As with all flooring installing a laminate floor can set the overall tone for a room.
Installing laminate flooring pattern.
If you place laminate flooring on a weak or uneven sub floor the new floor will be compromised and eventually buckle damage the laminate locking system creak or create micro gaps in the new floor.
Laying a laminate floor in a regular pattern decreases its ability to contract and expand as a whole unit and instead does so as single laminate boards often causing gaps or even lifting like a hinge.
Sub floors are typically concrete or cement and develop weaknesses over time.
Before choosing a specific pattern consider what overall statement you are trying to create in the room.
Flooring manufacturers always recommend putting down underlayment before laying the laminate.
They re moisture scratch and dent resistant and they re easy to install.
Lighter colors create a light and airy feeling in a room.
A laminate flooring stagger pattern is ideally random with spacing between end joints between 6 and 10 inches depending on the plank width.
A random pattern can be hard to achieve when all the planks are the same length but you can do it using offcuts from previous rows to start new rows.
A good example of an h joint can be seen in this image on the left.
Laminate comes in patterns that include stone tile and wood.
Notice how every second row of boards are uniform or regularly placed.
They re ideal for high traffic areas and households with lots of kids or pets and they can easily be installed over radiant heating systems.
How to lay laminate flooring in a herringbone pattern.