Laminate flooring instructions will usually recommend that you start laying your laminate along a straight wall, but what if you don’t have the luxury of a straight starting wall? what do you do then? Double down and call in the pros or hang in there, push yourself, and increase your knowledge and sense of accomplishment?
If you choose the latter, writing the first row is quite simple. You will need a protractor. Remember those fun hinged things you used in math class a long time ago? And you will need a jig saw to cut the laminate to the shape of the starting wall.
Start by assembling the row of laminate end to end and align it against the crooked starter wall. Make sure the tab side of the row length faces the wall and allow enough room for the expansion gap which should be between ¼” and ½”. (You can leave about an eighth of an inch for the tongue.)
The expansion gap is the space you will need between the laminate and the wall on all sides to allow for the natural expansion and contraction of the floating floor due to changes in temperature and humidity throughout the year. If you don’t leave adequate space, the finished floor will buckle.
In short, you laid out your first row and lined it up against the starting wall with enough room for expansion space. Now take your protractor and set the width at the widest point from the wall to the straight row of laminate. Run the protractor along the wall, marking the row of laminate on the tab side with the attached pencil. The pencil marks indicate how you will cut the laminate pieces to match the wall.
Disassemble the row of laminate and cut each piece with a jig saw following the pencil marks on the tab side. Be sure to reassemble the row in the same order and spread it out, again leaving room for expansion space. Your starting row now matches the crooked starting wall, while the slot side presents a straight line from which to place the rest of the floor.