A laminate floor nearly always looks good on the day it is laid. Whether it still looks good two years later depends on what happened before the first board went down: how flat and dry the subfloor was, which underlay went beneath it, whether the boards were left to acclimatise, and whether the floor was given room to move at every edge. Most laminate floors that peak at the joints, sound hollow or open up gaps can be traced back to one of those.
Voltify Contractors carries out laminate flooring installation in homes, flats, rented properties and commercial premises across East and South-East London as part of our handyman and property maintenance service. Below is what gets checked before fitting, the decisions you will need to make, and what affects the price.
Before the Boards Go Down: Checking the Subfloor
Laminate is a floating floor. The boards click together and rest on underlay rather than being fixed down, so the finished floor follows every dip and hump underneath it. Before fitting, the existing floor is checked for:
- Flatness. Laminate manufacturers set a limit on how uneven the subfloor can be. High spots may need planing or sanding, and dips filling with levelling compound or packing.
- Loose or squeaking floorboards. These are re-fixed first, once the routes of any pipes and cables below have been checked. A squeak under a new laminate floor is much harder to reach afterwards.
- Moisture. New screeds need to be dry enough for flooring, and concrete subfloors normally need a damp-proof membrane beneath the underlay. If a floor is damp from a leak, the cause is fixed before anything is laid.
- The existing covering. Carpet, underlay and gripper rods come up, and old laminate is lifted. Firmly bonded vinyl or ceramic tiles in good condition can sometimes stay as a base, depending on the laminate manufacturer’s instructions.
Soft, springy or water-damaged areas are repaired before the new floor goes down. Our flooring repairs page explains how subfloor damage is dealt with. If an existing laminate floor is damaged and you are not sure it needs replacing, our guide on whether to repair or replace laminate flooring explains how to decide.
Choosing the Underlay, and Why Flats Are Different
Underlay smooths out minor unevenness, cushions the click joints and reduces the hollow sound laminate can have underfoot. On concrete, an underlay with a built-in damp-proof layer, or a separate membrane, protects the boards from moisture rising through the slab. The right underlay depends on the subfloor, the room and any heating beneath it.
Leasehold flats
Many flat leases restrict hard flooring or require an acoustic underlay that meets a stated level of sound reduction, because footsteps on laminate carry to the flat below. Some require the freeholder’s consent before carpet is replaced with a hard floor. Check your lease, or ask the managing agent, before buying flooring: the requirement can decide which underlay, and sometimes which floor, can be used.
Underfloor heating
Not every laminate and underlay combination is suitable for underfloor heating, and manufacturers set limits on floor surface temperature. Check that both products are approved for use with your heating system before ordering.
Is Laminate Right for This Room?
Laminate suits most rooms, but a few need a closer look before you choose it.
| Room | What to consider |
|---|---|
| Living rooms, bedrooms and hallways | Usually straightforward. Hallways take the most wear and tend to involve several doors and thresholds, so the finishing details take longer. |
| Kitchens | A water-resistant laminate is the sensible choice, as spills at the sink and dishwasher are the main risk. The floor is normally laid up to the kitchen plinths rather than under fitted units, and plinths may need trimming. Freestanding and integrated appliances often need pulling out and reconnecting, which ties in with our appliance installation work. |
| Bathrooms and WCs | Standard laminate is generally a poor choice: standing water gets into the joints and the boards swell. Some products are sold for bathroom use, and their conditions should be followed exactly. Vinyl is often more practical. |
| Conservatories and sunny rooms | Large swings in temperature mean more movement, so expansion gaps and the manufacturer’s guidance matter even more. |
| Offices and shops | Check the product’s use class is rated for commercial footfall, not only domestic use. |
How a Laminate Floor Is Laid
The work follows a sequence, and skipping a step is usually where problems start.
- Acclimatising. The packs are left flat and unopened in the room for the period the manufacturer recommends, so the boards adjust to its temperature and humidity.
- Preparing the room. Furniture is cleared, the old covering lifted, the subfloor repaired or levelled, and internal doors taken off.
- Planning the layout. Boards usually run along the length of the room or towards the main window. The first and last rows are balanced so there is no thin sliver of board against a wall or at a doorway.
- Membrane and underlay. Laid with joints taped as the product requires.
- Laying the boards. End joints are staggered, and an expansion gap is left at every wall, pipe and fixed object. Door linings and architraves are undercut so boards slide neatly beneath them rather than being cut around.
- Finishing the edges. Skirting or beading covers the gap, pipe roses go around radiator pipes, and thresholds are fitted at doorways.
- Doors. Doors are rehung and, where the floor is now higher, trimmed to clear it.
Skirting, Beading and Thresholds
The expansion gap around the edge has to be covered, and there are two ways to do it. The neatest is to take the skirting off and refit it on top of the new floor. Older skirting can split when it is removed, so a replacement length may be needed; our skirting and trim repair service covers matching profiles. The quicker option is to leave the skirting in place and pin a scotia or flat beading in front of it. Beading is always fixed to the skirting, never to the floor, so the laminate can still move.
At doorways, a threshold strip finishes the edge and bridges any change in height to the next room. Large, long or L-shaped areas often need an expansion break at a doorway, because a floating floor can only run a set distance without one. The manufacturer’s instructions give that distance.
A new floor plus its underlay raises the finished level, so internal doors often catch afterwards. Trimming them is part of the job; if a door had other problems before, our door repair page covers those.
Fitted Units and Heavy Furniture
A floating floor must not be pinned down. Kitchen islands, fitted wardrobes and anything screwed through the floor stop it moving, and it lifts somewhere else instead. Laminate is therefore laid around fitted units rather than beneath them. Freestanding furniture is fine once the floor is down; if a flat-pack wardrobe needs to come apart to clear the room, it can be rebuilt afterwards through our furniture assembly service.
Laminate in Rented and Commercial Properties
Laminate is a common choice between tenancies because it is hard-wearing and easy to clean. For a flat, the lease requirements above apply to landlords too. Our landlord property maintenance page explains how void-period work is arranged. In offices, shops and communal areas, laying a floor means clearing the space, so the work is planned around opening hours as part of our commercial property maintenance work.
What Affects the Cost of Laminate Flooring Installation
A whole floor is quoted once the rooms have been measured and the subfloor seen; the documented minimum call-out is £80 for the first hour. The total depends on:
- the floor area, and how many rooms, doorways and awkward shapes are involved;
- how much subfloor preparation is needed, from re-fixing boards to levelling;
- whether an existing floor covering has to be lifted first;
- whether skirting is removed and refitted or beading is used;
- how many doors need trimming and thresholds fitting;
- kitchen plinths and appliances that need moving;
- whether you are supplying the laminate, underlay and trims.
When you get in touch, room measurements or a rough floor plan, photos of the existing floor and doorways, the product you are considering and any lease requirements will help. Contact Voltify Contractors to discuss your floor. Standard work runs 7am–5pm, Monday to Friday, and you can check the areas we cover.
