Laminate flooring question

[jbancroft1957]

Hi everyone.

I'm in the process of deciding what laminate flooring to buy.

Now, the flooring Homebase sells (Floormaster) states that you need to fill the expansion gap with some special cork strips. Is this necessary and what are they for? I don't understand why you'd want to fill a gap that has been purposely created to allow for expansion.

I've tried searching the web/groups for an answer but haven't found one as yet!

Help/advice gratefully received.

Thanks.

John

[Owain]

Cork is compressible, so it fills the gap whilst permitting some expansion. Depending on the colour of the laminate and the cork, it might look better than covering the gap with beading.

Of course, Homebase probably have greater Added Value from selling special cork-strip-for-laminate-floor than they do from selling cheapo beading.

Owain

[Rob Morley]

The cork fills the gap while allowing expansion. I think lots of people just leave a gap - as long as it's covered by skirting it shouldn't make much difference.

[jbancroft1957]

Thanks for your help.