Laminate Installation 101: Preventing Gapping and Buckling in Puget Sound Homes

Laminate flooring is a fantastic, durable choice for Bellevue homes, but its success depends entirely on the first 48 hours of its life in your house. Because the Puget Sound region experiences frequent shifts in humidity, laminate planks which are made of high-density wood fibers will naturally expand and contract. At Carpet To Go, we emphasize the technical “must-dos” of installation to ensure your floor stays flat, tight, and beautiful for years to come.

The Critical Step of Acclimation

One of the most common mistakes DIYers make is installing laminate immediately after purchase. To prevent future buckling, the planks must “acclimate” to your home’s specific temperature and humidity.

The 48-Hour Rule

We recommend stacking your unopened laminate boxes in the room where they will be installed for at least 48 hours. This allows the internal HDF core to stabilize. If you skip this, and your home is more humid than the warehouse, the boards will expand after installation, leading to “peaking” at the seams where the boards have nowhere to go but up.

Giving Your Floor Room to Breathe

Because the laminate floor is a “floating floor,” it is not attached to the subfloor. It needs a small amount of space to shift as the seasons change.

Perimeter Precision

A precise expansion gap of approximately 1/4 to 3/8 of an inch must be left around the entire perimeter of the room, including around pipes and door frames. This gap is later hidden by baseboards or quarter-round molding. Without this gap, even a minor increase in Bellevue’s humidity can cause the floor to press against the wall, resulting in dramatic buckling or structural failure of the locking system.

Protecting Your Laminate Floors

At Carpet To Go, we don’t just provide the materials; we provide the knowledge to ensure your installation is a long-term success. We will follow through with impeccable thoroughness to make sure you are happy with the finished product. Contact us or visit us at our showroom location in Bellevue, WA. Check out our ratings on Angie’s List, Yelp and Google and see our great ratings for quality, price, and service. We suit our customer’s needs with quality flooring packages at affordable, competitive prices.