The lion’s share of the material is wood and it must first acclimatise. To that end, prior to installation, unopened laminate packs must be stored for approximately 48 hours in the room where they are to be laid later.
Your subfloor must be dry, clean, even and firm before it is “installation ready”. Many MEISTER laminate floors are already fitted with a sound-absorbing cushion, which you will recognise by the ‘S’ for ‘silence’ in the product name. These models do not require any additional sound-absorbing cushions. If your subfloor contains mineral substances, however, you will require a thin plastic film to use as a vapour seal to prevent any rising damp. Should you opt for flooring without a built-in sound-absorbing cushion, use a MEISTER-approved underlayer on your laminate flooring. [link] Additionally, a high-quality sound cushioning underlay can be used to offset minor uneven patches and optimise your floor’s sound absorption.
Think ‘renovation’: don’t hesitate to install laminate flooring on other floor types too (e.g. tiles, PVC, plank wooden flooring). The most important thing is that the floor is even and does not show any signs of imperfections. We recommend you don’t combine this flooring with carpet - for hygiene and stability reasons, you should remove your carpet prior to installing laminate.
To cut the planks to the correct length, you can either use a keyhole or electric saw or you can borrow a convenient laminate cutter from a hardware store.
Start by laying the first complete laminate plank in the left-hand corner of the room with the tongue sides facing the wall. Using wedges, you can easily keep a gap of at least 10mm or 1.5mm per metre from the wall (Fig. 1). Remove only the tongues on the long sides of all the other planks you want to lay in the first row.
Insert the head end of the next complete laminate flooring panel into plank no. 1 (Fig. 2).
Check that the planks in the first row are straight. Select a tool to shorten the first plank of the second row down to approx. 80cm.
Fix the shortened plank upright with the tongue as far as possible into the groove on the groove side of the previous row of planks and press the plank down slowly, using a forward and downward turning motion (Fig. 4). The plank should lock into the last row installed (Fig. 5). Similarly, the next complete plank is turned into the click connection on the long side and the head end pushed tight against the previous plank before it is lowered. Then press the plank down slowly, using a forward and downward turning motion (Fig. 6). The plank must lock into the row previously laid and the end joint must fit tightly into the previous plank.
Install the rest of the laminate planks row by row in this way. Our tip: Remember that the end grooves must be offset by at least 40cm to ensure optimum stability for the overall area.
To cut the last laminate row to size, use a spare piece of plank and draw the remaining plank width on it (leaving at least a gap of 10mm or 1.5mm per metre to the wall).
Taking the plank marked for width, push the plastic end tongue forward out of the end groove with the aid of a spare piece of plank (Fig. 8). Begin cutting the plank to size at the end of the plastic tongue (Fig. 9). After the plank has been cut to size, push the plastic tongue on the end back into the end groove (Fig. 10).
Begin laying the last row in the right-hand corner of the room (leaving at least a gap of 10mm or 1.5mm per metre to the wall) and angle the sides of the plank into the second-last row. The next plank is pivoted in the same way and lowered down at the end (Fig. 11). Push the plastic tongue which is pointing out towards the wall (Fig. 12) back into the end connection using a tension rod, scraper, screw driver or similar (Fig. 13).
To cut the planks to the correct length, you can either use a keyhole or electric saw or you can borrow a convenient laminate cutter from a hardware store.
Saw the tongues off the first plank, both on the short and the long side. Start by laying the first complete laminate plank in the left-hand corner of the room with the tongue sides facing the wall. Using wedges, you can easily keep a gap of at least 10mm or 1.5mm per metre from the wall.
Join the next complete plank to the head end of plank 1 using a tapping block (or a tension rod) and a hammer. Lay each of the other planks in this row in the same way across the entire width of the room. Cut the last plank in each row so that you leave a gap of at least 10 mm to the wall.
Check that the planks in the first row are straight. Select a tool to shorten the first plank of the second row down to approx. 80cm. To install the second row, insert the long tongue into the groove of the first row of planks (Fig. B, 1). By moving the plank slightly up and down, angle it completely into the laid row of planks (Fig. B, 2). Again, angle the next complete plank of the second row first on its long edge against the last plank laid in the first row. Always make sure the long joint is tight. Once you have angled in the planks (Fig. C, 1 and 2) such that they lie flat on the subfloor, click the head ends together using the tapping block and light taps with the hammer (Fig. C, 3).
Install the rest of the laminate planks row by row in this way. Our tip: Remember that the end grooves must be offset by at least 40cm to ensure optimum stability for the overall area.
To cut the last laminate row to size, use a spare piece of plank and draw the remaining plank width on it (leaving at least a gap of 10mm or 1.5mm per metre to the wall).
Whether a new build or an extension: Hot water underfloor heating systems are becoming more and more popular because underfloor heating is a particularly cosy form of heating and radiators, which are not very appealing to the eye, are no more. Just like our parquet flooring, MEISTER laminate flooring is perfect for installing over a regulated hot water underfloor heating system. MEISTER laminate flooring has - particularly when combined with suitable underlay material – a very low thermal resistance. That is important such that as much heat as possible can enter the room easily.
What tips are important to consider when laying underfloor heating? The screed must be completely dry and the residual moisture content of cement screed and anhydrite screed must not exceed 1.8% and 0.3% respectively. The laying process is the exact same as installations without underfloor heating. Ensure that the humidity ranges between 35 and 65%. After MEISTER parquet flooring has been installed, the maximum surface temperature of 29°C may not be exceeded.
All of the premium laminate flooring available at MEISTER are suitable for floating bathroom floors as they are fitted with an AquaSafe system. Yet care must be taken to ensure that no humidity gets under the flooring. Ultimately, laminate flooring is mainly made from wood. You should therefore ensure the following when laying laminate flooring in your bathroom:
Wall ends and edge areas should preferably be fitted with suitable end, transition or joining profiles made of aluminium. To ensure the necessary seal against liquids, a pre-compressed PE sealing tape without plasticisers can be attached, for example. This tape is glued under the cover profile. Once this has been screwed to the base profile, the result is a sealed finish with the flooring. The bottom profile must be glued to the adhesive and sealing tape of the respective sound-absorbing cushion. Joints between the profile and the wall must
be sealed water-impermeably using a permanently flexible sealing compound (plasticiser-free silicone). This also applies to the wall and edge areas where none of the aluminium profiles above can be used. In such areas, a PE joint filler cord (plasticiser-free) must be used to finish off. These expansion joints must also be sealed with
sealing compound to prevent humidity penetration.
Should you have any further questions, we would recommend you read the manufacturer’s detailed instructions that are enclosed with each packet. You will find here all the key information required for laying laminate flooring.
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