Installing or “laying” laminate flooring is an easy and relatively inexpensive way to improve the beauty and value your home. If you already have your flooring you can skip this next part.

To determine how many boxes of planks and how much underlayment pad you will need to buy you’ll need to know the square footage of the area to be covered. To get this figure simply measure the area cross ways and length wise and multiply the two numbers. To be safe it’s best to buy a little more of each than you think you’re going to need.

It doesn’t matter wether you get your flooring from Shaw, Wilsonart, Mohawk, Amtico or any other manufacturer they will have directions for installation either on or inside the box: but here are a few tips that will help.

To start laying your new floor the first thing you need to do is remove all the furniture and vacuum the floor. Next remove the baseboards. If you are careful you’ll be able to reuse them.

If you are going to be installing through any doorways pull the hinge pins and remove the doors. Then use a coping saw to trim off the bottom of the jambs just enough for the planks and pad to fit under.

Now put down the underlayment and I would suggest that you go ahead and spring for the best. Connect the pieces together with wide tape.

Laminate flooring is a floating floor so you want to leave about a quarter of an inch free space around the edges of the room, use spacers along the wall that you are starting on. Remove these once the floor is down and before installing the baseboards.

Now lay out your new floor. Most laminate planks simply snap together with a tonge and grove action. You can use a rubber mallet to keep things tight.

If you are going through doorways you may need to trim the planks to get them in place. If you do this use a little wood glue to keep them secure.

When you are done all that’s left is to put up the baseboards. If you cut anything too short and there is space showing between the baseboard and floor you can use a strip of quarter round to cover this. Just use it around the entire room, it actually gives a nice look.

With proper care your new laminate floor should look great for many years to come and you will have the satisfaction of installing your new laminate floor and a job well done.

Trafficmaster laminate flooring is made by Shaw Industries for distribution through The Home Depot. It is a low priced laminate flooring option that is best suited for do-it yourselfers who are looking for residential flooring. Although it would work work well for very light commercial use as well.

This flooring is easy to install and easy to clean. It can be installed without the use of glues or other adhesives on the tongue and groove panels. The top layer is coated with melamine resins and comes with a 25 year limited warranty that protects against staining, fading and surface wear.

Trafficmaster laminate flooring is ideal for installation in basements because it is made with a very durable high density fiberboard core that is designed to resist moisture and most impacts. It used to only come in Honey Oak and Classic Oak styles but now is availible in many finishes including Brisbane Eucalyptus,  Urban Walnut, Sumatra Teak and Ginger Oak. Customers have been extremely pleased with the durability, ease of installation and look of the flooring. The  finish makes it almost indistinguishable from a real hard wood floor.

It can be installed on any type of sub floor and no padding is necessary for installation. It cannot be installed on top of carpet. Keeping Trafficmaster clean is easy too. Sweeping and vacuuming are virtually all that are needed. However, if there is a time when vacuuming does not work wiping your floor with a damp cloth will probably take care of any problems.

So if it is good quality, easy to install flooring you are looking for be sure to take a look at Trafficmaster laminate flooring from Shaw Industries.