Do I really need a 12mm expansion gap all around my flooring?
If I leave no gap (apart from probably not actually able to cut it to be a perfect fit) - will it expand significantly as it "dries out"?
I don't want to add beading to cover these expansion gaps, so I propose to leave 3mm and fit cork within. Will this be catastrophic?
TIA
-Steve H
Yes.
No, it will expand as it soaks water up from the surroundings. It will buckle.
Yes, unless you fit it when it is totally saturated with moisture - but that's a little hard to guarantee. Even if you did, when it dries out you'd get a 10mm gap all the way round ;-)
Remove the skirting, fit the floor, refit the skirting.
Seconded. One of my brothers-in-law didn't leave much of an expansion gap and he's now got a 2" high bubble of flooring just by the doorway. Lovely and springy it is.
Si
Yes. It's not the quickest nor the easiest way but it will give the best results.
And ensure that you're clean behind the skirting, unless your house is new you're in for a surprise.
Mary
I know it sounds unsightly steve but really it isnt a problem. You can either remove the skirting and hide the expansion gap under there,or just fit beading,which if done correctly,looks,fine. In practice you could reduce the gap depending on the area,i.e smaller area,smaller expansion gap,its a matter of judgement.
joe
Change the 900 to 670 in the return email address to reply
I assume you mean for laminate flooring. Does this apply to the real wood and also the MDF products ? One doesn't leave this sort of gap for floorboards and then never expand this much, or am I missing something. Also the MDF products shouldn't really expand at all.
Well, that's a matter of opinion. I think it looks awful and it actually does take up floor space, you can't put things right up to the skirting if a beading is fixed.
Mary
Floorboards are usually individually nailed down - so they can't go anywhere. They are usually installed with a higher moisture content than they will ultimately have (i.e. they dry out after installation) - so that if they do anything, they shrink. You invariable get small gaps between the boards - making the tongues visible - after they've been down a while.
Laminate flooring is not nailed down - but floats. The boards lock together to form a single floor over the whole area. The packs are supplied hermetically sealed and *dry* - so they are likely to *absorb* moisture from the atmosphere and *expand* once they are laid.
The amount of expansion depends on the overall floor size - it is reasonably linear.
As others have said, the best job results from removing the skirting board, laying the floor with the required gap round the edge, and re-installing the skirting to hide the gap.
I've just ordered a solid oak floor for the living room, and the very helpful chap at the timber place was emphatic that I must, under all circumstances leave a 1/2" gap all the way round. He said he's seen many buckled floors, both hardwood and laminate, as a result of no-gap.
On Fri, 9 Jul 2004 22:43:43 +0100, "Mary Fisher" strung together this:
And similarly, you can't put stuff right up to the wall if you have skirting boards, should we ban that too?
I expected that :-) Except the banning bit, that's silly.
Some skirtings are minimalist. But they're there in most places anyway, there's no point in reducing the floor area any more than we need to.
Mary
On Sat, 10 Jul 2004 12:50:22 +0100, "Mary Fisher" strung together this:
Well yes, but that's me!
Well, we could remove the plaster and gain another inch or two here and there, but now we are getting silly. I think a bit of scotia is nothing really in comparison to the overall dimensions of the room.
I know.
Speak for yourself.
Depends on the size of the rom.
When you put the beading together you can see exactly how much floorspace you'd be losing. I'd rather use that space for a case of wine.
Mary
I agree with all of the above, except "remove the skirting". Ideally, maybe. I did do so in the front room, because the skirting had already been replaced several years previously and was screwed on. But I decided to lay laminate flooring in the bedrooms after the painting had been completed. It looks very neat having stained beading (Ronseal satin beech) flush with the skirting. Removing the skirting, which was nailed on 50 years ago with massive nails, would have left an awful mess and I would have had to paint the walls all over again! Sometimes things just don't pan out the way one originally intended, but I am very happy with the result I got.
MM
Think I'll stay with carpet. 1/2" sounds unslightly.
It'll be covered by the skirting, I've used 19mm skirting throughout.
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