How to Lay Flooring Around Corners

Many floor installations call for flooring to be laid around a corner. Doorways and L-shaped walls are examples of the types of structures that often need to be navigated. Whether your material of choice is laminate or hardwood and whether it is a floating floor or it is nailed or glued down, there are several steps that will ensure a consistent, attractive appearance around the corner while allowing the proper space for expansion and movement.

Pry bar
Dovetail saw
Jigsaw with fine-tooth blade
Ruler or measuring tape

Instructions

- 1
  Prepare the area. Remove the shoe molding throughout the room with a pry bar. If you are installing around a cased doorway, undercut the casing with a handheld dovetail saw. Lay a piece of your underlayment and a scrap piece of flooring on the floor next to the casing and use it as a guide to cut out the casing at the height of the flooring.
- 2
  Lay courses of flooring, moving toward the corner until you can no longer fit a full course between corner and the previous course.
- 3
  Measure the distance between beginning of the next course and the corner. Be sure to account for an expansion gap.
- 4
  Transfer that measurement onto the next board you are going to install, and mark out the section that will need to be notched out to fit the corner.
- 5
  Cut out the marked area with a jigsaw slowly and carefully. A fine-tooth blade is recommended for most flooring.
- 6
  Position the cut board in place. Slip a pry bar in between the cut board and the wall and use it to pull the board up against the previous course.
- 7
  Cut additional boards to the same width as the narrow section of notched out board and install them in between the last full course and the wall. Continue installing full-width courses up against the uncut portion of the board.

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