When it comes to easy floor installation for the homeowner, nothing is simpler than a no-nail, no-glue wood laminate tongue-and-groove system. This is a variation on the concept of a ``floating'' floor--which sits on an installed bed of foam and doesn't have any physical connection to the structure of the house--except even the foam underlayment isn't necessary. Trafficmaster has specialized in this relatively new concept. A typical room can be floored in an afternoon.
Preparation
Since the floor trim will be used to hold down the floor, it needs to come out before you start. Remove it with a hammer and pry bar, taking care not to break it so you can re-install it later. (If your floor trim includes base-shoe, that's the only piece that has to come out.) You can lay your Trafficmaster flooring over any solid, dry floor that's free of obstructions; pretty much anything other than carpeting is fine. If you have carpeting, pull it up and remove any tacking strips or other obstructions underneath. Get the floor clean and dry.
Layout
You'll lay your Trafficmaster floor starting along the longest wall of the room and then work your way across, but first you need to know how it will fit at the end. Measure the width of the room and divide by the width of the boards to make sure you won't end up with a final piece that's less than half a board-width. If so, split the difference between the two sides of the room by cutting your first course lengthwise, on a table saw, so both sides will fit evenly. (Example: If the boards are three inches wide, and the last piece is going to be one inch wide at the far wall, rip the starting course to be two inches wide, which will make the final course two inches, as well.)
Installation
Once you've determined the layout, it's time for the easiest part of the project: Installing the floor. Trafficmaster floor boards snap together like puzzle pieces and sit loosely on the floor until the whole room is done. You need to keep a 1/4-inch space along the walls on all sides to allow for expansion. Lay the first course along the long wall, with the groove (or cut) side 1/4 inch from the wall and the tongue side facing into the room. Snap the subsequent pieces into place, course by course, cutting the end pieces as needed. Once it's all down, re-install your trim to cover the 1/4-inch gap. Nail the trim into the wall, not the floor.
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