How to Install Swiftlock Laminate Flooring Over Radiant Heat

If you have a concrete radiant heat floor, and you want a more comfortable surface over it, you need to be careful about what you choose. Anything involving glue or mortar can be a problem as it reacts with the heat. One solution is to lay a floating floor, which doesn't attach to anything and so won't have the issues with adhesives. Swiftlock is a floating floor by Armstrong that goes together easily over cement. It's normally laid over plastic underlayment, but you should skip that step when laying it on a heated floor.

• 1

  Turn off the heat in the floor. Get the floor completely clean and dry.

• 2

  Set a flooring plank along the edge of the floor where you want to start, at one end, so it's bordered by two walls. Put spacers between the board and the walls. This will create a space that will allow the flooring to move with temperature variations.

• 3

  Connect the second plank to the first one by pressing the end of it against the end of the first one at a downward angle, until they click together. Lay the board flat, putting spacers between the board and the wall.

• 4

  Repeat, laying boards end to end along the whole edge of the floor, putting spacers along the wall the whole way. Cut the final piece on a miter saw to fit against the side wall.

• 5

  Set the subsequent courses in place by pressing the boards together by their long edges until they lock. Arrange the boards so the ends don't line up between courses. Work your way across the whole floor.

• 6

  Cut the boards of the final course lengthwise on a table saw, so they will fit against the wall with a 3/8-inch gap there.

• 7

  Measure and cut floor trim for the edges of the floor, using your miter saw to make the cuts and securing the trim with a trim nailer. The trim should cover the spaces by the walls.