Hi, I am wanting to install laminate flooring in my living room and continue into my kitchen. Currently, we have carpet in the living room and linoleum in the kitchen. Of course the kitchen has a sub floor under the linoleum. This has created a height difference of 8mm (3/8). I am putting cork down in the living room which is 5mm(1/4) thick.
Here are my questions: Do I have to worry about the 3mm (1/8) height difference? If so, how do I get them to match up?
I do not want to install a T as the rooms flow from one to the other.
Are you sure you want to install laminate in the kitchen? It's not a good choice -- only a matter of when (not if) you have a spill that ruins it.
For cheap: go vinyl. The good quality ones are pretty decent.
For style: go with some kind of tile or even a natural stone.
If you must go laminate, I think you can probably finagle the last one eigth inch but I would suggest contacting the manufacturer of the laminate since the chances of you invalidating the warranty are very high indeed.
Water will not bother some (most? all?) laminates.* In fact, I used left-over laminate to cover the kitchen counter-tops. Works swell. Looks like butcher-block.
------- As a test, I put strips of laminate in a glass of water for a MONTH! The difference in thickness between the soaked laminate and the pristine laminate was no more than 0.002".
A spill will not ruin laminate unless you leave it laying there to soak in. I have laminate in the kitchen and use a long ting rug by the sink and dishwasher. Rug has a rubber back. Got it in Walmart.
I don't understand. If you put 5mm in the living room and 5mm in the kitchen, you'll still have the original 8mm difference.
If you want a seamless flow from one room to the other, I'd think the heights have to be the same. That means you either have to build up the floor in the living room with 3/8" plywood or equivalent, rip up the sub-floor in the kitchen, or plane down the thickness of the kitchen tiles to 3mm.
There's one other choice that MAY work: You could bevel the intersection of kitchen/living room (assuming the planks run in the proper direction). I did that on a laminate/vinyl tile intersection and it allows sweeping etc. The vinyl tile is in a closet, so no one can really see the intersection.
Convert the step to a ramp with some floor levelling compound. They're generally cement-based but typically modified to allow some movement without breaking up. Check at a flooring supply place or even Home Depot.
If adding 1/4" cork to the living room leaves the kitchen 1/8" higher, then why not put down something else like plywood that's 3/8" instead of cork? Is cork a recommended material per the manufacturer of the laminate?
You may not want to install a T, however the manufacturer installation instruction will dictate if you should have one or not. The different humidity levels in rooms make laminate flooring contract/expand at different rates. Depending on your opening to your kitchen, most manufacturers require a T @ doorways, depending on the size of the opening.
I would just take and put a room divider between the two rooms. I will still make the rooms run together, because if it similar flooring. But it will make a distinction between the rooms.
Other than that - the difference over time could compromise the boards. So you would have to put in a sub floor in the other room to match.
Pull up the vinyl in the kitchen, or go with thin plywood underlayment rather than cork in the living room. (BTW, the subfloor is the bottom layer, not the middle layer, of a floor.)
Personally, I hate the look of laminate- real hardwood or nothing for me- but whatever floats your boat.
That is true of some of the new products with a composite substrate. However, they are pretty darn expensive. I can buy good quality
0.75 inch solid exotic hardwood for about the same cost per sq ft!
Hardwood in the living room, tile or stone in the kitchen. Looks great and has been working great for hundreds of years!
Call me cynical but I'm cautious with new materials having had the misfortune to observe some close-up disasters with vinyl siding, aluminum wiring, etc. They sounded great in theory too ;-)
You can only repeat what the "top 2 manufacturers" told you. A modicum of research says differently.
"The specially treated Aqua-Protect core board guarantees lasting durability, even when installed in rooms with high humidity, such as kitchens and bathrooms. The AquaProtect core board provides built-in resistance to the harmful effects of water or liquid spills. If it does get dirty, elastoclic is a cinch to clean. No harsh chemicals or cleaning agents are necessary."
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" Kronotex, the number two manufacturer of laminates according to Consumer Report, has several floors that are made using a green-core, making them impervious to moisture."
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"...perfectly recreate the lifelike look, feel and texture of real timbers while ensuring added stability and resistance even when exposed to intensive traffic and humidity conditions."
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Also Eggers Flooring has humidity-resistant and waterproof laminates.
Now who are you going to believe - manufacturer's spec sheets or my own lying eyes? I soaked some laminate in a jug of water for a MONTH and its thickness changed by 0.002"! (which is probably within the error range of my micrometer). And it was CHEAP laminate (78¢/sq ft on sale for 69¢).
Glad you brought up Kronotex. I suggest you read their own site. Also an FYI, humidity resistant, does not mean it's humidity proof.
"Kronotex like all laminate flooring is made from high density fiber board which responds to temperature and humidity. Even the trip from the store to your house could expose the planks to a different environment. Therefore, BEFORE opening the packaging please acclimate all planks for 48 hours by laying each box horizontally and individually in the center of the room, in which they are to be installed"
"Room Humidity max 75% (35% - 75%"
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LOL.....on how much your test showed. You do realize, it does not even take that much moisture to buckle a floor.
Why do you think floating floors, must be installed as a floating floor? Hint: because it contracts & expands. Maybe you should argue with all the manufacturers, apparently they are wrong, according to you.
Another FYI....Aqua-Protect core board, is not the typical density fiber board, you might well posted a link to vinyl or concrete. It is made for the commercial end user, not residential. Please try to keep OT.
I have no desire to read your other link from the UK, until their flooring reaches the USA.
Now, I'm not going to believe you over manufacturers, no matter what your eyes tell you. You should not be giving out information on subjects you know nothing about.
Personally, I hate the look of laminate- real hardwood or nothing for
whatever floats your boat.
Not all laminate looks like wood anymore. I put some in my kitchen, bedroom and laundry room that looks like stone.
You want the breaks in it, because it allows the expanding and contracting of the laminate. So if you have the different and make it a seem - it works well. I did not have the problems with different levels and had to do this between rooms, because the laminate needs this give.
Ok, all this talk is all interesting and nice, but it doesn't answer my initial question. I have already decided to put laminate in the kitchen. I am aware of the issues and concerns, and I made an educated decision, derived from a number of resources. I will be putting a sealent on the joints and caulking around the edging to help keep the water out. In the event of a flood (dishwasher, etc), it won't matter what flooring I have, it'll be ruined.
My original question is how do do get the laminate to flow from the living room to the kitchen? There will be about a 4mm difference (kitchen being higher). The boards will be running straight through the opening.
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