wall edges. If you lot conduct hold a hole inwards a slice of flooring (a vent for example) you lot tin purpose a drill to drill holes inwards the iv corners in addition to a jig saw to consummate the cut.

Our Floors After Installing The Laminate Flooring

We lay the Silverwood Golden Select Laminate Flooring downwardly inwards our living room in addition to dining room in addition to the novel flooring completely transformed the space.

Here is what the flooring looked similar inwards our completed living room:

When the slice of furniture was dorsum inwards place, the brown/grey coloring of the Silverwood flooring looked beautiful!

We also followed the flooring into our Dining Room in addition to dear the await inwards that infinite equally well!

Our Review of the Golden Select Laminate Flooring from Costco

Overall, nosotros would probable purchase this flooring again. In fact, I’m already planning to expire along it into other spaces. It was like shooting fish in a barrel to install, like shooting fish in a barrel to use, in addition to seems to endure a high character product. We’ve alone been living alongside flooring for a twosome of months, just thus far nosotros haven’t had whatever issues. I also dear the brown/grey coloring – it’s precisely what I was looking for!

If you lot conduct hold laminate flooring, you lot powerfulness wish to banking concern check out this article on How to Properly Care for your Laminate Floors.