Laminate floor block

[cott99]

Were would i get a decent block to hit the laminate floor into place with, I tried focus own brand, it soon broke up, and was i only tapping, It will be the cheap laminate i use, B and Q or homebase

Regards

 

[WoodYouLike]

Use a block of wood (batten size, 50 x 50 x 150 - 200mm), much better.

 

[cott99]

I thought that, but thought it would break the laminate lip, so went with the block, when i do the room i will try the wood block,

Whats the trick not to break the floor, is it light taps?

Cheers

 

[WoodYouLike]

Best trick is to buy good quality laminate or wood-engineered or solid wood
When you have to tap really hard, there is something wrong with the fit of the T&G (lower quality products). Too loose a fit is the other side of the coin and also tells something about the low quality of the product.
Light tapping should be sufficient, just take your time.

 

[HandyJon]

Were would i get a decent block to hit the laminate floor into place with

Use the laminate floor itself, or to be more accurate an off cut from a board. Using an offcut you can get the offcut "clicked" into position to tap in and because its a perfect fit the T&G won't be damaged.

Depending on the make you only need to give gentle to light taps to get them to click together and butt up tightly.

 

[mrh2301]

Help!

We have wickes parawood engineered wood floor. We are trying with a rubber mallet and tapping block or pulling bar. We cannot get the tongue and groove to close - what are we doing wrong?? ????

Trying with regular hammer - isn't any better. ??????

Is it just a really poor quality product?

 

[GHFlooring]

when fitting engineered floors that are glued on the t & g you need to used straps strap them up then using a tapping block and hammer tap the boards together the tension in the straps should help to pull the floor together

 

[mrh2301]

Thanks, and that might be the answer but please can I double check -

they're supposedly glueless and the instructions make out like it SHOULD be really easy to tap together with a tapping block.

is strapping the way to go or are there any other suggestions? the first two were so so so hard to do I'm close to returning the product as not-fit-for purpose.

 

[WoodYouLike]

click-system, the 'problem-free' floor

Have you checked if the ridges on both sided aren't in any way damaged? have you tried various angles

 

[mrh2301]

yep, have tried a few different planks from two different packs and at angles.

later edit:

tried standing on other board and not, tried tapping gentle and hard
tried larger tapping block and larger jemmy (this did help a little)
tried belting it with the hammer
tried angles in three planes

tried the manufacturer helpline twice
watched in person a demonstration from a manufacturer trained shop assistant
watched a demonstration on the manufacturer website and read their pdf
watched the b&q dvds

gave up, returned it. pity cos it looked great. stuck with no floor or skirting boards and a load of kit.

humph

but thanks for your help. might be back when we decide what to replace it with !

 

[chrisT1169]

when fitting solid or enginered wood if the joints dont go together use a ratchet strap and strap it tite and chap the board in.and that shoud do the trick and then secure the board.]