Sealing around the edge of laminate floors

[David Robinson]

We have a laminate floor, laid onto a foil backed underlay, laid onto unins ulated floorboards. The skirting was added afterwards, and sits flush as po ssible to the laminate.

We get draughts under skirting blowing across the laminate.

How can I insulate around the edge of the laminate to stop this happening?

The skirting will pop-off easily enough if needed, and it's time to re-deco rate so fixing any damage will be easy enough. The problem is knowing what to put around the edge to stop the draughts, whether that's something appli ed with or without the skirting in place.

Expanding foam seems too messy (and overkill) for this job. I think the flo or moves too much for silicone sealant to stay in place if applied with the skirting on, and it'll just get lost in the relatively large gap that need s filling behind the skirting when it's off.

Any ideas? I almost thought about packing behind the skirting with wool or something similar.

Thanks in advance, David.

P.S. I think the foil backed underlay should have been allowed to carry on a bit up behind the skirting when it was first laid to prevent this problem . Too late now.

[soup]

Mouldings fixed to the skirting but unattached to the floor allowing the laminate to move?

[Ian Jackson]

In message , David Robinson writes

Sheets of newspaper, laid flat and folded over several times as required to fill the gap, and packed into the gap using a wide blade (I used a 4" wide wallpaper scraper).

[Jeremy Nicoll - news posts]

or something similar.

How about the rubber P- or U-profile (cross-section) rubber stuff that's traditionally used as a compression seal around doorways? If it was stuck to the underneath of the skirting board hopefully the floor could still move slightly (does it expand and contract?) but the gap would be draught-proof.

[DerbyBorn]

If the skirting can be easily removed then I would firstly try and fix the source of the draught and then apply brown adhesive foam draught proofing strip to the bottom face of the skirting and pop it back on.

[David Robinson]

Thanks for the answers.

I assume it does expand and contract, but what's more obvious is that where a heavy piece of furniture is placed near the wall, the laminate goes down several mm, whereas where there is nothing near the walls it fits tightly to the skirting.

I think any solution that relies on sealing just the laminate/skirting gaps may push the draught out of the top of the skirting instead. Not everywher e, but the walls are uneven enough that it will find its way through in eno ugh places to be annoying and probably stain the walls. I guess I could sea l that too.

Cheers, David.

[David Robinson]

I like that idea. I hope if I do it well enough the draught won't find its way through? Hope it doesn't jam the laminate so much that it warps in the summer/winter though?

Cheers, David.

[David Robinson]

I don't think the source of the draught can be "fixed" - it's a traditional floorboard on joists floor, and where the floorboards hit the walls it's i nevitable some draught from under the floor comes up, isn't it? Unless you know of a way of sealing that (which is kind of what I'm asking). I guess t he floorboards expand+shrink yearly so need that gap? It would take somethi ng between expanding foam and regular sealant to fill it I think - it would need to fill a decent space without setting hard.

Cheers, David.

[Brian Gaff]

You will still get draughts like that. No its got to be some kind of stuff like perhaps carpet underlay or that squishy door sealing rubber stuff if you are not going to attach it. Brian

[Ian Jackson]

In message , David Robinson writes

It seems to work fine here (certainly with parquet flooring) - and it costs nothing!

The secret is to end up with a V-shaped wedge, around 1/2" deep and the width of a page, and thick enough so that it packs in comfortably without being too tight. You overlap it as you progress around the shirting board. If necessary, it may help if the paper is *very* slightly damp (certainly not soggy).

It's going to have to be packed in pretty tightly for it to impede the movement of the laminate. However, if the laminate does move, as it contracts it may tend to pull the paper out, and you may find you occasionally need to poke it back in again.

>

[fred]

It sounds like you want to do a decent job and I think you've already pointed in the direction you will need to go.

You don't seem phased by taking off the skirting so I'd say do that. You'll find an uneven and probably dirty gap between the existing floorboards and the wall that you will need to fill. Clean and vac out the gap then lightly fill with expanding foam, not with the virtually uncontrollable DIY cans but with a semi-pro gun and screw on cans. You can adjust the flow on the latter and it is eminently more controllable, you can dispense in a fine bead if that is what is needed. Fill 1/4 to

1/3 and it will expand to fill. Moisture aids curing so a light mist spray in the gap before filling will help things along. As it is aerated, it will have some flex to it so will maintain a close seal. Leave 24 hrs then trim the excess with a hacksaw blade.

You'll probably still have small gaps from the grooves in the boards, clean these out, fill with sealant and smooth over so the laminate can expand over the area if required. If there is any underlay showing then lay a bead of sealant and press it down onto that.

If you think you might benefit from some tape in sealing then use self adhesive foil tape used to seal joints in Celotex etc rather than duct tape as the glue in the latter tends to go off after a few years and become unstuck. You may benefit from a run of 4" foil tape in a 2x2" L shape between floor and wall but you will be able to judge better when you see the state of it. Only apply the tape if there is something smooth and clean to stick it to, it probably wont stick well (and therefore not be airtight) to cut expanding foam so don't rely on it for basic sealing, just use as a backup/finish.

Replace skirting and you are done :-)

Gun, foam & tape examples:

ps: you can use low expansion foam if you are concerned about mess but the pro guns are so controllable that you really don't need too, plus it is more expensive and you will use twice as many cans, so 3x the cost overall. Btw, always wear plastic disposable gloves (_always_).

[stuart noble]

Foam pipe insulation is great for packing out gaps. Cut to size with scissors and stuff it in