laminate flooring install - gap/baseboard issue

Perhaps quarter round moulding would work for you. It would go against the existing baseboard and hide the gap you are seeing now. The thing you would have to consider is if you could live with one are having moulding and another not.

You need to trim your first row to match your wall, so that it then serves as a straight basis for the subsequent rows. You should have all your baseboard removed so your scribing to the wall, not the baseboard.

Figure out which end of your room is skinniest, and which is widest. Hopefully, you have less than a full plank's deviation.

Install your first row loose, making sure the edge AWAY from the wall is against a reliable straight edge. An 8' level is Good Enough most of the time. Leave the other edge about an inch from the widest part of the wall.

Take a compass and set the width to match the distance from the widest part of the wall to the edge of your plank row. Then scribe a line of your planks. Cut the line with a sabre saw, using the blade recommended by the manufacturer.

Now your first row matches your wall and provides a good straight line for the rest of your floor.

The manufacturer's instructions should describe this process in more detail. They may also have an installation video, which makes it easier to see the process.

All laminate floorings have specs regarding the minimum width of a piece and the minimum length of a piece. You are supposed to measure the widest whole area and possible reduce the width of the very first row you put down to try to stay within the specs for the last row you put down. However when going across rooms, intermediate walls may not work out correctly. Same thing with kitchen islands. I guess that is where a pro's experience comes into play on making a job look good and also handling walls out of square. However I had to get rid of a pro who was obviously doing a lousy job (though came with fantastic references). His replacement did a much better job and was $1000 cheaper. Bottomline is that there is a limit to what can be done and it really has to be done on the first row. Hopefully if you are not happy with the job, the material you have can be unlocked and fixed and relocked. Mannington can...... some cannot and some can only be unlocked twice before being discarded.

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kludgy)?

More non pros the general instructions for AnY lAMINATE IS PUT tHREE ROWS TOGETHER INiN THE lONGEST RUNN AND WORK TO THE OUTSIDE FROM BOTH DIRECTIONS gOT iT! i ATAIN THE HIGHEST QUALITY! WITH OUT GETTING hIGH

Sorry but I've seen several pro's do it and they work from one side after measuring and cutting down the material for the first row so the last row will fit correctly. Manufacturers supply spacers to hold the material against the wall in position as you work across the room.

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That's exactly the problem that I've been having - the intermediate walls in conjunction with non-straight walls. I suppose that worst case - I might have to go with a pro :-(

...

The tricky part is that we have two intermediate walls (if you're starting from the wall that's in the dining room and has the mb bedroom door) - the first living room wall and the dining room wall. ...

Again - the 2 intermediate rooms mess this up because they could also be not straight.

One thing about Ikea's instructions is that they're really not that good. Your scribing method is described in the orange Home Depot type of book.

Thank you for your help.

On Thu, 04 Dec 2003 04:49:31 +0000, Art Begun wrote: When youve seen something is not the sanme as doing! and ive done over

Then you've done of 1,000,00 nauticle mile of it wrong! This is coming from someone certified by 2 different manufacturers. The only 2 in the world that certify for laminates.

You always start from a corner, and work left to right starting out. You MUST find the dead zone, something you don't have a clue about. And the dead zone changes for every obsticle encountered. Your advice is wrong, so please refrain from giving out clueless information.

You information is laughable at best.

Remember he said 1 million , he must be a record holder , that should be 250000 sq ft.. but no he is a con, Ara the Conn.