Laying Laminate Floors Down Hallways
- 1). Position the underlayment, which is usually a polyethylene foam barrier that you will cut to fit between walls, and tape in place. With some types of laminate, the underlayment is attached to the bottom of the panels, eliminating the need to install additional underlayment.
- 2). Start in the main room if the laminate will run from the room into the hallway. For a smooth flooring transition, begin laying the panels against the longest wall that’s parallel to the direction the hallway runs.
- 3). Install the laminate flooring panels from side to side in the main room, cutting off the excess panel at the end of the wall and using it to start the new row of panels until you reach the hallway.
- 4). Extend the first whole flooring panel into the hallway. Since it’s unlikely that the edge of a panel will fit exactly with the edge of the hallway, you’ll have a gap of bare floor along the wall behind the first panel.
- 5). Measure the distance between the edge of the first panel and the hallway wall, and make a mark on the floor at the outside edge of the panel. Measure the same distance at the end of the hallway and make another mark. Pop a chalk line between the two marks. This is the guideline for your first laminate row.
- 6). Install the laminate panels down the hallway, with the back edge along the guideline, using an installation block and a rubber mallet to tap the panels gently together. Cut the last panel to fit, and carry the cut off piece into the main room to start the next row of laminate.
- 7). Continue to install long rows until you’ve install the last full flooring panel that will fit in the hallway without cutting. Now, you can continue to install the rest of the main room flooring and come back to fit in the side strips in the hallway.
- 8). Measure and cut the smaller edge panels lengthwise with a circular saw or a table saw. Measure each panel individually for a professional fit, allowing for a 1/4-inch gap along both walls.
- 9). Press and work the narrow side panels into the tongue-and-groove edges of the whole panels.
