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Cornerstone Wholesale Flooring Laminate

You've heard a lot about Laminate Flooring. Now what exactly is it?

Laminate flooring offers a wide selection of designs that
offer the look and feel of beautiful hardwood, ceramic tile,
and slate. It is actually a composite that's designed to
endure more-than-average wear and tear. A
direct-pressure manufacturing process fuses four layers
into one extremely hard surface. The four layers are:

back layer - the back is reinforced with melamine for structural stability and moisture resistance.
fiberboard core - Shaw Laminate's ultra dense core board provides impact resistance and stability. It
also features an edge sealing treatment that provides even further structural stability.
decorative layer - Providing the floor's beauty, the decorative layer is actually a highly detailed
photograph that gives the laminate the appearance of wood or tile.
wear layer - The melamine wear layer is a tough, clear finish reinforced with aluminum oxide, one of
the hardest mineral compounds known to man, to resist staining, fading, surface moisture, and wear.

The resulting floor is a technological breakthrough.
There's no staining, no fading, and no wear through. And Shaw's VersaLock glueless installation
makes installing your new floor easier than you ever thought possible.

Other noteworthy features:

Shaw Laminate flooring is incredibly durable and stain resistant. Such problem spills as nail polish,
grease, and mustard simply wipe off.
Patented tongue-and-groove locking technology eliminates unsightly gaps at the seams.
Ultra durable flooring planks can be taken apart and reassembled if necessary.
No waiting...you can walk on your floor immediately after installation is complete.

Do not install cabinets over laminate flooring. Laminate flooring should be installed up to the front of
the cabinets leaving a ¼ to ½ inch expansion space. Silicone sealant should be used to fill-in
expansion space in all possible wet areas such as icemakers, dishwashers and sink areas.

In the laundry room remember that rubber pads should be attached to the washer and dryer leveling
feet before these appliances are operated.

Always use transitions and silicone sealant at bathroom doorways to separate the bathroom flooring
from the remainder of the installation. Toilets must be removed before installing laminate flooring.
Leave a ¼ to ½ inch expansion gap around the toilet flange perimeter. After fitting of the flooring this
gap should be sealed with premium quality silicone sealant. Seal with silicone sealant the expansion
space around the room perimeter and all fixed obstacles such as cabinets, pipes, doorframes, sinks
and toilets. To avoid water penetration underneath the planks in any wet areas, you must seal with
silicone sealant the expansion space around the perimeter. (This will not affect the expansion of the
laminate flooring.)

If installing over concrete or a concrete floor covered by tiles, you must first lay down a 6-mil plastic
sheet vapor barrier. Always apply a small bead of silicone sealant between the bottoms of the trim
molding and the surface of the laminate flooring.

Do not install laminate flooring in rooms with a water drain located in the subfloor. For moisture
resistance warranty in any room, silicone sealant must be used as instructed in all of the above
instructions.

Installing Laminate Flooring In Wet Areas

Warning All the laminate floors must be allowed to acclimate to their final surroundings. Two or three
days is usually appropriate. Do not bring a floor home and install it. Allow the flooring to adjust to its
new environmental conditions before you start the installation.

Installing Laminate Flooring

1. Take off baseboards and moldings all around the room and remove any doors in the room.

2. Fasten down any loose or squeaking floorboards and use leveling compound to get rid of any dips
in the floor. If you have taken up carpet, make sure you remove any nails or tacks that might be left.

3. Install the underlay - it usually comes in 36" or 42" wide rolls - by rolling it out in rows butted against
each other (not overlapping). Tape the seams with duct tape. If you are putting the laminate directly
on top of a concrete floor, first put down a plastic sheet to act as a vapor barrier, before putting down
the underlay.

4. The height of the new laminate flooring may mean your doorframes need to be modified. Check by
laying a piece of the flooring on top of the underlay and see if it fits below the jamb. If not, mark the
jamb and cut it so the flooring can slide under it.

5. Starting at the far side of the room, measure across the room to determine out if you need to rip the
first plank. You want to end up with the pieces on both sides of the room approximately the same width.

6. Lay the first boards against your starting wall, groove side towards the wall. If you do need to rip the
first row of boards to width, cut off the groove side. Use spacers (or a piece of flooring on edge) to
ensure you leave a 1/4" gap between the flooring and the wall. You need to leave this 1/4" gap
between the flooring and the wall all around the room to allow for minor seasonal variations in the
boards themselves.

A specially designed pry bar helps lock tongue-and-groove laminate boards together.
7. Lay out the first three rows as follows: The first board in the first row needs to be a full board. The
first board in the second row should be 2/3 of a board and the first board in the third row should be
1/3 of a board. Fill in the rows with full boards and boards cut to fit the remaining space. Repeat the
pattern as you move across the room, ensuring that joints are always at least 8" from each other.

8. Join the boards together by inserting the tongue into the groove at a high angle and then pushing
down. The boards will click together. Tapping gently with a hammer and the tapping block may be
necessary to make sure the boards lock together.

9. When you are working close to the wall, the pry bar specially designed to work with laminate flooring
helps pull the boards into place end to end. Never use the hammer directly on the pieces of laminate -
you could damage the edge of a piece so badly nothing will be able to fit with it.

10. Cut laminate flooring with a circular saw with a fine tooth blade or a jig saw. Using a power saw, cut
laminate good side down, to reduce tear out on the cuts.

11. Once the floor is down, reinstall your baseboards and moldings, making sure you nail them to the
wall and not the laminate flooring. This will cover that 1/4-inch gap you left around the perimeter of the
room.

General Information: sales@cornerstonewholesale.com