Laminate floor gaps

c4mpbell · 18 Aug 2016

Hey guys first post

Looking for some advice.

I recently installed a laminate floor in the living room about 6 weeks ago. Everything has settled in and it looks great. The only problem is there are 2 areas about 30cm wide that the boards lengthwise look like they're parting a bit. Its so hard to see. I can only see it on my hands an knees. When I look i can see the smallest amount of mdf in the gap. I'm worried if it gets any water it will expand and get worse.

No idea what to do. I hope it dosent grow into something noticeable.

Should i hit it with a tiny paintbrush and some satin varnish?

Any help would be appreciated.

foxhole · 18 Aug 2016

Was not installed correctly, if near a wall you may still be able to persuade it together with the right tools.

c4mpbell · 19 Aug 2016

foxhole said:
Was not installed correctly

Probably, but it wasn't like that when i put it down. It was perfect when it went down.

I thought it would be just because it has settled now. Its about a meter from the wall, not going to be able to knock it back.

foxhole · 19 Aug 2016

If you can get leverage at the wall it's possible to force closed, have use a crowbar and wood block to achieve this. Laminate does not settle it's either clicked together firmly or not.

dazlight · 19 Aug 2016

Double sided take on board and peice of wood then pull it back in.
What laminate is it ?

MGMDIY · 12 Nov 2016

Try the "floor gap fixer". I had this problem because my floors were not level. I put glue in the gaps and used this to close them. When new gaps appear I use this to close them. They have videos on youtube. I got mine online www.floorgapfixer.com

Doggit · 12 Nov 2016

C4, when you fitted the laminate, did you use cork strips around the expansion gap at the edge of the floor. If you didn't then the floors expanding, but not getting pushed back.

crazydaze · 14 Nov 2016

You should never fill the gap round the edge of the floor, a laminate needs the gap to expand and contract evenly.

Best to try getting a tapping arm in place and tap it back together, it could be residue in the joint or uneven expansion suggesting an issue that has caused it to open up.

Doggit · 14 Nov 2016

crazydaze said:
You should never fill the gap round the edge of the floor, a laminate needs the gap to expand and contract evenly.

The cork allows the laminate to expand, but keeps it in place. Without it, the laminate could creep across the room, and leave a large gap on one side of the room. You use spacers to fit the floor, and then replace them with the cork strips before fitting the skirting boards, and that's possibly why there's gaps appearing.

crazydaze · 15 Nov 2016

Doggit said:
The cork allows the laminate to expand, but keeps it in place. Without it, the laminate could creep across the room, and leave a large gap on one side of the room. You use spacers to fit the floor, and then replace them with the cork strips before fitting the skirting boards, and that's possibly why there's gaps appearing.

In 20 years as a retailer selling Laminate flooring including Quick-Step, Pergo, Parador and many others, never have I seen a manufacturer recommend cork in the expansion gaps around the edge of the room.

The expansion gap is there to allow the floor to move and should not be restricted by anything, fitted correctly the floor will be connected together and given free movement, it won't pull apart unless something like moisture is introduced that distorts an area of the floor.

Installed correctly the floor will expand and contract evenly, properly acclimatised and with the correct fittings, the floor won't pull away from one edge revealing a gap.

Doggit · 15 Nov 2016

Interesting. Just done a quick check on the web, and the advice seems 50/50 on do or don't. The theory behind the cork strips, is that they'll squash to about 3/4 of their width, and then expand back, and that's the way I was taught. I cheated on one room, and didn't put the cork strips everywhere, and over a period of about 11 years, got gaps appearing where there was no expansion strip at the end of the boards, but beyond that, the room was fine, and the expansion strips caused no problems, so whereas I may well be wrong, I've had no problems from having done it that way.

fixo · 22 Nov 2016

This is interesting, i'm also thinking of fitting some laminate soon to replace some old T&G engineered flooring. There are currently expansion gaps left everywhere around the downstairs wooden floored area (which were hidden by scotia until i pulled that up recently) but there is cork used around the bottom stair (stairs are carpetted).

diynot

If you need to find a tradesperson to get your job done, please try our local search below, or if you are doing it yourself you can find suppliers local to you.

Select the supplier or trade you require, enter your location to begin your search.

Are you a trade or supplier? You can create your listing free at DIYnot Local

Laminate floor gaps

Doggit

Doggit

Doggit

Similar threads