Buy the kit once — finish the room
A cheap foam block and missing pull bar turn the last row into a fight. Spend on a proper floating-floor kit and one decent saw; it costs less than an extra box of planks wasted on bad cuts. Calculate boxes first with the laminate calculator.
Must-have install tools
Optional: moisture meter for concrete, floor scraper for demo, crowbar for baseboard, shop vac for dust under underlay.
- Pull bar + tapping block + rubber mallet (laminate / LVP install kit)
- Spacers (or scrap blocks) for 1/4–3/8 inch expansion gap at walls
- Tape measure, pencil, speed square
- Utility knife and straightedge for underlay and scoring vinyl
- Jigsaw or circular / table saw for crosscuts and rip cuts
- Handsawn for undercutting door jambs (or oscillating multi-tool)
- Knee pads, safety glasses, dust mask for cutting
Saws — what beginners actually use
Cut outdoors or in a garage when possible — laminate dust is fine and sticky. Support the plank fully so the locking edge does not chip.
- Jigsaw: notches around vents and door casings; slower crosscuts
- Circular saw or miter saw: fast square crosscuts on a workbench
- Table saw: clean rip cuts for the last row width
- Guillotine / laminate cutter: quiet crosscuts for LVP; check thickness rating
What you do not need
Next: first row layout, then full install steps. Undercut jambs with tips in flooring around door jambs.
- Glue for most click-lock floating floors (unless the manufacturer requires it)
- Carpet pad or foam not rated for laminate / LVP
- Nails through the floating floor into the subfloor
- Cheap plastic spacers that crush — wood scraps work better