[Boomer]

Good Morning, GMONEY,

Mr. Boomer has installed several rooms of laminate for our daughter. At our house he installed prefinished hardwood, 5" planks, tongue and groove, throughout our entire house, except for the bathrooms and laundry.

He likes doing that and, besides, he got to buy a whole bunch of power tools for that hardwood job, here at the house, 5 years ago. And he used a lot of those tools when he installed the laminate at Boomette's house. Not the pneumatic nailer though because laminate is not nailed or even glued. It floats. It clicks into place. Kind of fun to do and easy.

Laminate, hardwood, whatever, the key is the subfloor and the installation.

The subfloor must be sound and level. The floor you are talking about that pushed up at the edges -- That could be a problem with the subfloor or it could be that no room was left for expansion. Temperature and humidity changes can play havoc with an installation of hardwood or laminate if room for expansion is not left along the walls. Usually it is about 1/2 inch (the manufacturer should specify). The gap is then covered with a toe strip of quarter round at the bottom of the baseboard.

The underlayment is also important. It is a vapor barrier, deadens sound, and provides a cushion.

Well, G, that's probably more than you ever wanted to know about the installation of laminate floors and I had better get to work. Laminate floors are easy care floors and durable. Good luck.

(btw Mr. Boomer is not a professional installer.)

Boomer