Laminate Flooring Installation in Lawrenceville, GA

Before choosing a color, it helps to know what your new floor will sit on. Laminate flooring installation in Lawrenceville can go over a concrete slab, a plywood or OSB subfloor, or in some cases an existing hard floor, and each base needs different preparation. Precision Remodeling identifies the subfloor first, then plans the underlayment, layout and trim around it.

The house itself gives the first clue. A home built on a slab has concrete under the carpet or tile on the main level. A home over a crawlspace or basement has a wood subfloor, usually plywood or oriented strand board, resting on joists. Upper stories are almost always wood. When it is unclear, lifting a corner of carpet inside a closet or looking into a floor register opening usually settles it.

Preparing a concrete slab

Concrete brings two concerns: moisture and flatness. Slabs can pass moisture vapor up from the ground, so laminate goes over a vapor barrier, either a polyethylene sheet with taped seams or an underlayment with a film built in. A moisture test before installation shows whether the slab is within the manufacturer’s limits. If a slab tests too damp for laminate, the LVP flooring options in Lawrenceville may suit it better, since vinyl plank does not swell the way a fiberboard core can.

Flatness on concrete is corrected by grinding down ridges and filling dips with a cement-based patch or self-leveling compound. Cracks where one side has shifted higher also need attention, because a floating floor will rock over a lip.

Preparing plywood or OSB

Wood subfloors have different problems. Panels that have worked loose squeak and move, so they are screwed down to the joists before anything else happens. OSB edges that once got wet can swell into ridges, which are sanded flat. Low spots between joists are filled with a patch made for wood subfloors.

A moisture meter matters here too. Wood that is damp from a crawlspace or an old leak should be dried, and the cause found, before laminate covers it. Over a dry wood subfloor, the underlayment is picked mainly for sound and comfort, and the product instructions say whether any vapor retarder is called for.

When the old floor can stay in place

Sometimes the base is an existing floor. A single layer of firmly attached sheet vinyl or flat ceramic tile can often remain under floating laminate if it is solid and the added height works at the doors. Carpet and pad always come out, and so do cushioned vinyl and loose tiles. Before agreeing to leave anything in place, we check jamb clearance at each door and the heights of the floors in neighboring rooms, because covering an old floor raises the new one.

Surface texture and baseboards

Once the base is settled, the visible choices follow. Surface texture ranges from smooth to deeply embossed, and textured planks disguise everyday scuffs and dust better than glossy ones. Look at samples on the floor of the actual room rather than only in a store, because window light changes how texture reads.

Baseboard treatment is the other selection. Pulling the baseboard and reinstalling it on top of the new floor gives a built-in look, while leaving it and adding shoe molding is quicker and avoids repainting. Either option has to cover the expansion gap the manufacturer specifies.

Layout, expansion gaps and the order of work

With the base ready, the crew lays out the rows. Planks generally run toward the main light source or along the longest wall, and the first row is sized so the last row does not finish as a thin strip. Spacers hold the expansion gap at every wall while the field is installed and staggered.

Doorways and transitions come last. Before calling the job done, the crew rechecks the areas that were flattened, looks at exterior doors where water could reach the planks, and confirms that trim covers the gap along every wall.

What the estimate covers

The written estimate should identify the subfloor type and the preparation included for it, whether that is grinding, patching, fastening or a vapor barrier. It should name the plank, underlayment and trim, state what is being removed and what stays, and explain how added work will be approved if the subfloor turns out to need more than expected. That way two bids can be compared on the same footing.

Permit contact for Lawrenceville homes

Lawrenceville sits in Gwinnett County. If your flooring project also involves structural, plumbing or electrical work, the City of Lawrenceville Planning & Development Department posts its building permit information and can tell you whether a permit applies.

Subfloor questions we hear

Is a vapor barrier needed over a wood subfloor?

It depends on the product and on what is below the subfloor. Over a dry wood subfloor above a heated room, many laminate makers call for a standard underlayment only. Over a crawlspace, some instructions ask for a vapor retarder, while others advise against plastic sheeting on wood. The specific installation guide decides it, because a barrier used where it is not intended can trap moisture in the wood.

Can laminate go over a slab with small cracks?

Hairline cracks that are flat and not moving are usually fine once a vapor barrier and underlayment cover them. Cracks where one side sits higher than the other, or that keep widening, need work first: the high edge is ground down or the gap is patched so the floor does not rock. A crack that lets water through is a separate problem to solve before any flooring goes down.

Why does OSB swell, and can it still be used under laminate?

OSB is made of wood strands pressed together with resin, and its edges can swell if they get wet during construction or from a later leak. Swollen edges create ridges that a floating floor will telegraph. If the panel is otherwise solid and dry, the ridges can be sanded flat. Panels that are soft, delaminating or still damp should be replaced before installation.

Talk to us about your subfloor

Not sure what is under your floor? Call Precision Remodeling at 404-409-4448 and tell us which rooms you want covered. We can visit, identify the subfloor, measure, and write a scope that includes the preparation it needs.