How to Install Laminate Flooring
Modern click laminate is a floating floor almost anyone can install in a weekend. This guide walks through it step by step – and shows you how to work out the exact number of planks and packs before you buy.
Work out your material first →
Laminate is sold in whole packs, and a diagonal or offset layout wastes more than a straight one, so the first thing to get right is how much to order. Draw your room in the free planner and it counts the planks, packs and waste for your actual floor – then follow the six steps below to install it.
Installing laminate in 6 steps
Measure the room and buy the right amount
Measure the floor, or draw it in the free planner, and let it convert the area into full planks, packs and a waste percentage for your laying direction. Order the packs it gives you plus one spare, and let the boxes acclimate flat in the room for 48 hours before you start.
Check and prepare the subfloor
The subfloor must be clean, dry and flat – no more than about 3/16 in of deviation under a 10 ft straightedge. Vacuum it, fill low spots with self-leveling underlayment and let it cure; a floor that isn't flat makes the joints flex and click apart later.
Lay the vapor barrier and underlayment
On a mineral subfloor (screed, concrete) put down a vapor barrier first, taped at the overlaps, then the impact-sound underlayment. On a wood subfloor use underlayment only. This layer damps footstep noise and evens out tiny irregularities.
Set out the first row and the expansion gap
Plan the direction – usually along the longest wall or towards the main window so the joints catch less light. Leave a 3/8–5/8 in expansion gap to every wall with spacers; a floating floor has to be free to move, or it lifts.
Work across the floor with staggered joints
Click each new plank into the last and stagger the end joints by at least 12–16 in from row to row, so no two seams line up. Start each new row with the offcut from the previous one where its length allows – that is what keeps the waste down.
Scribe the last row and finish the edges
The final row almost always needs ripping to width – scribe it to the wall, keeping the gap, and pull it in with a pull bar. Remove the spacers, then cover the gap with baseboards or transition profiles (never screwed through the laminate).
Know the plank and pack count before you shop
Instead of area × a rule-of-thumb waste factor, the free planner places every plank at real dimensions, counts the cut pieces and rounds up to whole packs – the exact shopping list for your room.
Open the free planner →Frequently asked questions
- Which direction should laminate planks run?
- As a rule, lay the planks parallel to the longest wall or towards the main source of daylight, so the end joints catch less light and the room reads longer. In a narrow hallway, run them lengthwise. The layout is easy to try both ways in the planner before you commit.
- How much laminate waste should I allow?
- For a straight lay in a simple rectangular room, 5–8 % extra is usually enough; diagonal patterns and rooms with lots of corners or doorways need more. Rather than guess, let the planner count the real cut pieces for your floor and round up to whole packs.
- Do I really need an expansion gap?
- Yes. Laminate is a floating floor that expands and contracts with humidity, so it needs a 3/8–5/8 in gap to every fixed edge – walls, pipes, door frames. Baseboards and transition profiles hide the gap while still letting the floor move.