Installing Laminate Basement Floor

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If you are ready to take care of the following five important steps and precautions, you’ll surely get a successful installation of a laminate floor without causing any harm to yourself or the new floor you intend installing.

1. Generally most of the manufacturers of laminates give warranty for its being installed below grade. Now, that is unlike a hardwood floor. Yet, it will be good to check the warranty clause as provided by re manufacturer.

2. Like any other flooring, laminate flooring too takes its time to get acclimatized to the surroundings of a new place. The best way to achieve that would be to store the intended flooring for about a week before you actually start its installation.

3. It is important to leave room for expansion of laminate. You would certainly be required to keep a gap of half an inch all around the perimeter of your room.

4. You have to be absolutely sure that the basement is totally dry. Remember that humidity and water is enemy number one for subfloors. You should save yourself from the uncalled for financial and physical strain of redoing the job by being cautious before hand.

5. Last, but the most important precaution that you should never afford to overlook concerns your personal safety. Put on your safety gear, particularly goggles, while handling any of the power tools for doing any job.

As laminate flooring is not nailed down it is essentially a floating floor. That makes its installation very convenient. An added advantage is that it has the pleasant appearance of a hardwood floor.



It is quite an interesting and easy to execute DIY project. Here’s how it goes.

1. Before you really get down to the task of laying a laminate flooring it will be helpful to read on the topic of preparation of basement flooring. First step is to cove the entire floor with the subfloor, vapor barrier and padding. Generally vapor barrier and padding form a part of the purchase of the laminate flooring.

2. Having done that, you are ready to start the installation. Using the tongue and grove technique connect a number of planks together to form a long row. Take some another piece of wood lying around the house and put the laminate in place by slightly tapping it. You may need to use this piece of wood for attaching each piece into the groove by slight tapping. The more the number of planks you fix, the sturdier the floor gets.

3. As the number of rows increases, you should continue to stagger the seams. This imparts additional strength to floor in the absence of any clear break line.

4. In due course you will be required to cut the planks to fit with the walls. Take measurement of the space between the wall and the installed board and cut accordingly. You can very easily cut these planks by using a table saw, which is sturdy and thus safer to use than a hand-held circular saw for such kinds of jobs. Alternatively, you may even use a pry bar, a shorter version of a crow bar or caw-caw. Don’t you worry about that, it’s very easy and needs no technical talents.

5. For having a snug fitting around irregular areas like corners or immovable round poles, use a jig saw to get the desired perfect shapes.

6. Continue laying the planks, one after the other till the entire basement floor is covered.

7. Having laid the basement flooring, just install some trim/base boards on the top surface and your finished basement floor is ready.

Choosing The Perfect Basement Flooring

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Despite being an important part of the house, basement wouldn't generally get the kind of attention as the rest of the house does. It is largely because most of the householders use it as a dumping ground or for storage of infrequently used and condemned items. Of course it can be made functional for being used for a lot of other purposes, as you will discover thru this article. Depending on the intended purpose of its use, a basement could be furnished with a suitable floor material to match its looks with the kind of activities that might go in there. Here is a list of materials that could be used for covering the floor and even the walls and the roof if needed, and enhance its looks to make it suitable for the purpose for which it'll be used.

Concrete - Good old concrete flooring continues to be a favorite of most of the people who generally make use of it for storing household stuff. Very often we find the basement being used as a workshop for doing all the odd jobs involving the use of drill machine, hammer, saw and a number of similar noisy tools. Only a concrete floor can bear the brunt of such tools and the materials that are handled on such machines. If the basement is to be used for such purposes you hardly have an alternate choice of flooring, and unfortunately there is not much that can be done to improve its aesthetic quotient.



Ceramic Tile - this is a good substitute for concrete. But you have to keep I mind the kind of activity that is going to take place in the basement. In case you expect movement of heavy objects in this region, perhaps you will be better off with some other option. On the other hand, it's perfect for housing of your washing and drying machines. Moisture is a common phenomenon with most of the basements because of the presence of humid air beneath a house and ceramic tiles shield the floor from water damage.

Hardwood Laminate -In case you are going to make use of the basement for a purpose other than storage, you won't find anything more appropriate than a hardwood laminate. It is not uncommon to see basements being converted to a room to be used as library, function room, games room or even a music room. It's attractive flooring for such converted rooms and gives a feeling of warmth. But, care must be taken to provide a good ventilation system, as moisture is a very common problem associated with basements. The basement should not be left closed for long intervals, as the built-up humidity will cause damage to wood.

Thick Carpeting -This is perhaps the simplest way to cover a basement. As already noted, concrete floor is preferred by a majority of people. Thick carpeting may not be a good option for the basement if it is going to experience a continuous haulage or dragging of heavy materials over it. Yet, carpeting is a good choice for basements used for storage of light and small items that may occasionally require a little bit of pushing or dragging. An air dehumidifier is needed for. Carpeted basements are necessarily provided with an air dehumidifier, else moisture of the basement may result to mold build-ups in the carpet.



Rubber/Foam Mats -This may be classified as a combination of carpeting with ceramic tiles. Being waterproof these offer an advantages over a carpet. Another advantage is that they won't build up molds. However, it most helpful feature is to absorb noise. That characteristic makes them a favorite of busy basements that face a lot of traffic and the noise associated with that. Rubber mats are helpful in suppressing the noise level. Lining the walls and ceiling of the basement with an acoustic insulating material may further reduce noise levels to the extent that the rest of the household remains undisturbed even if power tools were used in the middle of the night.


Radiant Heating -In cold weather, radiant heating panels form the best choice as they waterproof and sturdy. Even under extreme cold conditions they are rally able to entrap and retain heat to offer a warm room. Te only draw back of such flooring is that it cannot be used for houses located in warmer environments. Basements, as you know are by design hot and the hot air trapped therein adds to humidity. Thus, such flooring would naturally add to the problem of houses located in tropical areas.