I’ve put laminate down on two separate floors. It’s a nice alternative to oak, but personally I like the oak better.
The first time I installed laminate it was a challenge because first it was my first time and second because the area that we were putting it in wasn’t completely level and we didn’t notice until half way through when we were having problems getting the boards to snap together. Another thing that we over looked was thoroughly inspecting each board before it goes down. We looked them over, but not good enough, there were still some chips on the boards that got past us. Also when you tap them together, don’t tap real hard or you will chip the two ends together. Another suggestion is to be sure that you have a good mat underneath. Again the first time I did it I opted for the inexpensive one and it made the floor sound much more hollower then it should had been, especially since it was going over concrete.
The second time we out laminate down it was much easier and came out a lot better then the first time. The laminate still had that hollow feeling when you walked on it though. The 2 different laminates that we put down both are much louder when you walk/roll a chair on too, so I’m not sure if that makes a difference to you or not. One of the other things I don’t like about the laminate is that it expands on contracts so you could have it nice and tight when you install it, but when it contracts you could have some air gaps in your flooring later on. I think the trick is to only install the wood when it is already contracted, so that when it expands it does so under the baseboards where you won’t notice it.
I will tell you that both times putting the laminate down wasn’t nearly as bad as redoing all the baseboards.
Post some pics when you are done and let us know how it turned out. Good luck.
