engineered wood flooring

[andywatson]

Hi all, and thanks in advance for any advice.

I am about to lay an engineered wood floor in the lounge, conservatory and hall. I have a couple of questions.

The lounge has a marble fireplace. Can I floor right up to it or do I need to leave an unsightly expansion gap around it? Obviously there will be an expansion gap around the edge of the room, but this will be hidden under the skirting board.

In the conservatory we have an inward opening door. The clearance isn't very big over the height of the wood. I am desperately trying to avoid having to remove the tiles that are already laid, hoping to lay a floating floor on top of them. If the 2mm underlay is too thick to allow the door to open, could I simply glue the new wood floor to the tiles? I want the answer to be yes, but I am pretty certain the answer will be no!

Finally a wider question. The total floor area I am doing is about 60m2. Most is the lounge, but there are 2 doors that run through into each end of the hall. The plan is a single floating floor throughout- in effect linking the floor in the lounge and the hall. Will I run into any expansion problems with what is a pretty big area as a single run?

 

[andywatson]

OK, done some more research and I am horribly confused!

I need an expansion gap- this is clear.

I have been watching some youtube videos where a guy has made a frame around the hearth, then fit the floor to that. I'm not sure why he did that- just for an appearance?

I have seen some flat type edging strips, I guess these would work.

I read one guy claim that a 1/8" expansion gap filled with clear silicon would be fine as long as the other walls had enough room, but I don't know that I trust that.

However I am pretty sure my other half would prefer them not to be there at all. I saw a guy undercutting a brick fireplace to give an expansion gap that way, which sounds perfect. However I am not convinced my oscillating saw would cope with cutting through marble like that, and I am pretty certain my hand wouldn't be steady enough for a neat cut. The guy on the video had what looked like a circular saw, with a height adjuster- he referred to it as an undercut saw or a jamb saw. I can't seem to find one of these to either buy or rent.

 

[AronSearle]

The lounge has a marble fireplace. Can I floor right up to it or do I need to leave an unsightly expansion gap around it? Obviously there will be an expansion gap around the edge of the room, but this will be hidden under the skirting board.

You need a gap, but it may only need to be a few mm with an engineered board.

Engineered boards move less, but get from the manufacturer expected movement values for the rooms size.

No, before you ask, you can't fill the gap with anything as this stops it being an expansion gap.

Otherwise carry on as you plan, and cut under the brick (not something I know about)

In the conservatory we have an inward opening door. The clearance isn't very big over the height of the wood. I am desperately trying to avoid having to remove the tiles that are already laid, hoping to lay a floating floor on top of them. If the 2mm underlay is too thick to allow the door to open, could I simply glue the new wood floor to the tiles? I want the answer to be yes, but I am pretty certain the answer will be no!

If the tiles are reasonably flat = yes / using a suitable flexible floor adhesive.

Finally a wider question. The total floor area I am doing is about 60m2. Most is the lounge, but there are 2 doors that run through into each end of the hall. The plan is a single floating floor throughout- in effect linking the floor in the lounge and the hall. Will I run into any expansion problems with what is a pretty big area as a single run?

The boards will mostly move in their width, and not their length (assuming the engineered board construction is not unusual).

So as long as you are running the boards along that span = OK.

Also ensure you leave enough expansion between the door widthways.

 

[andywatson]

Thanks AronSearle.

I have seen lots of expansion gaps filled with flexible filler type materials, you say this isn't ok? The filler squashes as the gap shrinks.

I am abandoning the idea of undercutting the marble fireplace as I can't find a suitable saw anywhere.

Glad to know that about the tiles, never seen it done, but lots of Americans seem to like gluing their floors to concrete according to youtube anyway!

The boards will be running lengthways down the hall, with the doors to the lounge. on the left. So in the lounge they will be running parallel to the hall. Not sure from your description if this is good or bad!

One final question- well maybe. The carpet underlay in the lounge is very good condition sponge rubber- that sort of yellow flocked stuff. Pretty firm. Could it be used instead of those green boards, and save me a few quid?

Thanks again

Andy

 

[AronSearle]

I have seen lots of expansion gaps filled with flexible filler type materials, you say this isn't ok? The filler squashes as the gap shrinks.

The filler will not compress to 0, so it is reducing the effective expansion gap size.

Basically, Lots of people do it wrong. But they often get away with it, because expansion gaps are often bigger than they need to be.

One final question- well maybe. The carpet underlay in the lounge is very good condition sponge rubber- that sort of yellow flocked stuff. Pretty firm. Could it be used instead of those green boards, and save me a few quid?

I've laid floating flooring over old vinyl and carpet underlay, the floor doesn't care.

Better underlay might perform better acoustically, not sure the difference is enough for me to care.

 

[andywatson]

Thanks again- that makes perfect sense.

I have just laid a few rows of flooring- it's very dark and the missus is worried she won't like it!

The old underlay feels a bit too springy and bouncy, so I think I will use the real stuff. It would probably be less noticeable with the whole floor on and furniture, but it could well be a false economy.

 

[dazlight]

You can use cork strips around the fireplace. They are ok as will let the wood expand. I did that round a curved fireplace last year. Worked well.