Anyone used DIY Laminate Timber Flooring?

[wishes]

Hi all, We are looking into the DIY Timber Laminate Flooring for our new place that we are building. I dont know much about it so am just after everyones opinions on it. We are after cheap flooring (not carpet) that is hardwearing and also looks great.

Also, we have been told (by Le Cornu) that its best to get the skirting boards tacked on, and the door frames and architraves raised 10mm off the floor... If you used this type of flooring, did you find you had any problems? How long did it take you to lay?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

[TikTok]

hello hello

I did it all myself with my dad, at 26 weeks preggers with twins

Its relatively easy!! Its very hard wearing, still cant really see a scratch at all!!!

We didnt do anything like tacking them on.

[TikTok]

Just uploaded some photos for you, we havent finished them, we have to put the beading around the edges (as you have to leave a gap for expansion).

http://flickr.com/photos/melztwins/

[rinny78]

We have some at our place. I do like the colour but I do have chips and scratches on ours in the kitchen area.

As for the skirting boards/door frames etc. Definately have them raised.

My DH did ours, and it is very rough. I love him to death but he doesnt really care about the finer details when it comes to these things. The result is gaps around the door frames that I can never get the vacum cleaner into so as you can imagine these gaps are full of sand/dust/dirt etc. Ours was done years after the house was built hence not being under door frames and havening to go around.

Needless to say it is coming up when we renovate, I am going with strip vynil (sp?).

And hopefully we dont end up divorced! (I am very picky with the finer details)

Hope this helps...

[Nikkidun]

We have laminate flooring!
yes definately don't skimp on the finer details around the skirting boards. hubby did ours and he made sure there were no gaps like rinny has found they have.
hubby laid it over a few days, bubs and i went to my parents holiday house for the weekend and he just went for it and it was done by the time we came home.
ours has been there for 6 months, and its going well. A few scratches but nothing too noticeable. It looks great - people always comment how nice our floors are!

[*K*]

Definitely get all the door frames raised! and you can always tack on your skirting boards last.
I have a pallet of Belgium floating floors sitting right next to me which should hopefully be laid in about a month, we have done it before and it isn't hard just takes time to get it all right
I am really anal when it comes to the small finer details so we are having to replace/cut where possible all the door frames, raising skirting boards and replacing anything that needs it (because we are renovating not building). Thankfully we are plastering so 60% of these things needed to be replaced already!
You will be glad that you did

[TikTok]

How can u raise doors and skirting boards???

[wishes]

Thanks for all your imput! I also forgot to ask what size you all got. We are looking at the 8mm I think. Oh, and colours to!

[TikTok]

8.3mm & Mahogany

[chances]

We had our flooring installed in January.
It looks great and cleaning is a breeze.Just a quick sweep and light mop.

We researched the different brands and had various quotes.DH wasnt keen on laying it himself and Im glad he didnt as there was a fair bit of cutting involved due to laying it over the existing floorboards.

We road tested a piece by bending,jumping on it and even belting it with a hammer
We found it to be very sturdy.
From my experience I wouldnt go too light with the colour as it does show up marks etc which means more frequent cleaning.Its still so much more hygienic than the old carpet we had.
Ive also found that I cant sneak around the house as its a lot noisier than carpet LOL

If you happen to be laying it over existing floorboards I would advise to get any noriceable squeaks fixed first.

Overall,Im very happy with it