Nail Down Laminate Flooring

With this method the nails are nearly invisible after installation.

Nail down laminate flooring. For certain types of flooring materials there are three common methods of installation. Approximately 70 of tongue and groove floors are nailed down using the blind nailing nail down method which hides the nail holes. If you nail down or glue down laminate flooring to the sub floor you will disrupt its natural process of expansion and contraction.

Since laminate flooring is a floating floor it is not meant to be attached to the subfloor by nails or glue. The floor needs to be able to expand and contract with temperature changes and therefore must freely lay on the underlayment or subfloor. In most cases i apply heat with my heat gun to insure the seams bond well and roll each seam well with a heavy roller.

While this method is economical one potential downside is that the nails can loosen due to seasonal expansion and contraction over the years which can result in a squeaky floor. 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. I can t imagine being able to blind nail 45 degrees into the groove on a laminate.

Fixing it to the sub floor will eventually lead it to accumulate damages and it will not last as long as it should be. The process involves nailing the flooring directly to a wood subfloor. Not only will the nails become exposed but the laminate will likely begin to chip around the nail holes.

Nailing screwing or gluing it down will also void the warranty of the product. Yes nail to wall and research the seam cement that the company that makes the flooring may have. Nailing the laminate flooring down would also leave marks on the flooring that would be very unappealing to the eyes.

Why you shouldn t nail.