8 Steps & Items Needed To Lay Laminate Flooring Over Concrete And Transition To Carpet
The reducer molding makes the transition from laminate to carpeting very easy when you lay flooring on the concrete floor. The finished installation will give a professional look to your home floor. Here are the 8 easy steps and items needed to perform this work easily.
Items Needed
- Broom & Chisel
- Tape Measure & Underlayment Pad (If Applicable)
- Circular Saw & Laminate Flooring Glue
- Reducer Mold Transition Piece & Reducer Mold Track
- Hammer Drill & 1/4-Inch Wood Dowels
- 1 1/2-Inch Masonry Screws & Rubber Mallet
Steps
- Sweep: Firstly, sweep your concrete floor by using a broom to free all dirt & debris. Use a chisel to get rid of any bumps in your concrete floor & a steel file to level the space where you evacuated the bumps.
- Measure: Next you need to measure both the width as well as the length of your room with the help of a tape measure. 20 percent should be added to the measurements so you have more than an acceptable supply, here is an example, if your room is 10-by-20 feet, then you need enough laminate for a 12/24-foot room. If you are installing the laminate as the floating flooring, then you need enough underlayment padding to cover a 12/24-foot room.
- Lay Down: Next, start at the right corner of your room that is far away from your doorway. Lay down the underlayment by using the glue product made for underlayment’s. Leave a 3/8-inch enlargement gap from the perimeter of all walls, existing baseboards, doorway framing, and molding to accommodate development & recession of the flooring material.
- Cut: Now you need to cut your laminate boards with a circular saw according to measurements of your working area and also leave a 3/8-inch enlargement gap from the edge of your laminate boards to the edge of your walls. Once done, now apply glue to the back of your laminate boards, lay the boards 3/8 inch from your walls & work outward.
- Trim Boards: Trim your laminate boards which will border your carpeted floors so there is a 1-inch opening from the edge of the carpeting & the laminate boards. Now, install reducer molding track & reducer transition piece betwixt the laminate & the carpeting. This reducer molding will cover the 1-inch opening & the edges of the laminate boards & the carpeting. Now, trim away any underlayment material because the concrete shows in the 1-inch space for the conversion tracking.
- Cut The Track: Next, measure the length of your transition space so you can easily cut the track & reducer mold piece. Deduct 3/4 inch from your measurement so you can leave a 3/8-inch enlargement gap on the right & left ends. Cut your track according to your measurements. Now, lay the track in the conversion space on the concrete floor. Use a T-square to be sure that the track is in the consecutive position. Make marks inside the holes on your track with a pencil at 1-foot hiatus or close as much as possible.
- Drill Holes: Now, drill holes into your concrete floor with the help of a hammer drill at your marking points with a 1/4-inch masonry bit. Drill the holes about 1 1/2 inches deep. Insert 1/4-inch wooden dowels into the holes. You now need to use a hammer to tap the dowel into place. Break the top of the dowel with a chisel so it is flush with the top of your concrete floor.
- Place The Track: Finally place your track in the conversion place as this will line up the track with the dowel holes. Use one 1/2-inch masonry screws to screw the track into the dowel-covered holes. Center your T-mold piece above the track, lower & snap it into the track. Use a rubber mallet to tap on the piece so that it snaps in firmly to accomplish your laminate & carpet transition project.