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Hi @Sam-Sam,
Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community. You've joined a clever and creative bunch, who also happen to be friendly and generous in sharing their knowledge and experience so we're sure you'll get plenty of help and inspiration for this project as well as many to come.
Have you had a good look at the step-by-step Bunnings D.I.Y. advice How to lay laminate flooring? I will also add the video below. The guide shows you how to prepare before your start laying the laminate, how to cut laminate to fit in corners, and tips to keep your laminated boards close together.
Hopefully you're not in a rush to start as our resident Bunnings D.I.Y. expert @MitchellMc will be very keen to assist you but is taking a well-deserved break this week. Apologies for the delay. If you're keen to get started ASAP, please let me know and I can tag other Workshop community members with flooring experience to share their thoughts with you.
Thanks,
Jason
Mitchell will be back on Workshop to assist you on Sunday @Sam-Sam.
Let me tag @Adam_W, @ProjectPete, @PJA, @TayaRoberts and @redracer01 to see if they can share their thoughts in the meantime.
Thanks for your patience,
Jason
Hello @Sam-Sam
These are all excellent questions! I hope by watching the DIY video it has answered some of your queries. Let me see if I can answer your questions in series.
1. Using a power tool makes work go quickly. But if you have no experience with using that tool I suggest getting some practice first by cutting some timber pieces lying around the garage. Straight edge, angle cuts and familiarity with your tool will help you when you begin your project. Even using a quality hand saw will work on this laminate flooring. Using a steel edge ruler and a pencil to mark your cuts will help guide you when you begin to cut. Finishing the edges off with a light sand to give you a perfect finish.
2. Preferably you want an edging that is as close to the color of the laminate you have chosen. This will help disguise the scotia and make it blend with the laminate flooring. Remember you want the attention on the floor not on the edging! Unless you plan on painting the scotia the same color as your current skirting board.
3. I have seen some builders use construction adhesive to stick the scotia to the wall without using a single nail. However if you are not confident with your gluing skills then the nail to use is dependent on the thickness of the scotia. If you are using a standard 18 x 18 scotia I suggest a nail that is long and thin such as the Paslode 25 x 1.25mm bright steel bullet head. This is if you decide to do it manually. But if you decide to use a Brad nailer then you have made an excellent choice Ryobi Airwave as it fires the C1 series 18 x 1.25 brad nails, perfect for this job. Please note that the Airwave requires an independent source of air is not gas powered.
4. Underlay is dependent on the type of floor you currently have. If you are putting it down on a cement floor, you will need to use the silver back foiled underlay. You lay this underlay silver foil face down and it blocks condensation from traveling through your flooring and ruining it. The foil diverts the moisture to the sides allowing it to be redirected. If you have yellow tongue or timber flooring you can use the plain underlay as this provides a measure of protection against condensation and allows the timber floor to breath as well.
5. It is always good to have a level floor when laying the laminate flooring, this is so that you will not be caught by surprise when you step on an uneven part of your floor. There are a few types of leveling compounds and are easily mixed, some work with both timber and cement flooring, others with cement only. Read the packaging label very well before you purchase.
6. When reaching the door, you can always put an aluminum angled edge to cover the gap or unfinished end of the timber flooring.
7. As for the last question, Jason has shown you the link to the video. Good luck.
Red
I am a Bunnings team member. Any opinions or recommendations shared here are my own and do not necessarily represent those of Bunnings. Visit the Bunnings website for assistance from the customer service team.
Hi Sam.
My wife and I laid the floating floor in our house. We are and will remain complete amateurs in life and by the time we finished we agreed we would tackle the task differently should we undertake it again.
But there were two things we agreed on and will take to our graves as the best decisions we made during the process.
Ditch the scotia. Remove the skirting boards and undercut the doorways with a panel saw. Plenty of youtube videos out there to show you how. You will never regret it.
Secondly, we purchased that Capitol Laminate Instruction Kit and before we were halfway into the first room we tossed it into the bin and looked around for more robust tools.
We eventually found some, and again you'll never regret it if you do likewise.
Cheers
Graeme.
Hi @Sam-Sam,
It's great to see you've already received some helpful advice from our amazing members. I trust most of your questions have been answered, especially after looking at our step-by-step guide on How to lay laminate flooring, but please do let us know if you need further advice or assistance.
Mitchell
