Lay laminate flooring

Looks like wood, clicks together, and goes down over a weekend. Keep it out of wet rooms.

How big is the floor?

square feet

This fits in a car

About 467 lb of materials. Comfortably inside what a car carries (200 lb), so any shopper can take it. ⚠️ 1 item on the list has no weight on file, so the real load is a little heavier than this.

Before you start

Laminate throws fine dust when cut; cut outside or in the garage with eye protection and a dust mask. The boxes are around 40 lb each.

What to buy — untick anything you have

Flooring

11 cartons of laminate flooringBuy every carton from the same lot or dye number, and check the square feet on the carton; this list assumes about 20.
2 rolls of underlayment with vapor barrier, 100 sq ftWith a built-in vapor barrier if the floor underneath is concrete.
1 roll of underlayment seam tape
7 Quarter round or shoe molding, 8 ft
1 Floor transition strip

Hardware

1 box of brad nails, 1-1/4 in

Tools — already ticked off, since most people have them

Tools

1 Flooring kit: tapping block, pull bar, spacers· most people have this
1 Rubber mallet· most people have this
1 Miter saw or circular saw· most people have this
1 Jigsaw· most people have this
1 pair of knee pads· most people have this

It lands in the shopping form, where you can edit anything and say what you think each thing costs. Nothing is ordered until you send it.

How it goes · about a weekend · some experience

Leave the boxes flat in the room for two days so the boards settle.
Take up the old shoe molding and carpet, and check the floor is flat to within about an eighth of an inch over six feet.
Roll out the underlayment and tape the seams, without overlapping them.
Lay the first row tongue to the wall with spacers, click each row in, and stagger the joints.
Undercut the door casings so the boards slide under, and finish with the molding and transition strips.