DIY Experts (laminate flooring)

yozzer2001 · 15 Dec 2007 at 21:49

Telescopi said:
Stain is colour, varnish is shiny, you can get both in one but if want a matt finish just use stain.

yer varnish is shiny unless you get a matt varnish

Mark A · 15 Dec 2007 at 22:29

That looks great and a nice cheap solution

, is it not cold with it being a ground floor though?.

Ive been laying some laminate this week for my mum as well

I took all the skirting boards off and I'm going to re fit them after the floors down to get a nice neat edge.

Mirage · 15 Dec 2007 at 22:36

Naughty Naughty, you should be laying with a staggered joint, no joint should repeat for atleast 3 rows.....and yes, I gave up on that idea after two rows ;p.

Beans on toast Dave · 15 Dec 2007 at 22:39

Mirage said:
Naughty Naughty, you should be laying with a staggered joint, no joint should repeat for atleast 3 rows.....and yes, I gave up on that idea after two rows ;p.

i was looking at that trying to think what was wrong with it

Mark A · 15 Dec 2007 at 22:49

Mirage said:
Naughty Naughty, you should be laying with a staggered joint, no joint should repeat for atleast 3 rows.....and yes, I gave up on that idea after two rows ;p.

Thats what it showed to do in the instruction leaflet, plus i think it looks better like that

.

schnipps · 15 Dec 2007 at 23:06

Mirage said:
Naughty Naughty, you should be laying with a staggered joint, no joint should repeat for atleast 3 rows.....and yes, I gave up on that idea after two rows ;p.

Yeah i have just wondered how have you managed to lay rows all the same length every other row? You use the bit you cut off from row 1 on row 2, it looks like you have used a new bit of laminate for each other row.

sloth · 15 Dec 2007 at 23:17

Mirage said:
Naughty Naughty, you should be laying with a staggered joint, no joint should repeat for atleast 3 rows.....and yes, I gave up on that idea after two rows ;p.

Recently layed 40m2 of 90mm wide random length solid oak flooring in my house. Trying to stop joints repeating or being too close together almost made me insane! Argh! :eek:

Mark A · 15 Dec 2007 at 23:18

schnipps said:
Yeah i have just wondered how have you managed to lay rows all the same length every other row? You use the bit you cut off from row 1 on row 2, it looks like you have used a new bit of laminate for each other row.

I used the offcut for the other side, there was hardly any wastage. Thinking about it it would have been far easier doing it that way but i thought it would look odd.

It looks good in the flesh and i cant see it being weak tbh. Its laid on the more expensive fiber board and the floor underneath is flat as its floorboards.

Sumanji · 15 Dec 2007 at 23:35

Random thread hijack (again!) - I live on a first floor flat and was tempted by laminate, but I also really like the idea of tiles. Harder wearing, arguable better looking, but very cold I imagine.... what are the pro's/con's?

Cheers,

Suman

stinka · 16 Dec 2007 at 00:26

Mark A said:
Thats what it showed to do in the instruction leaflet, plus i think it looks better like that .

im a joiner

it makes **** all difference it looks a bit more uniform like in the photo its all on personal taste

i try and randomise the joints if possible but only on every 4 or 5th row

top job TBH matey

sunama · 16 Dec 2007 at 00:35

Sumanji said:
Random thread hijack (again!) - I live on a first floor flat and was tempted by laminate, but I also really like the idea of tiles. Harder wearing, arguable better looking, but very cold I imagine.... what are the pro's/con's?

Cheers,

Suman

I would check your lease to see if you are permitted to have hard floors. The last thing you want is to install the wooden floor, the neighbours downstairs hear it, make a complaint, you stand your ground, then they take you to court on the basis that you are in breach of the terms of lease.

Cement impregnated floorboards shouldnt suffer from the impact noise problem, though.

sunama · 16 Dec 2007 at 00:37

Mark A said:

Hang on. The original floorboards - they aren't oak are they?

Mark A · 16 Dec 2007 at 02:04

stinka said:
im a joiner

it makes **** all difference it looks a bit more uniform like in the photo its all on personal taste

i try and randomise the joints if possible but only on every 4 or 5th row

top job TBH matey

Thanks mate, i was getting a bit worried then. I checked the instructions again and it showed them like i have done it and also checked the pic on the front of the pack and its the same as this. I might just leave the screws unfilled when i put the skirts back for a month or so. Then i can remove them easily if anything happens.

Hang on. The original floorboards - they aren't oak are they?

No, believe me if they were oak i would have sanded them and varnished them like the OP has done. There pine but there not in good enough condition to sand and varnish really.

That TV cabinet is oak though, i made that when i was at college.

Whoops, just realized this isn't my thread :eek:

, sorry AmDaMan.

singist · 16 Dec 2007 at 09:50

For you guys/gals in flats who are thinking of laminate .......... think of your downstairs neighbours!

sunama · 16 Dec 2007 at 09:59

singist said:
For you guys/gals in flats who are thinking of laminate .......... think of your downstairs neighbours!

Hehehe.

I'm gearing up to take the owners of the upstairs flat to court over a laminate floor. It will cost an arm and leg, but it needs to be done.

pendulum666 · 16 Dec 2007 at 10:13

Yeah that could get frustrating for neighbours downstairs laminate flooring. We got some and it was easy to do really. Took a day all in. Probably been said already but remember to leave the expansion gap round the edges.

Usel · 16 Dec 2007 at 10:13

Done the hallway last Christmas.

Don't worry about imperfections as they just add character. They look terrible before you stain but then they all blend in.

Also, ban all high heels from the room.

AmDaMan · 16 Dec 2007 at 23:15

some nice looking floors chaps well done!

got a question though, The walls are white and i've just stained the floors in 'medium oak' to me this looked a bit dark and not that sure it goes with the white walls.

Thinking of having a black 'L' sofa in to contrast with the white, but how should I even it out with the floor? Thinking of doing it with either some black coloured blinds or some wooden blinds. What do you guys think?

Mark A · 17 Dec 2007 at 00:27

I think dark stained wood looks great against white walls. Have you got a pic of it now?.

If you mean horizontal blinds then the wooden ones look far better than the flimsy plastic / metal coloured ones IMO. I'd imagine you can get stained black wooden ones, i think they would look good. Black sofa sounds good :cool:

, thats what id have when i get my own place.

Deadly Ferret · 17 Dec 2007 at 02:47

AmDaMan said:
Just have to go over it again with a finer grade now and it should be ok for staining! Got a medium oak Ronseal stain.

Should I have painted the skirting before starting this btw? :/

Don't use a very fine grade, as for the stain to take well you need a certain minimum of roughness.

Should always tackle the floor as the very last thing in a room so yes, skirting should have been painted first. Then it would be masked to protect it from the stain and varnish.

Right, something basic which nobody appears to have told you is that you can't just stain a floor and leave it unvarnished. It would look alright in the beginning, but it's essentially unprotected against wear & tear. You know how varnish gets worn away over the years? Well that's its job. Now imagine if it wasn't there...the floorboards would be taking the damage. Another reason is that marks & stains will be harder to shift from a naked stained floor than a varnished one. One leisurely pass with a mop is sufficient to remove almost anything from a varnished floor.

Two coats of stain, for a rich and colourful finish. Then two coats of polyurethane varnish to protect it for years. Try to minimise the traffic in there in between coats, and ideally each coat should go on straight after the last has dried completely. These measures will greatly reduce the dust, debris and hairs that get into the room and end up being sealed in.