You never want to run flooring tight to the edges, be it wood or laminate, as they both expand and contract with changing moisture. Also, you don't have to have a table saw. You cover your edges with baseboard or quarter round anyway, so your cuts don't have to be perfect, a good jigsaw is fine. Also, a good undercut hand saw with an offset handle is invaluable, because unless it's new construction you'll be cutting off door casings, etc.

Dennis, Yes leave a gap as others have mentioned. New baseboards will be needed unless you can salvage yours. Also if doing it in the kitchen dont do a full covering under your dishwasher or fridge, only runners. Should either of these two items leak they cause the flooring to swell and make removal of appliance nearly impossible for repair.

I went with Bruce prefinished hardwood flooring in my entry way. Just finished. Easy to do. Thinner than regular hardwood (about 1/4" thick). Looked at Pergo, but you can definitely tell the difference between Pergo and real hardwood.

For speeder's apartment application laminate is great. Basically a cheap plastic floor that's easy to install and keep clean. I would stay away from the bulk home centers and purchase from a flooring store - at least you'll get some post sale support if you run into a problem. This is key. I've heard a ton of horror stories about manufacturer warranties that were invalid based upon the manufacturer saying the install was flawed.

I might consider a laminate for a kids playroom or even my kids bedrooms, but in on the main living level of our home never. It looks fake and sounds horrible to walk on. Plus for resale it add's nothing though is seen as superior to carpet. Remember that laminate floors cannot be refinished and are just as susceptible to water damage as real hardwood.

Installed Quick Step 700 Steps this pas tweekend--bought for $1.38 sq foot from internetfloors.com, cost $92 to ship--still beat every other price we could find.

Our installation questions were similar: We have radiant heat in our concrete slab. The floor was not perfectly level, there was asphalt tile under the carpet we ripped up.

The end result? Well, it looks great, it's very different than real hardwood--sounds kind of cheap, but hey, easy to clean, never needs to be refinished and once you throw down an area rug and your furniture, it looks even better!

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1087308276.jpg http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1087308289.jpg http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1087308299.jpg http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1087308308.jpg

Still have to install the baseboards, but all of this was done in 1 day--a 10X13 bedroom, and a 16X19 living room. All with door jambs and some interesting shaped cuts. Patience and some help from friends goes a long way. And even with the knee pads, it still hurts.