Flooring – Are there any special considerations for installing laminate on a 2nd floor

Pick up a kit like this from your local hardware store, it will include every thing you need.

Make sure you measure the room and make sure the last row is not going to be a tiny sliver, it is better to start with a thinner first row than get to the end and realize you are going to have a really thin last row.

Also be very careful when tapping the boards together, if you go to far you will chip/crush the board you are butting up to. When tapping the boards together be careful not to let the tapping block slip up, because that too will chip the plank.

Oh and don't forget to remove any baseboards before you start, and then measure again without the base boards.

When buying the underlay material make sure you get some that is made for concrete, you don't want moisture wicking up through the concrete into your new floor.

It's also a good idea to pick up an extra box or two of flooring, it could save you a trip to the store in the middle of the project if you underestimated or damage some of the planks during install. You can always return any unopened boxes when your done.

A miter saw is also very handy.

EDIT:

Be careful when tapping the planks into place, if you don't have weight on the floor or you are not using spacers the whole floor could shift and become crooked (I learned this the hard way). I was about halfway across the room when I realized the planks that I had previously installed were shifted, if I hadn't caught it I would have ended up with a very crooked floor.

There are 3 potential moisture issues:

• standing water leaking in via the wall/footer
• moisture migrating through the slab
• high humidity

You need to first figure out which of those 3 is happening.

If the water is leaking in, that's an issue of gutters, grading, draining, etc. That needs to be fixed on the outside, first.

If moisture is migrating through the slab, then you may have a high water table. If that's the case, I wouldn't bother finishing the basement. If it's just a bit of moisture, you could get by with putting down plastic underneath the laminate flooring.

If it's high humidity, then this might be the gap issue. Engineered floors shouldn't expand/contract as much as real wood, but they still need plenty of space around the edge of the room to expand. Check for that. Otherwise, get yourself a quality dehumidifier and have it run 24/7.