We Got Floored: Part 2 "Fixing the Whoopsies"

As I mentioned in Part 1 of the We Got Floored saga, this project was HA-UGE. The biggest one we've taken on so far. Yes, we've hit some bumps in the road and that's exactly what I want to hit on today. The "how do you fix that?" of laminate flooring installations. I want to answer questions that I couldn't find answers to, yes, even Google and YouTube can't answer everything. Dang-it!

So here's what we learned as we tackeled each room each doorway, each corner:(no, our house isn't square. Which we were secretly crossing our fingers it would be. But nothing could be that easy right?):
Q. How Do I keep my floor from sliding while I'm hammering in boards?
A. We were able to keep our floor from sliding around my simply bracing one side with finish nails. Be sure to put your nails under where your trim will go so they will be hidden. Worked for us like a charm. As I did mention in the first post, I was a little worried about the floors splitting where the nails went in, but it wasn't a problem. This settled my nerves a. lot.

Q. How do I finish my flooring going under doorways so it looks like a professional job?
A. First, buy a hand saw like this one:

It's called a Flush Trim Saw. Yes, you need it. It will become your new best friend. Become acquainted.

Using a piece of your flooring as a guide for how much trim you need to cut off, just saw off a notch and slide your pieces of flooring underneath. You don't need to worry about doing this around the entire room because your trim will cover your edges, but on areas where the wood actually shows with no shoe molding, like a doorframe, you need to make it look really good. This is your ticket. See? Pretty.

Q. What if I have gaps that aren't covered by my shoe molding when I am done?
A. Use some painters caulk that is the same color of your floor to cover any gaps. Using a flat edge (I used my plastic food scraper I got from Pampered Chef a while back. Yes, I made a new use for it, but it worked.), make sure the caulk is flat and matches the height of your floor. You can't even tell there was ever a gap there. I even impressed John thankyouverymuch.

Q. What if I have different height floors?
A. Our kitchen floor was 1/8 inch higher than our living room and bedroom. Our linoleum floor was put on a 1/8 inch subfloor. Great.  This made for a hmmm. moment while installing. How do I make this transition smooth? A belt sander. Using the belt sander and some 50 grit paper, we were able to sand down the subfloor to a nice grade to transition into the kitchen. Just make sure to sand so there's a nice even grade.

I think that about covers all our whoopsies and questions I couldn't find on the web before we got started. I hope this helps anyone who is thinking about putting in new floors and wants to do them themselves. It is a very easy process, but it does take time. More time when you're doing 3 rooms, plus closets.

Now I just need to do some painting touch-ups and this project is done-o! I can't believe we've nearly reached the finish line. I can't wait to show you the reveal!!! They're gorgeous!