Spacers against laminate floor

[Ambergreen45]

Hi, When installing laminate flooring, are the spacers meant to be removed once the laminate is laid out? Thank you.

 

[big-all]

yes once the floor is finished as you need resistance to close up the boards and thats the expansion gap

 

[Doggit]

If they were cork spacers, then you leave them in, if they were plastic spacers, then you replace them with the cork ones.

If there's nothing in the gap, then the floor can creep across in one direction, but won't get pushed back to it's original place.

 

[Ambergreen45]

If they were cork spacers, then you leave them in, if they were plastic spacers, then you replace them with the cork ones.

If there's nothing in the gap, then the floor can creep across in one direction, but won't get pushed back to it's original place.

Just wondering why so many plastic spacers are for sale (?)...

Will I need to cut cork expansion strips in smaller sections and space them out or will they need to fill the whole expansion gap area? So for example, if the room is 16 square metres, should I need the same cork lenght?

Also, how can I make sure the width of the last board is not 'too short' when planning to have it laid in one direction? Thanks again.

 

[Doggit]

Plastic spacers are used a for a lot of things, just not for laminate floors. I cheat and just put 2" lengths of the cork about every foot, especially along the straight sections. Are you taking the skirting boards off, or adding quadrant to the bottom of the skirting boards after the laminate is down. In some ways, it's maybe not a relevant question. You tend to decide which way you want the laminate to go, and then start putting it down, the last piece you cut off, becomes the start of the next row, assuming it's at least half of a board length.

Ideally, you're last row will be more than half of a board width, and if it'snot going to be, calculate the last board length if you start on the other wall. What's the size of your room, and the dimensions of your boards.

 

[Doggit]

You tend to start on the wall next to the doorway, rather than along the doorway wall, or the one opposite. It's much easier to cut the boards into the doorway, than try and cut one to the shape of the doorway.

 

[Ambergreen45]

I'm not too sure about using cork expansion strips to fill in the expansion gaps. Wouldn't the cork restrict some expansion, especially if the room receives lots of sunshine in the summer? My room is 14 square meters and an additional 1.5 square meters for the built in wardrobe (part of the masonery), so wouldn't the weight of all the boards clicked together prevent it from moving? The thickness of cork expansion strips is 7.5mm and the laminate boards are 7mm thick, couldn't that raise the skirting very slightly in some areas as the floor is not completely even?

I will be using architraves as squirting boards since the central heating pipes against the walls are 70mm above the concrete floor.

Thanks again.

 

[Doggit]

Cork is springy, so will compress as the floor expands, but then helps push the floor back to it's original place. As long as the architrave will cover the cork strip, then you're fine, if not, then you may have to make the expansion strip a bit narrower.

Check out the following.

http://www.homebase.co.uk/en/static/how-to-lay-laminate-flooring

 

[Gail_arlidge]

Yes. Spacers are to be removed after installing laminate flooring and before adding any base molding.