I was wondering if it's ok to caulk between the baseboards and laminant floor in a basement. Laminant floor is laid on top of a flaoting membrane. Any reasons why this should not be done?
Thanks in advance.
Hi, Floating.
Do not do it. The laminate floor needs to expand and contract with changes in temperature and humidity. The caulking will prevent movement - a very bad thing.
RFloating floors expand and contract depending on moisture levels and temperature. That's why you generally leave a gap between the edge of the floor and the wall to allow for movement.
If you caulk the baseboard to the floor, you're defeating the ability of the floor to move. I would think at a minimum you'd have some cosmetic concerns, and quite possibly you'd have problems with the floor buckling, if the caulking held fairly firm. I once bought a rental property where the previous owner had put laminate in one of the rooms in the basement. He laid the floor very tight to the walls, and the floor buckled upward to the point that I couldn't enter the room, because the door wouldn't open more than a couple of inches. We had to enter by a window to access the room and repair it.
Good luck.
Maurice
snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com wrote:
Thanks all. Looks like a floating floor should not be caulk to the baseboards. Maybe someone can help us with this issue. We are seeing a few more spiders than we like in our home. Pretty big and hairy and about once a week we have to kill one. Home is about 3 yrs old and never had this problem until we put in a central A/C unit. It is almost impossible to tell how the spiders are geting inside the home. Saw a few in the basement washroom and 2 in the above most bathroom. Just saw one under the baseboard (in the crack) of the basement and thought they could be coming from there. There are probably cracks between the concrete floor and wall somewhere in the walkout basement.
I know understand that spiders can help keep bugs in order but just don't like big furry ones in our home! Instead of getting someone to spray pesticides, what else can I do to try and prevent this IF, they are indeed getting in underneath the baseboard in the basement some how.
Thoughts?
snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com wrote in news:1159158517.168712.40440 @m7g2000cwm.googlegroups.com:
Do you like Preying Mantis'???
I once watched one pounce a spider. It held it and picked the legs off one by one like it was eating hot wings. Then it went for the breast.
Hi, We have two sun rooms with lots of plants. Spinder is part of life but not hairy big ones. 3 cats take care of them. Lday bugs live inside too.
Vacuums are great, not only keep the dust down but they can suck all the spiders out of their crevices. Remember to empty on a regular basis.
So it sounds like there is no preventative solution to the spider issue? I was afraid of that. Still don't want to bring in someone to spray the inside of the house.
Spray the outside?
I have to spray to control the ants around here. The stuff I use just happens to kill most types of spider too. It doesn't totally eliminate the population but we don't see many spiders in the house.
Hey Malcolm,
Sounds like your spray of the insects is also keepgin the spiders at bay. Maybe decreased insects = decreased food supply for spiders as well? Thanks, will look into sparying the outside for sure.
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