Can You Nail Laminate Flooring Down

Seperating i just installed new 12 3mm laminate flooring planks they look great but while i was installing them and tapping them in i noticed that the planks i did 3 rows over started to seperate where the ends join to each other not the sides.

Can you nail laminate flooring down.

The process involves nailing the flooring directly to a wood subfloor. Can i nail down laminate floor ends. I can t imagine being able to blind nail 45 degrees into the groove on a laminate. Laminate floors aren t attached to the subfloor but subfloor preparation is as critical as it is when installing a nail or glue down floor.

Bumps and depressions can make laminate flooring boards. The main reason you don t want to nail down screw or even glue down your laminate flooring is because it s expanding. The nails are likely to loosen and protrude if they are nailed on top as i m sure they used finish nails. With this method the nails are nearly invisible after installation.

The proper way to install laminate flooring is to use the tongue and groove locking system to click planks together creating a smooth and seamless floating surface. Typically the flooring is blind nailed through the tongue a portion of the wood plank that protrudes from the board and fits into the groove of the adjacent board. If you nail down or glue down laminate flooring to the sub floor you will disrupt its natural process of expansion and contraction. This could be dangerous really.

It still can be difficult it really depends on how the layout of the room is. Nailing laminate planks down will cause damage that will not only make the floor useless but also void your warranty. The floor will expand more or less depending on the area that you live in depending on the humidity on your house etc that is why we leave that space of 3 8 inch between the wall and the boards for expansion. Is there anything else we should do.

How to float laminate flooring. Installing laminate flooring can be easy if you have the resources to learn from. Fixing it to the sub floor will eventually lead it to accumulate damages and it will not last as long as it should be.