Wood floor help please

[Onlyady]

I have just found this forum and very impressed.

I am going to try and lay a wood floor for first time ever. My situation is 1 room 27sqm flat concrete floor.

I have a grey underlay called combilay and the wood is softwood topped with real oak with a click together system.

What I would like to know is this expansion gap I can see why I need i but surely the floor will separate and split I don't want this so how can I stop it?

I have french doors at one end of the room and with an expansion gap it will look stupid how do I get round this?

Is it ok to put wires in the expansion gap for things like speakers and telephone?

If I manage the floor is there a good sealant I should use after?

Any other tips or tricks would be great.

Thank you in advance

Adrian

 

[WoodYouLike]

Hi Adrian

No, leaving an expansion gap will not split your floor 'open'. The weight of the wood and your furniture will make it 'behave' as it should. The expansion gap is there to allow your floor to expand during higher air humidity periods without causing problems.

The expansion gap in front of your French doors you can cover with flat beading - edgings, a very neat and practical finish in our opinion.

Depending on your preferences we would recommend to apply a HardWaxOil for the best result (and easier to apply for DIY-er than most varnishes or lacquers)

 

[Onlyady]

Thank you

 

[dds]

if this is your first wood floor, dont be attempted to hoover dust from it as i did. The hoover scratches it quite badly. Use a soft brush. Oh yes , i hid speaker wires between the gap and wall under the beading. I also run beading along the french doors. keeping the beading to the same colour of the floor is alwasy beter on the eye rather than white beading to match the skirtings or white French door frames. In my opinion,,,,,,,,,