Laminate flooring is one of the most DIY-friendly floors you can lay. It clicks together without glue or nails and floats over the top of most existing floors, so with the right prep and a free weekend, it's well within reach. Here's the full process.
Tools and materials you'll need
- Your laminate planks (with 5–10% extra for offcuts)
- Underlay — bought separately, sized to your floor area
- A tape measure, pencil and set square
- A handsaw, jigsaw or laminate cutter
- Spacers for the expansion gap
- A tapping block, pull bar and rubber mallet
- Your scotia, skirting and transition strips for the finish
Step 1: Prepare the subfloor
This is the most important step by a mile. The number one cause of a laminate floor going wrong is an uneven base — if it isn't flat, the planks won't click together cleanly. Make sure your subfloor is clean, dry and level. Sweep and vacuum thoroughly, fill any low spots and grind back high ones. Laminate is a floating floor, so it can usually go over existing hard floors as long as they're sound and level.
Step 2: Acclimatise the boards
Leave the unopened boxes flat in the room where they'll be laid for 48 hours before you start. This lets the planks settle to the room's temperature and humidity so they're stable once down.
Step 3: Lay the underlay
Roll out your underlay across the subfloor with the seams butted together (not overlapped) and taped. Over concrete, make sure you have a moisture barrier. This layer protects the board from moisture and quietens the floor — don't skip it.
Step 4: Plan your layout and expansion gaps
Dry-lay a row or two to plan your runs — planks usually run along the longest wall or towards the main light. Crucially, leave an expansion gap of around 8–10mm around the entire perimeter and anywhere the floor meets a fixed object. Laminate expands and contracts slightly with temperature, and that gap gives it room to move. Skip it and the floor has nowhere to go, which is exactly where buckling comes from. Spacers keep the gap consistent.
Step 5: Lay the first row
Start in a corner and work left to right, tongue side to the wall, with spacers between the planks and the wall. Click each plank into the end of the last along the row. Take your time getting this row dead straight — every row follows it.
Step 6: Click the planks together
For each new row, angle the plank into the long edge of the previous row and press down so it clicks home, then slide it to click into the end of the last plank. Stagger the joints between rows by at least 200–300mm so the seams don't line up — it's stronger and looks better. A tapping block and a gentle tap close any joints that don't sit flush.
Step 7: Cut and fit around obstacles
For straight cuts, measure and cut with a saw or laminate cutter. For doorframes and pipes, make a cardboard template, trace it onto the plank and cut with a jigsaw. Allow for the expansion gap on cut pieces too.
Step 8: Lay the final row and finish
The last row usually needs cutting down to width — measure the gap (minus the expansion gap), mark and cut lengthways, and use a pull bar to draw it tight where there's no room to swing a mallet. Then remove the spacers and fit your scotia or skirting to cover the expansion gap, and add transition strips in doorways. That's the step that turns a field of planks into a finished floor.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Skipping subfloor prep — if you get one thing right, make it this.
- Forgetting the expansion gap — the most common cause of a floor that lifts later.
- Laying without underlay — you'll get a louder, less protected floor.
- Lining up the joints — stagger them for strength and looks.
Clicking the boards together is the easy part — nearly all the real work is in the prep, so get the floor flat, dry and underlaid first and the rest falls into place.
Keep reading
See the colours in your own home before you buy — order free samples — or browse the full laminate flooring range.
