laminate, which way to lay it?

[ColJack]

befrore the jokes start, yes I know, wood patern side up...

I have a room that's longer than it is wide..
the door is on the short side.

so do I lay the laminate lengthwise from the door, or widthwise?

 

[regsmyth]

The normal advice is to align the boards perp to the window.
If you lay parallel to window, the undulations in the boards, esp when they cup a little, are accentuated by the light.

 

[WoodYouLike]

I have a room that's longer than it is wide..

Aren't all rooms?

See here for some guidelines

 

[ColJack]

I have a room that's longer than it is wide..

Aren't all rooms?

it depends on where the door is..
as you walk through the door, the way you are facing is the length of the room..

next stupid question..
do I need underlay under the laminate? it's a second storey room with concrete floors.. so no damp to worry about..

 

[WoodYouLike]

You do need underlay, specially with laminate but stay away from those 7mm fibre boards

 

[ColJack]

the reason for the underlay is what? to stop it sliding about?

couldn't I just gripfill it to the floor?

 

[ColJack]

the concrete has some black stuff on it ( probably bitumen type adhesive stuff ) that used to hold the vinyl "council tiles" on to it...
will the underlay be ok on that?

 

[regsmyth]

The underlay provides some sound deadening. It also evens out any small irregularities like little bits of grit etc.

The laminate has to be able to contract and expand (You know about the expansion gaps.....) If you tried to stick it down, the theory says it would buckle when it expands, or open up the joins if it shrinks. So the underlay provides this floating surface for the laminate.

 

[WoodYouLike]

the reason for the underlay is what? to stop it sliding about?

couldn't I just gripfill it to the floor?

As said above: underlayment is for sound insulation, especially with plastic melamine laminated floors.
Grip fill would be a very, very expensive solution if you want to fully bond the floor to the concrete, which you can't do anyway now with the bitumen residue.
Make sure you use a combi-underlayment now in regards of the bitumen residue.