Laminate Flooring Accessories Add the Finishing Touch to Your Floor

A laminate flooring installation goes well beyond purchasing and installing the planks. You will need laminate flooring accessories: trim, underlayment, moldings, transition pieces and perhaps even adhesives. Your dealer will need to have all of these items ready for your flooring project. Learn more in this video:

Finishing your floor will require the right moldings and trim. Check with your dealer to ensure that you have an exact match for the laminate you are installing. Moldings should be nailed or glued to the wall only and never to the floor. Here are some common laminate flooring moldings and their usages:

– Stair Nose: Used for transition between the laminate floor and stairs; hooks over the edge of the first stair, with one edge on the flooring surface and the other on the stair’s vertical face

– T: Named for its shape when looked at in cross-section; transitional; used between two rooms with the same level

– Reducer: Transitional, positioned flat on a floor between two rooms with slight differences in level

– End: Transitional, used between rooms with larger differences in level or between the laminate floor and a sliding glass door

– Base shoe: Used where shallower profiles are needed; such as behind bookcases or cabinets; combination of baseboard and quarter round

– Baseboard: Has a flat vertical surface or profile; used as a transition between the floor and the wall

– Quarter round: Used in a similar fashion as base shoe

You probably will not need an adhesive since glueless click-lock laminate flooring is most commonly sold. In the event your chosen laminate requires glue, however, make sure to use the manufacturer’s recommended adhesive.

Laminate flooring underlayment is a thin foam padding that absorbs the minor sub-floor imperfections as well as sound. If your floor will be in an area subject to moisture or will be on or below grade, you will need either an underlayment with a moisture barrier or a separate moisture barrier. You can buy a laminate with a pre-attached underlayment for quick and easy installation, or you can buy underlayment by the roll and lay it down first prior to installing your laminate. There are three basic types of underlayment:

– Padding only
– Padding with a moisture barrier
– Padding with a moisture barrier and a sound barrier

If you require a moisture barrier, be aware that laminate with a pre-attached underlayment is usually padding with a sound barrier, so you may have to install a separate moisture barrier first.