New Articles

One of the ways we find out what people are interested in is to look at figures that tell us how many people read this page, or watched this video vs. some other page or video. One of our earliest surprises was to see how a video on Laminate Flooring Problems just took off. Clearly a hot topic. In the interest of that, today I posted the first of four articles covering issues that can occur from the delivery of your floor to living on it. They're there to help you with detection, troubleshooting, resolution - whatever you would need if you have a concern, but mainly they're for prevention. That's why they're in the order they're in, so you can do what you need at each stage.

These are going to be in our Learning Center, a growing encyclopedia, if you will, of easily referenceable information on floors. I always try to not leave things out - you're there and I'm here, so how can I know what you don't need to know? As a result, I'll be describing some issues we've actually never seen ourselves, nor have we heard about them from our customers. We're happy about that, of course, but it does mean that there are things I can't illustrate as well as I'd like. In the end, if you're not having the issue anyway, then I'm not leaving you in the lurch.

These are in the Laminate section, and the first piece is called Preventing & Troubleshooting Problems 1: Arrival and Inspection

Coming up each week for the next three will be:

Preventing & Troubleshooting Problems 2: Preparation Before Installation Preventing & Troubleshooting Problems 3: During Installation Preventing & Troubleshooting Problems 4: After Installation

Surprisingly, the last one is not just a re-hash of our piece on Laminate Care & Maintenance, which mostly covers daily and general cleaning.

I'll update those links as the articles post, and of course, each will eventually link to the others.

Videos

Drop & Lock Tips

The next set of three videos is on laminates that install using the Drop & Lock method, one of the three main installation types. The first is mainly a demonstration of the method, but in it our guy Brian covers two big mistakes that can be made. I've got the times listed below if you want to scroll ahead.

1:37 - Common mistake #1 - Boards facing the wrong direction 

5:35 - Common mistake #2 - connecting end joints before long sides

This one focuses on a special product where the planks are at variable widths, roughly 3", 5" & 7" wide. Adam is showing how the whole system works, but he also covers some tips and issues, some of which apply generally to Drop & Lock floors. Time codes are below, near the scroll bar where you need them.

6:27 - Why do 2 rows at a time to start out? 

8:48 - Tips for your Installation 

9:47 - Possible Problems During Installation

The last one isn't a 'problem' unless you're not expecting this feature. It's called the 'G5 Locking Mechanism' and it's actually a real benefit, making Drop & Lock even easier to install than it already is, but it helps to know about it. Jeff covers it in 1 minute and 47 seconds.

Angle to Angle Tips

Next are three videos on solving issues with Angle To Angle installations. This first one is about the whole process, but pretty tip oriented throughout. Specific issues' time codes are below again.

1:32 - Moving your first rows out (and why!) 

2:15 - The current row staying "up" a bit... 

3:00 - Connecting longways after the ends are already together 

3:22 - Keeping planks from unlocking as you go

Here's another, featuring a specific product one customer was worried about. It has a lot of tips, so we don't know which was at issue, but this video seemed to cover it.

0:12 - Why Tongues need to face the walls 

0:54 - Why to smooth your end joints as you go 

1:20 - Why to pull first rows away from the wall 

2:09 - Starting the 2nd row & planks will hover for a while 

3:19 - Why earlier planks loosen as we install 

3:48 - Rocking down the new row 

4:08 - the 'pop' and fully locking the planks (4:36 - good close-up) 

5:07 - WHY the planks hover

This next one illustrates why your specific instructions can be so necessary. The particular laminate only locks when the planks are connected at a certain angle, which is not the case with many others, at least not so specifically. Any general installation video would leave this step out. After posting this, the customer called back almost immediately, suddenly able to easily install their flooring. Details matter. Check this one out.

0:31 - The angle needed to lock 

0:50 - Fully engaging the locking mechanism 

1:15 - Locking test 2:04 - More on the angle (close-up shots too!) 

2:58 - A wrong way to lock these

Other Tips

Some laminates can be installed using a Tapping Block. It can help or, used incorrectly, do damage. In this video Adam shows us the right from the wrong way to employ it. Just over 3 minutes.

Finally, a question of room length. How far in one direction can laminate flooring go before we have to stop, start fresh and cover the division with a T-Mold?

– – – –
David has written and made videos about flooring products and installation since 2011 at Floors To Your Home (.com), where he is also the PPC Manager, a Researcher, a Website & Marketing Strategy Team member, Videographer, Social Strategist, Photographer and all around Resource Jito. In my spare time I shoot and edit video, put together a podcast, explore film history, and mix music (as in ‘play with Beatles multi-tracks’). Connect with  W. David Lichty

Follow Team Floors To Your Home on  Facebook