Installing Pergo Laminate Flooring: Your Step-by-Step DIY Guide

• Remove all old flooring materials and clean the subfloor before installing Pergo flooring.
• Lay down a vapor barrier if you have a concrete subfloor.
• Place an underlayment to smooth out the subfloor before laying Pergo planks.
• Lay Pergo planks row by row snapping each one into place. Trim the first plank of every other row to stagger the joints.

Prepping the Subfloor

Remove any old flooring materials and vent covers. Get everything out of the way that might interfere with your installation. When you pull up old flooring, make sure you remove any padding or other materials as well—you want to go all the way to the subfloor. Pergo also recommends that you remove any old wood flooring that was installed over concrete before installing Pergo flooring. If the subfloor is wood, you can install Pergo flooring over parquet, planks, or other wood flooring. You might also want to go ahead and take the doors off the hinges just so they're out of your way.

Undercut the doorframe and baseboards. You don't have to remove the baseboards to install Pergo flooring—just use an undercut saw to trim off at least ⁄8 in (16 mm). If you don't have an undercut saw, you can get a basic one pretty cheaply (although a power model will set you back a few hundred dollars). Check the installation guide that came with your planks carefully to make sure you're undercutting the right amount of space for your flooring type. For example, Pergo Outlast+ requires a total of ⁄8 in (19 mm) of space.

Level the subfloor to eliminate bumps or peaks. Use a carpenter's level to check that there's no more than ⁄16 in (4.8 mm) unevenness per 10 ft (3.0 m) span of floor. Sand down peaks or fill in depressions with floor leveling compound where needed. Floor leveling compound works similarly to spackling paste. Just brush or smooth it on to fill in the dips. Wait for it to dry, then confirm it's now level. Floor leveling is normally only done with concrete subfloors. If you have a wooden subfloor, nail down any loose planks and hammer down any nails that have come up to keep squeaks to a minimum. Walk your subfloor. If it creaks now, your Pergo floor will also creak. Go ahead and fix it before you lay your new planks. Usually, all this takes is hammering in another nail on a creaky board.

Conduct a calcium chloride moisture test on the subfloor. Pergo recommends a moisture test if you have a concrete subfloor or a wooden subfloor over a basement or crawlspace. They're also a good idea if you live in an area with a particularly damp climate, such as along the US Gulf and southern Atlantic coasts. If your moisture level is too high, your Pergo floor will likely buckle or bubble after installation. Check your test results against the following: For wooden subfloors: No more than 12% moisture For concrete subfloors: Values less than or equal to 5 lbs/1000ft2/24-hr You can run a dehumidifier in the room to try to lower the moisture if it's too high. This is only a temporary solution, but it might be enough if there was a specific event, such as a flood, that accounts for the extraordinary dampness.

Vacuum the entire surface. Remove debris from your subfloor to get it ready for your new planks. A clean subfloor reduces the possibility that your new floor will squeak or groan when you walk on it. You can mop as well if you want, but make sure the subfloor is completely dry before you bring your flooring planks in. You don't want them absorbing any excess moisture.

Set out unopened Pergo cartons in the middle of the room for 48 hours. Make sure the cartons are at least 2 feet (0.61 m) away from the surrounding walls. This gives the planks a chance to acclimate to the temperature and moisture level of the room before you install them. The ideal conditions for Pergo flooring are temperatures of 59–71 °F (15–22 °C) and relative humidity of 30–75%. If your climate conditions are outside that range, Pergo recommends letting your new planks acclimate for at least a week. No time to acclimate your planks? Just make sure there's no more than 25 °F (−4 °C) of difference in temperature or a 20% difference in relative humidity between your home and the place where your planks were originally stored.

Install a vapor barrier over concrete subfloors. You don't need a vapor barrier for wood subfloors, but it's required for concrete. Lay this over the concrete up to the wall's edge, with an 8 in (20 cm) overlap on the seam between each row. There's no need to tack it or tape it down at all, just roll it out directly over the subfloor. Pergo makes a vapor barrier that's specifically designed for the brand's products, but you can use any brand as long as it's equivalent.

Laying Pergo Planks

Inspect each plank for defects before you start laying them. Open the cartons and make sure all of your planks are ready to install. If any of the planks are chipped, dented, warped, or broken, contact the store where you purchased them to get replacements. After you've laid them in or cut them, you won't be able to get them replaced for free. Take an end label off one of the cartons and keep it along with the receipt so you can easily get replacement planks if necessary. Open all the cartons at once. Pergo recommends mixing planks from different cartons so that any variations in shade or color are distributed across the whole floor.

Install underlayment if your planks do not have attached underlayment. It's generally best to install this a row at a time as you go so you're not walking all over it. Tuck the first edge of the first row just under the wall, then line up the second row right next to the first so there's no gap and it doesn't overlap. Pergo products with attached underlayment typically have a "+" attached to the name, but you can also tell by reading the plank cartons or looking at a plank for a layer of foam underneath. Your underlayment will help keep your floor a little quieter. It also helps level out the underlying subfloor so you don't have to worry about any minor peaks and dents.

Remove the tongue on all long side joints of the first row of planks. Pergo planks lock together with a tongue-in-groove system, so the tongue part sticks out. Cut it off on the wall-side of the planks to preserve ⁄8 in (9.5 mm) of expansion space around the floor. You can use almost any kind of saw for this, including a jigsaw, hand circular saw, or cross-cut saw. Use whichever one you have on hand that's most comfortable for you to work with. Always wear a mask and safety goggles to protect yourself from dust while sawing. On the first plank, remove the tongue on the short side that goes against the wall as well. Continue to do this for any side that's against the wall to ensure the proper expansion gap. You might want to cut down even more depending on the width of your room. If your last row is going to be too narrow, for example, cutting down the width of the first row as well as the last row gives your floor a more even appearance.

Start in the back left corner of the room to lay your first plank. Set a spacer block from your installation kit on the short side and long side of the plank, then lay it down in the corner. This is the easiest place to start if you're right-handed. If you're left-handed, it might be more comfortable to start in the back right corner. All types of Pergo flooring, including Pergo Outlast and Pergo Outlast+, are designed to be floating floors. This means you don't have to worry about attaching the planks to the subfloor.

Angle the second plank 20-30 degrees up to connect it to the first. Line up the second plank on the row and lift the far end up. Slide it in to connect it with the first plank until you hear a click. Then, lay the far end down. You'll hear another click that tells you the planks are locked into place.

Lay the first row of planks end to end. Angle the next plank up and snap it into place. After a few planks, you'll get a rhythm going and get to the end of the first row in no time. Now, on to the next!

Trim the first plank of the second row so the joints are staggered. Pergo recommends staggering joints by a minimum of 12 inches (30 cm). The end joints of two successive rows should never be in line with one another. Cut planks in an area away from where you are installing the floor so the dust doesn't get into the joints. Trim the tongue off the short side of the first plank that will be against the wall as well to ensure the proper expansion space. Once you've trimmed the first plank, continue down the row the same as you did with the first. You might have to trim the last plank so it'll fit.

Continue the same process until you've covered the room. If you run into a stubborn plank that won't snap into place, tap it gently with the rubber mallet from your installation kit. Move your cartons over to the floor you've finished to help weigh down the floor while you work. Remember to trim the first plank of every other row so that the joints are staggered across the entire floor. If you need to lay planks around a pipe or fixture, measure ⁄8 in (9.5 mm) of expansion space all the way around it before you cut your planks.

Trim the tongue off the wall side of the last row of planks. The last row is essentially a mirror image of your first. Again, you'll trim off the tongue to maintain that ⁄8 in (9.5 mm) of expansion space. Things can be tight working right next to the wall, so you might want to put the last two rows together in pairs so you can lay them down at the same time and have a little more room to work.

Add sealant if the floor is in a kitchen or bathroom. Fill the ⁄8 in (9.5 mm) of expansion space with 100% silicone sealant to prevent water from getting under the floor. Do not use acrylic sealant with Pergo floors. Make sure you completely fill all the expansion space to block leaks.