Laminate flooring - how to do edges under skirting

quatro

To lay laminate when the skirting board is removed and replaced after the job is done requires a gap to be kept around the edges for movement I believe. Would this gap need to be filled with the cork edging that is on the market or with spacers?
Apart from a hearth [what would i do around that?] - the room is a simple shape - nothing complicated.
Thanks.

grumbler

Wickes: Lay laminate flooring, Good Idea Leaflet 53

Spacing blocks are used only when you lay the flooring. The gap is called 'expansion gap' and in theory should be filled with soft cork material.

Fruitcake

You don't need to fill the gap with anything. Normally you put spacers around the edge when laying the floor to create the gap, then remove them afterwards. If you don't remove the spacers it's the same as having no gap at all and the whole floor will buckle if it expands.

There is no cork around my 45 year old wood block floor, and I didn't put any around the two laminate floors I have laid 5 and 3 years ago respectively. I have never had any sort of problem with any of them. I actually find the gaps quite useful as I can run telephone or confuser cables in them out of site.

You should have a gap all the way around the edge of the floor including the hearth. You might get away without it on one side but the laminate will push against the hearth and expand in the opposite direction when it warms up. This is fine if there is a gap at the other end. The problem is that when the floor cools it will contract away from the hearth and might leave a small gap. As this happens daily and repeatedly the gap may get bigger. If the end of the laminates are against the hearth, some might end up with bigger gaps than others. If the floor is layed the opposite way, you may end up with a bigger gap at one end than the other. It's suprising how unsightly even the smallest gap looks when laminate floors are designed to have no visible gaps at all.

To cover the gaps when you have finished you just nail quarter round beading to the skirting board so that the floor can slide underneath it when it expands and contracts. It's also very easy to pull off and refit if you want to drop a cable (but not 230v electrickery) in the gap.


Fruitcake

You Only Listen To Me When I'm Wrong

martindow

Suppliers of laminate flooring usually supply strips to hide the edges which you can nail or glue. After seeing rope used and thinking how nice it looked we have used that. You can buy natural looking 15mm rope from ships chandlers and fix it with a blob of instant glue every few inches. Really quick and easy - no mitring or cutting needed. It's also excellent for uneven walls.

buglawton

A local supplier was offering an all-in price including fitting of laminate flooring. When I asked for the detail about edging, he pointed out that plastic edging is the standard. I have seen examples of this & it looks artificial if not tacky. He was not even interested in quoting for the effort of removing the skirting board and replacing it afterwards on top of the laminate flooring. I jemmied the skirting boards in our utility room off once in order to fit cushion flooring, it came off neatly and was replaced above the new layer no probs.

Edinburghlass_2

martindow wrote:

Suppliers of laminate flooring usually supply strips to hide the edges which you can nail or glue. After seeing rope used and thinking how nice it looked we have used that. You can buy natural looking 15mm rope from ships chandlers and fix it with a blob of instant glue every few inches. Really quick and easy - no mitring or cutting needed. It's also excellent for uneven walls.

What a great idea :j

I have some ready to get laid in the bathroom and between a night store heater, toilet and basin I wondered about how to do the rounded edges of these.

Hunnymonster

It's really far simpler to lift the toilet pan and the sink pedestal and slide the floor under (you only have to lift it a tiny amount to get the laminate under) - makes a far neater job than trying to cut the right curve (even approximately), and far easier to slide it in rather than trying to wangle the neat curve you just made into position.....

Both toilet pan & sink pedestal are unlikely to be screwed down by more than 8 screws between them.

Edinburghlass_2

Fancy a day in Edinburgh to do a homer then Honeymonster

robowen

Hunnymonster wrote:

It's really far simpler to lift the toilet pan and the sink pedestal and slide the floor under (you only have to lift it a tiny amount to get the laminate under) - makes a far neater job than trying to cut the right curve (even approximately), and far easier to slide it in rather than trying to wangle the neat curve you just made into position.....

Both toilet pan & sink pedestal are unlikely to be screwed down by more than 8 screws between them.

The sink maybe tiled upto it and silicone sealed. Removing the sink and toilet is making more work for yourself. Lifting the toilet up by 1/4" means you have to redrill to fix the cistern to the wall and adjust the soil pipe connection, probably may have to change the pan connector at a cost of around £10.

@edi, havent you had this job done yet ?? :rolleyes: how long have you been waiting ??

rob

Leithie

Edinburghlass wrote:

Fancy a day in Edinburgh to do a homer then Honeymonster

Good plan Edinburghlass, if you fancy it Honeymonster, I'm in Edinburgh too and looking for someone to do laminate in livingroom.
:rolleyes:

Nile

Hello Leithie


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