Ultimate Tool for installing laminate flooring

Posted in Home and Yard on by Jerry

[Edit: I've had lots of searches for what to use to cut laminate flooring, try a 10tpi jigsaw blade, turn the board upside down, and use a T-Square to guide the saw while you cut.  Check out this Popular Mechanics article for more info.  Now, on with the show... ] 

I have been planning to install laminate flooring in all the bedrooms of my house for quite some time.  There were only a few requirements… The laminate must match the office and hall/stair way, and it must be simple to install, and inexpensive.

[ Edit:  A Photo Gallery is available for this post ]

A little research led me to The Floor Zone (in Sacramento) where I got my flooring for under $3 per square foot.  I also opted for the upgraded acoustic padding (because I hate that hollow “thunk-thunk” sound when you walk.)  The flooring happened to be the same manufacturer and model as the flooring that was already installed (although the planks wouldn’t lock together, and the lot numbers were different, the style and color matched perfectly.)

So, matching and inexpensive were taken care of, what about easy?  I get Popular Mechanics, and last month, there was an article about installing laminate flooring which mentioned something called the Ultimate Tool.

I compared the price for similar tools (most components sold separately or not easily available to fools like me) and decided that the $199 for the Ultimate Tool was too good to be true!

I bought it.

You can check out my personal gallery for pictures of the install work in progress, and the tool in action.  The tool was so simple to use, that my 12 year old son was able to install nearly half the floor on his own!

The Ultimate Tool comes with very nice printed instructions with photos of the tools in use.  With these directions (in plain English) paired with the article in Popular Mechanics and the materials purchased from The Floor Zone, I was ready to rock-n-roll.

The weekend prior to the work (while I was waiting on my Ultimate Tool to arrive) I removed the base board (later to be replaced with better quality stuff) and removed the tack stripping from around the edge of the carpet.  I also used low-expansion foam (~$20 from Home Depot) to seal around the base of the room.  A week of curing would be fine for the foam (24 hours minimum.)

On the day I started, the carpet came up with the use of a sharp work knife (yep, it wouldn’t be a project unless I suffered at least one injury… sliced my finger; a little Neosporin and a Band Aid (Wal-Mart, ~$5) and I was back in action.)  Out the window went the carpet, and padding.

I used a putty knife and my hammer to slice the extra low expansion foam from the base, and to scrape up any rough spots on the floor (left over texture and crud from the carpet padding.)

Sweep, vacuum, sweep and vacuum the floor again; if not for your padding and flooring, then for your knees and arms, it sucks to bend down and land on some grit while installing the acoustic padding!

Installing the blue acoustic padding (see the aforementioned gallery) perpendicular to the direction the planks were going to run was simple; roll it out, and cut it to shape around walls.  It wasn’t until later that I noticed that the padding came with built in double sided tape (I used masking tape, as instructed in the article ~$12, Home Depot.)

Please note that I was attempting to match the laminate to the already installed hallway, the boards were running left to right as you walk in the bedroom door due to this fact.

The planks went down according to the instructions in both the article and the printed directions that came with the Ultimate Tool.  1/2 inch spacers were used against the wall (they came with the Ultimate Tool.)  The tap blocks were simple to use, and a few light smacks across the full length of the planks and click! They were locked in place.  Be careful not to strike overly hard or the wood can buckle a little, causing a slight puckering effect that will be difficult, if not impossible, to get rid of later.

The end planks were too long, so had to be cut down; I used a jigsaw with a 10tpi blade, and a square to align the cut.  All cuts were performed with the plank upside down.  Don’t forget to vacuum up the resulting wood dust!  The remainder of the plank was used (with the exception of very small portions) to begin the next row, this was to ensure the planks didn’t align and cause weakness or a noticeable pattern in the floor.  If the remenant was less than five inches, I disposed of it and started with a full plank for the next row.

Thresholds were cut to size and placed down with nails and Gorilla Glue (~$10, Home Depot) Be careful if you use this method, as Gorilla Glue expands, and you can be left with froth around your threshold.  Use sparingly, but use enough to ensure contact between the sub-floor and the threshold material.

The whole floor installation portion of the project took about five hours — not including all the prep-work, baseboards, painting, etc.

If you are going to be doing a flooring project (I have two more bedrooms to do now!) I highly recommend the Ultimate Tool.  The tools are light weight, extremely durable, and very simple to use.

Thanks to Peter Gargano, the designer of the Ultimate Tool for a simple to use and well documented tool kit.  Also, thanks Pete for ensuring I received the tool in time to complete my project!

I’d also like to thank Joseph Truini for his excellent article on how to install laminate flooring.  You can also download his article in PDF Format (from the PM website.)

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