CRUCIAL PREPARATION
Laminate may be easy to fit but that’s not to say you don’t need to take accurate measurements beforehand. When doing any sort of DIY or home improvement, measurements are absolutely crucial to ensure that you get it right first time, saving yourself hassle and money. Whether you’re laying laminate, luxury vinyl tiles or carpet tiles, taking accurate measurements will not only make the installation process run as smoothly as possible but can also reduce the risk of problems later on.
WHERE TO START
Firstly, measure the length and width of the room in metres and multiply the resulting figures to find the surface area of the room in m2. We recommend that you round up the final measurement so that you order enough flooring to cover the whole area. Alternatively, add 10-15% to compensate for cutting waste. This means if the width of the room is 5m and the length is 4m, the surface area you’d need to cover would be 20m2 plus an additional 5% (or 1m2) for waste. That’s 21m2 altogether. If your room is an irregular shape, then box off the room into segments and measure the longest and widest points – don’t forget to add 5% for waste too.
HOW MANY PACKS DO I NEED
Once you’ve got the measurements, you need to check the pack size. You then need to divide the room size by this number, which will tell you how many packs you need to buy. Always round up so that you have enough – it’s better to have excess material than run short and struggle to get hold of another pack! Remember to measure underneath moveable appliances so that every millimetre of the space is treated to shiny new laminate and get your home up to scratch.