Without an expansion gap 'buckling' is a common problem. The expanding laminate floor has no gap to allow for movement. This will cause laminate floorboards to be forced up, often causing a bounce. In extreme cases, it can damage the click system.
You should leave a 10mm gap between the laminate flooring and the walls on all sides. The same applies to other solid objects such as doorframes, heating pipes, stoves and radiators that are flush with the floor and furniture.
Because laminate flooring is a floating floor and should never be nailed or glued down to the subfloor, it must have the ability to expand and contract, unencumbered by such vertical obstructions as walls, doorways or cabinets that can become “pinch points” for the flooring.
Vinyl, like many materials, expands and contracts with changes in temperature and humidity. If you forget to include this necessary gap during installation, you risk problems like buckling, warping, or unsightly gaps between the planks.
Quick-Step Laminate floors expand and contract in function of changing relative humidity conditions in the room. The HDF core board is isotropic and works, equal in both length and width. This means it is extremely important to have expansion gaps of 8 to 10 mm along all walls, around radiator pipes, etc.
To achieve the right expansion gap with your floating floor, cut the tongue off planks where they meet the wall, and use spacers to ensure that you are leaving a uniform gap. Take extra care when installing under door jambs to make sure you undercut them deep enough.
Extra Padding Poses a Risk
By adding unnecessary cushioning, you could actually be causing more harm to your floor than good. The added friction could cause the underlayment to wear down quickly and make your floors less stable over time, causing stress on the floating floor's locking system joints.
If no expansion gap has been left, when a floor naturally expands it will have no where to go and will raise up and damage the flooring. Although engineered hardwood floors can withstand changes in temperature and moisture better than solid wood floors, they still need an expansion gap to allow for small movements.
All building materials, vinyl flooring included, expand and contract as temperatures change. To allow for that movement without causing the planks to buckle as they expand or slip apart as they shrink, installers are supposed to leave an expansion gap around the perimeter of the room.
How does temperature affect laminate flooring? It's because it's porous: expanding when the climate is warmer and contracting when the temperature is cooler.
Laminate flooring is very thin, so any unevenness on the subfloor will eventually begin to show as the floor settles into position – you can find out more about this in our 'What is laminate flooring' guide. The spongy effect can be caused by a dip in the subfloor causing an air gap underneath the laminate flooring.
Moisture barrier underlayment acts as a blockade between the subfloor and laminate to protect your floor from any moisture damage. It really is as simple as it sounds!
The visual effects of the floor can vary depending on the direction in which it is laid. For example, you can make long, narrow rooms look more compressed or make small rooms look more elongated.
Separate Underlayment. Laminate flooring manufacturers typically recommend an underlayment. What happens if you don't put padding under laminate flooring is moisture coming through the subfloor can cause it to warp and mildew. And footsteps on the floor will be louder.
In fact, you can cut the planks using a table saw, miter saw, circular saw, hand saw or laminate cutter. However, using a diamond blade is recommended as laminate can be tough to cut through and may damage another type of blade. Typically, you will cut with the finished side up.
A wood or laminate floor can only bounce when there is a gap between the underside of the plank and the sub-floor. When weight is applied to the flooring, it moves downward because it is not supported, causing the bounce.
Second, staggering increases the floor's stability by distributing the seams and joints more evenly. This is particularly important for floating vinyl plank flooring, where the planks do not adhere to the subfloor. In this case, staggering helps to prevent the flooring from separating or gapping over time.
If the expansion gap is too small or nonexistent, the flooring will not have room to expand and contract with changes in temperature and humidity. This can cause the flooring to buckle, warp, or even lift up from the subfloor.
If you have a concrete floor in your commercial building, you know expansion joints are necessary to allow for the natural expansion and contraction that occurs from temperature changes. Without these joints, large cracks can travel across your floor, creating costly damage.
Foam backer rod helps to fill the empty space in the room perimeter expansion gap and reduces the amount of 100% flexible silicone sealant needed during installation. It also helps to ensure the silicone sealant stays towards the surface to properly span the gap between the top of the HydroShield floor and the wall.
Despite these enhancements, there is a common misconception that an attached pad replaces the need for a traditional flooring underlayment. You may save time shopping and installing your floor if you skip the underlayment, but you will not achieve the optimal performance and longevity for your floor.
You absolutely cannot use carpet underlayment underneath laminate flooring. As much as you want to cut down costs on a new floor, this is not the way to do it. Installing laminate flooring over carpet underlayment will do more harm than good in the long run.
Cork. Cork is a premium underlayment for laminate flooring as it is used to reduce noise. It also has natural antimicrobial properties that prevent mold growth between the laminate flooring and the subfloor.