In today's economic climate everyone is looking to save a couple of Rands, handling the installation of your new flooring yourself could save you thousands and its probably easier than you think. The saving on installation costs could also allow you to upgrade to a higher more realistic wood looking laminate floor, adding value to your home. Most if not all laminate flooring sold today comes with installation instructions included in the packaging, it is after all designed with the DIY enthusiast in mind. Laminate flooring is designed to fit together like a puzzle, all planks simply click together and are laid loose onto a foam underlay. No nails, glue or messy cement is required, just follow the easy to understand installation instructions and you will have a floor that will look good for many years to come if not a lifetime.

The most important points to remember when fitting a laminate floor are as follow:

• Start on a dry and level base floor. If the existing floor is not level, then first level it out with a self leveling screed.
• If your home is built out of square then determine where it would be most important for you that the floor looks square and start along this wall. It is usually best to have the floor square with the entrance to the home as this is the first point of entry.
• Leave an expansion gap all around the perimeter of the room, usually between 8 and 10mm. This will allow the wood floor product to expand when the humidity in the air rises. This expansion gap will later be covered by the skirting. Laminate flooring is known to expand 3mm per meter, if allowance for this expansion is not made the floor will ultimately fail when it needs to expand.
• Laminate flooring is also normally not laid more than 8m in length without breaking the length with an expansion joint profile. Most manufacturers have profiles available that look similar to the flooring decor or it can be made from aluminium. It is also strongly recommended that one breaks the laminate floor with an expansion profile at every room entrance. In other words do not take your flooring into different rooms all in one piece, an expansion profile should be fitted under the door entering each room. Remember to also allow for an expansion gap around door frames. This gap around door frames is usually filled with a colour sealant to compliment the floor decor.
• The flooring should be installed in a 'brick bond' manner, therefore staggering the short ends of the planks. The short end of the second row should not come closer than about 300mm to the short ends of the first row and so forth. Never align the short ends of the planks from row to row. For a more authentic look the staggering should be irregular and not repeat it self every couple of rows.

Below are general installation instructions applicable to most laminate floors, it is however crucial to install your flooring as per the respective manufacturers instructions included in the packaging in order to retain your product warrantee.
Images courtesy of Kronotex.
 

Laminate flooring is suitable for use over under-floor heating systems, however strict guidelines need to be followed.

Laminate flooring needs to be broken by expansion joints every 12m length wise and 8m across the width of the planks. Allow for expansion around door frames and other permanent fixtures.
 

No glue, nails or screws are used for installation purposes. Damaged stock should be identified and set aside prior to installation.

Basic installation tools are required for installation of the laminate flooring. The new Express Clic* installation system from Kronotex requires even less tools.

Underlay and vapor barrier is required for the installation of laminate flooring. These are mostly bought combined into one. Special sound reduction underlays are also available to reduce walking sound.
 

The first plank is laid with the tongue facing the wall. Remember the expansion gap between wall and floor. Off cuts from the flooring can also be used as spacers.

The adjoining planks are clicked in at a 12 degree angle. Some flooring brands need to be tapped into place to close the joint - this is however a weaker system and is likely to pull apart.

The first starter piece should not be less than 400mm in length. Do not lock this piece into place yet as the adjoining pieces need to be connected prior to connecting the second row to the first.
 

Connect the adjoining piece, once again using the 12 degree locking position and continue until the row is complete.

To accurately measure for the last piece in a row, turn the plank around, mark the plank and cut. The off-cut from this plank may be used to start the next row.

Remember that at this point the second row has not been clicked into the first row. The tongue of the second row is only resting on the groove of the first row.
 

You can now finally connect the second row to the first by clicking it into place. You may require an extra set of hands to assist in doing this.

In the case of wooden door frames these can also be under-cut in order to allow for expansion underneath them, however this  requires a certain amount of skill and is seldom done in South Africa.
 

Expansion gaps along the wall perimeter are covered by skirting. Various options are available. Read the manufacturer's fitting instructions to achieve a good result.

On completion of the installation the flooring can be vacuumed and wiped down with a moist cloth. Avoid using excess water on your laminate floor. Specialized cleaning mops are also available for purchase.
 

Place entrance mats at entrance doors to protect and prolong the life of your floors. Felt pads should be fitted to all furniture to avoid scuffing of the floors.
 

When removing the floor, gently unclick a row and slide the planks apart as indicated above.

* Express Clic - Installation made simpler than ever

** Most Kronotex ranges stocked in South Africa already have the new Express Clic lock mechanism, however not all. Please enquire that the product you are interested in purchasing has this feature.