Laminate, Page 1

10 Things You Must Know Before Hiring A Laminate Flooring Installer

Installing your laminate floor is relatively simple compared to other flooring installations, but still requires skill, hard work, and patience. Your installer should have the specialized knowledge and the proper tools and equipment to complete your job expertly and on time.

Buying your flooring separately and contracting directly with a good installer is a very economical way of having a great new floor. You can save a lot of money doing it this way, but as always, be careful and take the precaution of getting your agreement in writing.

Independent installers often own small companies. They may work for a number of retailers and contractors. A good place to find an installer are home-improvement independent contract websites such as angi.com, thumbtack.com, and homeadvisor.com (help). Utilizing these resources provide you with customer ratings and other details that help you decide. Don't forget to schedule multiple estimate appointments to ensure you are making the best choice at the right price!

Once the installer is in your home, show him the area to be covered and go over this list. Your installer will appreciate this because he, like most people, wants to do the job right and end up with you as another satisfied customer. He will certainly have questions and suggestions of his own.

  1. First of all, he should use a tape measure, a rolling wheel, or a laser measure to determine the size of the flooring area you want to cover. He should deduct the appropriate amount of square footage for any cabinets in the room, and then add 10% (give or take) to the net square footage to cover cutting waste and discarding any boards that may have minor imperfections. He will usually then diagram the area on paper, making a drawing of your rooms with all the dimensions figured in.
  2. Next, show him a sample of the flooring you are considering. This will help him determine what transition strips, stair nosing, floor vents, quarter round, base board and other accessories you will need to purchase.
  3. It's also important to discuss underlayment with your installer. Decide if you will require a moisture barrier, or heat/cold insulation in addition to sound dampening.
  4. Discuss whether or not it will be necessary to remove the existing flooring before putting down your new one. This may be necessary to achieve a desirable height and condition for meeting a floor in an adjoining room.
  5. He will also check the height of adjoining floors, counter tops, cabinets, etc. to make certain that everything will fit properly after the new floor has been installed. It is essential to have all of your materials at the start of your job in order to get a neatly finished job done on time. We like to say that it is best to start the job right in order to finish it right.
  6. Ask him to confirm that the conditions of your home are suitable for the flooring you want to install. He may ask to remove a piece of existing floor or go into the basement or crawl space to check the condition of the basic floor.
  7. Ask for an itemization of any additional charges for flooring removal, repair of sub-floor, cutting of doors and other work related to the finished product.
  8. If you are living in the home, discuss where the sawing of boards will occur. Specify if you want him to seal off the rooms with plastic and identify who will be responsible for final clean up.
  9. Set aside a "slush fund" in your floor remodeling budget. If removing the existing flooring, your contractor may discover damaged or faulty subflooring that was not visible during the initial inspection and measure. It's a good idea to have a little extra money set aside for unexpected additional labor costs such as this.
  10. Get the proposal in writing and keep your copy of it in a safe place. It may be a good idea to download a copy of the installation instructions and make that part of your contract. If there is a problem along the way, it is always useful to go back to the written contract. Your contract should include, among other things, the number of square feet you'll need, and a list of any accessories to buy. It should also include his square foot cost of installation and a total dollar amount for the entire job.

Summary

We hope this has been a helpful information in choosing laminate installer.

For more information, feel free to contact us at 1-888-522-5456, email us at info@efloors.com or visit our live chat. You'll meet our experienced flooring specialists who will be happy to answer all your questions.

Efloors.com offers top-quality laminate flooring from several major manufacturers, including.

Because we want you to be a satisfied customer, we also have a lot of useful information to help you learn more about laminate floors: