How to store laminate flooring?

[mike]

I got/installed a bunch of obsolete laminate flooring off craigslist. Now, I feel compelled to save some "just in case". Of course, I've got three different kinds. No chance that I'd find any compatible stuff in a decade. I really don't have anyplace to stick it.

The attic has temperature/humidity extremes. And I'd have to support it between joists. Garage is FULL!!

I'm thinking about standing the boxes on end along the backside of a closet. That puts pressure on the ends where they click together. Also, won't stay there unless it's "tilted" a little. That promotes warpage. Doesn't do any good to save it if it's not gonna be good when I need it.

Anybody got experience with storage of extra click-together laminate flooring?

Thanks, mike

[hrhofmann]

Nothing wrong with storing in the attic if you bring it down to the living area for a couple of weeks before you use it (at some time in the future).

[HeyBub]

If it's manufactured laminate (instead of real wood), it won't warp, deflect, swell, rot, get eaten by insects, twist, blow-up, deform, rot, turn color, expand, contract, de-laminate, scratch, droop, fester, get attacked by mold, termites, or mice. It is immune to humidity, heat, pressure, wood rasps, or bullets.

It'll be okay wherever you store it.

[Red Green]

"HeyBub" wrote in news:4badnWBvyeX1-HPRnZ2dnUVZ [e-mail]:

So why do the mfgrs install instuctions (that I've seen) say to leave like 1/4 gap for expansion at perimeters and transitions?

[Evan]

LOL... Because different materials expand and contract at different rates and if you installed the floor tightly to the surrounding materials it would buckle if the floor or those surrounding materials expanded...

THAT is why the manufacturer tells installers to leave that 1/4" gap...

~~ Evan

[RicodJour]

Yes, he realizes THAT, Evan. His response was to HeyBurp's comment - which you cut out in your reply - that the stuff was so stable and immune to all outside influences and forces. If so stable, why the expansion gap?

To the OP. You don't need to store much. If you have exposed joists in the basement, screw blocks/supports to the underside of the subfloor or side of the joists. Come to think of it, you could just put it in the attic flat on the back side of the ceiling below. Don't overload it, but you'll only need a few pieces per type of flooring and a few joist bays. Skip bays and one piece per bay is well inside the ceiling drywall's capabilities. If there's batt insulation, lift it and put the boards underneath.

R

[Red Green]

Evan wrote in news:f3a3e7e9-c356-48fe-86e2- [e-mail]:

Ohhhh, I see. Hmmm, where did I also see info to that effect. Oh yea! In the parent to your reply. You must have been pecking away so hard on the keyboard and "LOL"ing you missed the whole one line I quoted and whole 1 sentence of the new text.

[Colbyt]

Just my opinion, the attic with proper support will be fine.

Most if not all of this stuff is made overseas, shipped in cargo holds, allowed to sit around in shipping containers on the docks, stored in non climate controlled warehouses in all parts of the country and is sold in several non-climate controlled locations right here in my town.

Before using any of the stored pieces I would allow them to adjust to the new climate. Most of the packages say 48-72 hours. After attic storage I would double that.

Chance are very high that you will never use any of it. I have some installed in rental units for over 7 years and going strong. By now I would have replaced the carpet at least 3 times. I could rip it out and replace next week and would still be way ahead.

[HeyBub]

"Manufactured" laminate has a base made of, Lord knows what, something similar to particle board - sawdust(? could be ground chicked bones) mixed with a binder.

[Red Green]

"HeyBub" wrote in news:NLSdnXPJAIS6nGzRnZ2dnUVZ [e-mail]:

Well I have to admit I've only seen, looked and installed a limited amount of laminate and it's all been the stuff from home centers.

On the other hand, I recently put down a few rooms of 3/4 oak which is real wood. Same thing with mfgrs instuctions, gap required.

Just keep doing what I've been doing all along. Follow the particulars for whatever is actually being installed.

[Red Green]

"HeyBub" wrote in news:NLSdnXPJAIS6nGzRnZ2dnUVZ [e-mail]:

Well I have to admit I've only seen, looked and installed a limited amount of laminate and it's all been the stuff from home centers.

On the other hand, I recently put down a few rooms of 3/4 oak which is real wood. Same thing with mfgrs instuctions, gap required.

Just keep doing what I've been doing all along. Follow the particulars for whatever is actually being installed.

[krw]

That's the hooker. Laminate substrate can be anything from particle board to plywood to wood to plastic (and I'm sure I've left some out). The term, by itself, is next to meaningless.

[Shaun Eli]

You never know when you might need stuff like this. I put down Pergo in my kitchen a decade ago. This year I replaced my boiler and the modern ones don't vent through a roof flue, they go out a wall. So I had a walled-in pipe running through my house that I didn't need. Removed it and I have a bit more room in my kitchen... patched the hole in the floor and I'm glad I have some tiles and molding left over because they don't make this pattern anymore.

(Copyright 2010 by Shaun Eli. All rights reserved)

[krw]

Yeah, you should *always* keep an extra box of stuff (flooring, tile, whatever) around for future use. The material is cheap enough, compared to the cost of re-doing everything.