Homemade Laminate Floor Tools

Pull Bar --- Preparing the Parts

• Make a pull bar using one piece of flat steel and two pieces of angle iron --- steel with an L-shaped cross-section. Saw 2-by-3-inch pieces of angle iron using a hacksaw or band saw, then clean up the rough edges with a metal file. Saw or buy a ready-cut 3-by-6-inch piece of steel plate measuring 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick.

Pull Bar --- Assembling the Parts

• Use a metal glue such as liquid metal, which is almost as strong as welding; epoxy adhesive is another alternative. With the "flattened Z" shape in mind, glue one face of one piece of the angle iron to one of the 3-inch edges of the steel plate. Turn the steel plate over, and glue one face of the other piece of angle iron to the opposite edge of the steel plate. Leave this assembly to cure.

Mallet

• Drill a 1-inch-diameter, perpendicular hole entirely through the 5-by-2-inch face of a block of wood measuring about 5 by 3 by 2 inches. Use wood glue to fit a 15-inch-long, 1-inch diameter dowel through the hole so that 1 inch of the dowel sticks out beyond the hole. Once the glue dries, drill a 1/4-inch hole through the diameter of the dowel at the point it exits the wooden block. Force a 5/16-inch wooden plug through the hole to act as a fixing peg.

Spacers

• A laminate floor is a floating floor. You don't normally nail or glue a floating floor to the subfloor, and it is free to expand and contract naturally, according to the heat and moisture content of the room. You must use spacers to ensure you leave a gap between the edges of the room and the edge of the floor when laying it. Saw a piece of 1/2-inch-thick scrap lumber into 3-by-1-inch pieces. For most jobs, 20 to 25 of these pieces will suffice.