Laminate flooring

[doitmyself]

Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
Regarding moisture, even a glued down floor will effectively seal off the slab. Most of the 'paddings' used under laminated floors are actually slightly permeable.


I've seen glued down floor tile on concrete. I got the impression that the OP was going to install a separate vapor barrier (visqueen?), then the pad and flooring. In this case, I wondered if moisture could condensate under the visqueen. I have read of people putting down no-glue vinyl flooring on concrete that resulted in mold problems. No glue vinyl flooring is another area where products have made leaps and bounds regarding quality.

 

[bustednutz]

I was told that its mandatory to put down a vapor barrier over the concrete subfloor, prior to padding and laminate floor. Or else the warranty is voided.

 

[2Fast4U]

Just finished putting n 1k sq ft laminate my house myself. When I moved into the house 8 ago I installed 1200 sq feet. The 'old' stuff still looks new today. What I just finished was all the bedrooms and now have 1 more area left where I am going to do stone. Did everything myself.
Here is my recommendations.

Get a size larger then 7mm.
Under lament matters. Get good quality sound proof foam style.
Go buy a multi tool for cutting any door moldings. 29$ at hf right now.
Many places sell Laminate made in china. I got a good german made one.
They sell snap together stuff which you no longer have to hammer. Easier quicker install.

 

[Brons2]

I had approximately 1300 sq ft of 12mm hand carved/weathered laminate put in. It looks great and I would not trade it for an engineered hardwood in the same price range. I did look at some and they looked cheap, fragile and thin.

If I wanted hardwoods, I would go solid and not engineered, they're not as hard to install as people make them out to be. I have a friend who does them from $9 a square foot installed, and he has more business than he knows what to do with.