Lay it with the adhesive strip right up against your wall/baseboards. We learned very quickly that you should lay the side with the adhesive strip down first. Step 2: If you are laying your laminate flooring on top of tile/concrete like us, you will need to put down a vapor barrier – this is the vapor barrier we used and I definitely recommend it.
Before you begin the installation, make sure your floors are clean! Our baseboards were original to the house and very sad looking, so out they came. Larger baseboards will more easily cover that 3/4″. And if you are laying on tile/concrete like us and need that vapor barrier, it will ultimately be easier if you just install new baseboards because that vapor barrier has to rest at least 3/4″ up the walls to ensure a moisture tight seal. You do need to leave a 3/8″ gap between the flooring and your walls for expansion and contraction of the floors, so you will inevitably have to install some kind of molding at the end.
If you love your baseboards or would rather not have to redo them after, you can always just add shoe molding or quarter round at the end. And move all your furniture out of the way (we put ours in the garage).Īlso, if you hate your baseboards, now is the time to change them, so rip those out and clean everything up. Step 1: Make sure you move all your flooring into your home for at least 48 hours prior to install so they properly acclimate.