I'm getting conflicting advice regarding wooden flooring in conservatory, I was going to fit solid wood engineered laminate flooring, some don't recommend wooden flooring and some do because of the heat in the conservatory. The next problem would be what the best way for the finish edge against the full glass conservatory? The opposite will have skirting board so no problem there, Also is 9m too long for laminated flooring in length for expansion etc? Might easier to have ceramic tiles instead!
Wooden flooring for conservatory
- Thread starter masona
- Start date
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Hi Masona
With Solid wood-engineered laminate flooring you mean the wooden floor that has a solid top layer of at least 3.6mm on a high quality pine or water-resistant-plywood backing?
I hope you do because that's your best bet in areas where there is either more moisture or where temperatures can vary rapidly. We've installed wood-engineered flooring frequently in large conservatories without any problems.
Leave an expansion gap in front of the glass wall and cover it with flat beading which is pinned down to the wooden floor.
With Solid wood-engineered laminate flooring you mean the wooden floor that has a solid top layer of at least 3.6mm on a high quality pine or water-resistant-plywood backing?
I hope you do because that's your best bet in areas where there is either more moisture or where temperatures can vary rapidly. We've installed wood-engineered flooring frequently in large conservatories without any problems.
Leave an expansion gap in front of the glass wall and cover it with flat beading which is pinned down to the wooden floor.
Yes
Thanks WoodYouLike, the floor underneath will be floor screed and I don't want a long term problem of lifting specially the door exit area, maybe a u shape profile type if available then I can screws/rawlplugs it then slide the flooring inside it?
Why would you have long term problems?
If you use your idea, make sure the floor has enough room to expand!
If you use your idea, make sure the floor has enough room to expand!
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Because I think the flat beading which you can't really pin it to the floor screed (too near the edge) plus I feel it won't stay flat unless you're thinking pin it to the laminated flooring? Another thought would be to screws/plugs a small square timber round the edge and pin the flat beading to it so the laminated can expand underneath unless I'm missing something here?
Why do I think we're both talking about something else?
You leave a 10 - 13mm expansion gap all around your Wood-Engineered (not a laminate plastic stuff one) floor and where there are not skirtingboards to cover this gaps you pin down a flat unobtrusive Oak beading to cover the gap. The floor will stay in place due to its own weight and the furniture you put on it.
Any lifting will be caused by changes in humidity (be it from the air or from the concrete floor). Seasonal changes will not effect wood-engineered flooring as much as it can effect solid flooring. But it does need room to expand - fixing something down with screws etc will restrict this natural movement and will cause the problem you are trying to avoid.
You leave a 10 - 13mm expansion gap all around your Wood-Engineered (not a laminate plastic stuff one) floor and where there are not skirtingboards to cover this gaps you pin down a flat unobtrusive Oak beading to cover the gap. The floor will stay in place due to its own weight and the furniture you put on it.
Any lifting will be caused by changes in humidity (be it from the air or from the concrete floor). Seasonal changes will not effect wood-engineered flooring as much as it can effect solid flooring. But it does need room to expand - fixing something down with screws etc will restrict this natural movement and will cause the problem you are trying to avoid.
Not easy to explain on here, what I'm thinking is, the explansion gap is approximately 10-13mm and the flat beading is 28mm wide, the pins got to be away from the edge of the laminated flooring to the floor screed allowing expansion therefore will be approximately 1/3 from the edge of the beading and I feel the beading will tilt in an angle or could split as I don't use any expansion cork to support the beading. Surely I got to use a thin masonary nail to pin it to the floor screed and also being near the edge it's well known that the floor screed can weaken and break away(?) When you say pin it, what type of nails do you have in mind in floor screed?
I'll try an do a drawing for you if I can somehow
We use this method (pinning down the flat beading to the wooden floor with brads) most of the time where the skirtingboards is not covering the expansion gap without ever any problems of tilting or splitting.
Remember you are planning to install wood-engineered boards which do not move that much and you should never ever fill your expansion gap with cork anyway (what use would the gap have if you fill it???)
Gaps! They are there for a very good reason!
Remember you are planning to install wood-engineered boards which do not move that much and you should never ever fill your expansion gap with cork anyway (what use would the gap have if you fill it???)
Gaps! They are there for a very good reason!
Thanks WoodYouLike, I have no problem fitting it to the wooden flooring, I just feel the floor screed is not straight forward but not impossible, this is the theory I have for fixing the flat beading to the floor screed using a small square timber, what do you think? over the top? Fig 1 will stop the beading tilting over?
fig 1 is how i do it.
I agree with fig 1. The floor if it does expand will expand under the beading. If you pin the beading to the flooring and the flooring expands it will either lift the beading , break the glass or lift the flooring...
John..
John..
don't really agree with this scenario I'm afraid John. If the wood floor expands that much to lift the beading upwards it will also be able to press against the block of wood of fig 1 and break the glass. Wood is so very strong.
Fig 2 is not correct Masona: the pin is not supposed to go into the concrete but into the beading where it sits on the wooden floor. And yes, when your whole floor moves, the beading moves with it but because you are using a tiny pin it does not restrict to movement which will happen using method of fig 1 (in extreme cases, but then again using our method will also only show in extreme cases, as said before, we recommend wood-engineered in conservatories and these types of floors have the benefit of being very, very stable.
In fig 1 there is a expansion gap to allow the flooring to expand underneath the beading..
If you pin the beading into the floor the beading will move which you dont want.. it will then show a gap around the floor. Its the same as if you fit quadrant around a floor, you fix it to the skirting not the floor..
I have seen plenty of floors causing damage when they have expanded, splitting 12" skirting off the walls as the fitters had left no expansion gap
John.
If you pin the beading into the floor the beading will move which you dont want.. it will then show a gap around the floor. Its the same as if you fit quadrant around a floor, you fix it to the skirting not the floor..
I have seen plenty of floors causing damage when they have expanded, splitting 12" skirting off the walls as the fitters had left no expansion gap
John.
Leaving no expansion gap is the problem, not the cover for the expansion gap.
You may disagree with our method, but our clients love it and we brought this method with us when we moved from The Netherlands to the UK (10 years ago, time flies!) where nothing but flat beading is used - for over 40 years. If it really would cause all the problems you think is will cause, time has proven differently.
You may disagree with our method, but our clients love it and we brought this method with us when we moved from The Netherlands to the UK (10 years ago, time flies!) where nothing but flat beading is used - for over 40 years. If it really would cause all the problems you think is will cause, time has proven differently.
They did leave a expansion gap (about 3mm) then filled it with silicone
If your way works fine, we all use different methods
John..
If your way works fine, we all use different methods
John..
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