Which comes first: doors or laminate?

A conscientious renovation can truly transform a room. A life-worn apartment, covered with faded yellowed wallpaper, with floors covered with linoleum in the cracks, just after a little cosmetic finishing turns into a cozy nest. Fresh wallpaper, new laminate, repainted radiators and baseboards are inexpensive but effective.

What do doors or laminate do first?

In order for the result of repair work to be positive, it is strongly recommended to follow their correct sequence. First of all, they do all the “rough stuff”, that is, dismantling partitions, flooring, changing door jambs. Only then do they begin painting, puttying, and pasting. There are a lot of nuances, their exact understanding comes only with experience, and it is not possible to cover them in a short note. We can only highlight individual tips on a specific topic.

According to experts

Experienced repair professionals are divided into two “opposing camps,” voicing completely opposite opinions to clients before repair work. Perhaps there is not one right side and one wrong side - everything depends on the skills and diligence of the master, on his professional work habits. For some it is more convenient to finish the floor first, while for others it is more convenient to finish the doorways.There is only one universal rule here: first of all, it is necessary to complete all the rough work and only after that begin to finish the room “clean”.

Attention! This approach will allow a skilled, responsible master to achieve success in any situation.

Laying laminate after installing doors

With this method, the door frame is mounted on top of the rough base. It is chosen, for example, in cases where there is a fear of damaging the decorative layer of the laminate when installing the door frame.

Manufacturers of laminate claim that it can be laid on any substrate (linoleum, stone, tile, wood), the main thing is that it is as level as possible. The most important thing is to correctly calculate the gap left to raise the floor level. Until the laminate is laid, it will simply be an empty gap between the door frame and the rough base of the future floor covering. It should also be taken into account that after laying the laminate, there should be a distance of about two millimeters between it and the door leaf - so that the interior door can be conveniently opened and does not rub the top layer of the laminate. That is, add these 2 mm to the gap left for future raising of the floor level. Making a gap is no longer recommended to avoid drafts. 2 millimeters is the optimal gap.

Attention! It is not recommended to lay laminate flooring in a continuous layer in adjacent rooms. It is necessary to divide the field of activity into 2 zones, separated by a threshold or simply a doorway.

Installation of platbands is carried out after laying the laminate, because this makes it possible to adjust them relative to the floor level with maximum accuracy. Be prepared to have to cut and shorten the door leaf.However, the sashes can be purchased as a last resort.

Craftsmen who prefer to install doors first and only then lay the floor are spared the routine work of protecting the laminate. There is no need to look for material for lining, lay it, fix it, and then remove it and dispose of it.

Laying laminate before installing doors

This approach is more common; many masters adhere to this particular sequence. When installing laminate, as mentioned above, the floor level changes - usually it rises to a height of several centimeters. And it’s really easier to lay it down first, protecting the top decorative layer from damage with cardboard or other material, than to adjust the floor level to an already installed door frame. For many craftsmen, assembling a box for a finished opening seems to be a simpler task than calculating the height of the future floor level. Where to start? First of all, as in the case of the previous method of work, you need to complete the rough work, lay the laminate, and treat the door slopes with a plaster solution.

Important! An argument in favor of pre-laying laminate flooring may be the presence of deformations and curvatures of the walls. In this case, the work of finishing the floor becomes even more painstaking, and it is easier to finish it before installing the doors, so as not to complicate the calculations.

Which option should you choose?

If you want to install doors and floors yourself, but do not yet have sufficient experience in this matter, then try studying video tutorials on Youtube and similar services. Carefully study the methods and techniques of experienced craftsmen. Perhaps this will help you make the right choice.If doubts persist, then discard savings and entrust this part of the work to a professional.