What Size Expansion Gap For Laminate Flooring

So the same thing applies to laminate flooring.

What size expansion gap for laminate flooring. What this means is the wood expands or contracts or grows and shrinks in response to changing temperatures and humidity. Many flooring sales people unfamiliar with hardwood flooring assume expansion is the same as laminate flooring. When laying laminate flooring it is essential that you leave at least a 10 12mm expansion gap around the perimeter of the floor. Typically expansion gaps are about 1 4 to 1 2 and are left around all vertical obstructions.

The size of the required expansion space can range from 1 8 to more than 1 4 depending upon the manufacturer and product. A metre of laminate flooring can undergo dimensional fluctuations of about a millimetre. What size expansion gap is required for laminate flooring. Without the proper expansion space a floor may buckle and gap due to the normal expansion and contraction of the laminate floating floor.

Expansion space must be left around fixed objects such as pipes cabinets fireplace hearths sliding glass door tracks floor outlets floor vents and thresholds. An expansion gap should be a minimum of 5 16 of an inch 8 mm steve ballmer. If the proper expansion gap is not left during installation and the planks on the sides push up against the wall the pressure will cause planks elsewhere in the room to buckle. For standard sized rooms or areas an expansion gap of between 12mm 15mm should be left around the perimeter of the room including doorways.

What size expansion gap do i need. The flooring store said to leave one quarter inch gaps for expansion at the walls now the boards are lifting off the floor ill informed advice like this often leads to floor problems. The recommended expansion gap is a minimum of inch. However you won t need to worry about any spaces around the perimeter of your installation.

Expert installers say that the larger the space the larger the expansion gap should be as the floor needs more space to expand and contract with temperature. The expansion joint along the walls depends on the total length of the floor. The gap should be a minimum of 5 16 of an inch 8 mm. This is what makes it so important to leave a gap of 10mm where the panels abut walls door frames pipes and so forth.

As a rule the larger the space the larger the expansion gap should be. This includes walls permanent cabinets pipes etc. To ensure the correct sized expansion gap is left flooring spacers can be used during installation. There are important reasons to do so and we will cover them in this article.