Laminate floor help

[Chuck Beland]

Hi Guy's & Gal's,
I want to put in a Floating laminate floor in the hallway, my question is I'm going to take off baseboard & trim bottom of baseboard the thickness of laminate floor. should i rent a undercut or door jams saw or should i buy a japanese pull saw for door jams. what type of saw blade should i get for my CMS to make nice clean cuts & should i cut laminate floor finished side up or down. so in a nutshell i need
1. rent door jam or undercut saw or buy pull saw?
2. which saw blade should i get for my TS & CMS to make nice cuts.
3. cut baseboard & laminate finished side up or down on TS & CMS to get less tear out.
4. How do I put in the last peice of laminate since it must be held at a 45 degree to click into the one already installed on the floor. How do i get under the door jambs. Pics go in order from last to first.

Here is pics of the hallway.

[Steve Clardy]

Rent a jamb saw. They're the cats meow.
Laminate cutting, good side up.
60-80 tooth blade. Sharp one
Be sure and use the manufacters guidelines on clearance from the flooring to the wall. Usually 1/4-3/8"

[Hoa Dinh]

1. I use a saw similar to the Shark Corp 10-2440 Fine Cut Saw for the door jam. Just put a piece of flooring scrap on the bare floor, next to the jam and cut.

2. You don't need "to make nice cuts" of the laminate. The exposed cut edges should be covered with trims or baseboards. I would just buy a cheapo carbide blade and toss it afterward. That laminate is brutal on the blade. So if you want to keep the blade, plan for a sharpening job.

Someone told me that a blade will last longer if you use the TS instead of the CMS.

3. TS: good side up, CMS: good side up, jig saw: good side down. Zero clearance insert will help tremendously.

It's likely you will need a jig saw. Get plenty of blades.

4. I believe you need to leave a gap of at least 1/4" between the flooring and the wall for expansion. Take advantage of this gap. Having two boards to meet at the door jambs may help. There is no one correct way to do it. You'll need to be creative.

Here is a discussion forum dedicated to laminate flooring.

[Marion Rood]

Hi Guy's & Gal's,
I want to put in a Floating laminate floor in the hallway, my question is I'm going to take off baseboard & trim bottom of baseboard the thickness of laminate floor. should i rent a undercut or door jams saw or should i buy a japanese pull saw for door jams. what type of saw blade should i get for my CMS to make nice clean cuts & should i cut laminate floor finished side up or down. so in a nutshell i need
1. rent door jam or undercut saw or buy pull saw?
Fein multi-master, or pull saw without back.

2. which saw blade should i get for my TS & CMS to make nice cuts.

I used my regular freud on SCMS, but switched to good wood blade on bosch jigsaw. I like the jigsaw. Speed square for 90 degree cuts. I did 1800 sq ft. used three blades on jig saw and cut about 30% of floor with jigsaw.

3. cut baseboard & laminate finished side up or down on TS & CMS to get less tear out.
I cut everything face up. You are covering cuts with shoe.

4. How do I put in the last peice of laminate since it must be held at a 45 degree to click into the one already installed on the floor. How do i get under the door jambs.
It sounds harder than it is. I used quik-step 900. Good product.

Good luck with the job.

[Brent Harral]

Have always used a flush cut saw ($30 pull saw of sorts) for jambs and casings using a scrap of flooring underneath. If you ever wanted to replace the existing baseboard with something different, now would be the time! Easier floor install regarding the ends and gaps plus you won't have to install any shoe if you do some minimal (usually) scribing of the new base after the floor goes in. Just a thought. Everybody else has answered your other questions..