Whole house laminate flooring is where layout matters most. One plank color running from the front door through the halls and into the bedrooms makes a house feel bigger, but a long floating floor needs a plan.
Most manufacturers limit how far a floor can run before it needs a break, often around 40 feet in one direction. Past that, or through narrow doorways between big rooms, we put in a T-molding so each section can move on its own. We lay out those breaks with you before we start.
We run the planks parallel to the longest wall or toward the main light source, and we stagger the end joints at least 8 to 12 inches row to row so no pattern shows. The first and last rows get ripped so neither is a thin sliver.
The planks acclimate in the house for 48 hours before install. On a whole house job, that means we drop the boxes off early. Most homes of 1,000 to 1,500 square feet take our crew two to four days including old floor removal and trim. This is also our usual approach to laminate floor replacement when an older floor has worn through.