All, I am about to embark on laminating my entire flat. The rooms are all basic rectangles, and the walls a pretty true. Total area is about 55m2 across 4 similarly sized rooms. I have never done any laminating in the past. Anyone care to estimate how long this may take ??
It totally depends on how competent you are at doing the job. If you're a trained joiner / carpenter, then three days from laying the underlay to complete edge finishing. If you're a complete novice, then it might take you a week, a month, a year, who knows ?
It isn't laying the laminate that takes the time. The two big killers are removing/replacing the skirting boards and moving the furniture out of the way. Laying insulation boards takes no time at all. Cutting and laying the boards is really quick too, provided you have a circular saw (or jigsaw) standing by with a portable work bench.
Don't even consider doing the job without a proper hefty pulling bar. The cheapie ones you get in the "kits" should be thrown away.
I layed my old lounge in a day, including skirting boards. It was about
20m2. My "new" house is Edwardian and I wouldn't allow a piece of laminate within a mile of it. I spent a week with a sanding machine instead.
Are you going to use clickfit or glue type laminate? Clickfit is much quicker but most makes can't be used in a bathroom. If you haven't done it before but are reasonably competent at using a saw and measuring accurately then I'd guess up to a day for the first room and progressively quicker for the rest as you get better at it :-)
Having done the job twice (in different rooms) with the 'cheapie kits' I'd be interested to know where one can get the proper version. (Yes I do agree that the cheapie ones leave a lot to be desired!)
Can't agree completely, the one SWMBO got last week from local B&Q (spit) in a kit (of that and two packs of wedges), is actually holding up OK so far, but I got the feeling it /could/ be a little better still.
It seems different from the one featured on their web site though, and the wedges have changed slightly too by the looks of things.
I've not seen the old bare metal bar in the flesh (shown on their site) to know if they are physically different, but the one we got is dark gloss blue painted item with a protector pad or two on the base.
I added a "leading edge" scuff preventer (duct tape) after the first use left a minute amount of blue paint on the first board I fitted with it, been just fine since. (you just know they NEVER used one when that happens!)
I'd imagine a cast metal one could be about as good as it gets to be honest. Never seen a source for any like that yet.
I did a small room at the weekend, about 9m2, and I had never done it before.. It took about 2 hours to do the first 2 lines, and about 2 hours to do the rest..
It shouldn't take you too long, its just takes a hour or 2 to work out the routine.
just make sure you know the theory before you start
Got mine from B&Q (both the kit one and the "professional" one). In use, it is like comparing a Morris Minor with a MacLaren F1. Noisy as anything, though. Get ear defenders.
One little tap and the whole board is comprehensively snug with the previous.
What do you suppose the op is talking about? Operating theatres in hospitals don't have that. I should think he is talking about laminated flooring but I can see a vision of him with worktops instead of furniture. Yeeugh!
Quite possibly. I found the kit ones needed a few bangs, and at various points on the board, rather than a simple tap halfway along with the meaty one.
reading the quick step instal guide, you should never try and place a board using a single hit - always perform several light taps at about 30cm intervals until the board fits snuggly into place.....
We may be at crossed porpoises here; I'm only using the iron on the end of the last board in a row, since it's the "cut" end, and there's no room for a block. I'm using the screwfix tapping block along the long edges (except for the last row, where it won't fit of course).
I'm also using the tapping block on the ends of all boards but the last one in a row. Over time, I've got the "iron shot" down to one tap increasingly often, I think it just comes with practice! (yields a mildly satisfying smug feeling when it does it too! ;O)
The first 2/3/4 boards are for sure the worst and the first two rows of a room are also slightly more tricky than the rest IME. It all flows smoothly once they are down and snug with each other, and I've got a cunning plan for the first three now as well!
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