What is floor expansion?

The term expansion gap, when used in conjunction with wood flooring refers to the space left around the edges of a room when a floor is fitted. Normally a space of between 10 and 15mm, it's not a huge amount of space, but it's enough to help prevent problems with wood flooring when it expands and contracts.

Why do floors expand?

Solid wood floors take in moisture when there is a high level of humidity in the air and let that moisture go when the humidity reduces. High humidity in the wood causes it to expand. Low, or reducing humidity causes it to contract.

When would an expansion joint be required on hardwood flooring?

It is a gap or space that is left around the perimeter of the room. For hardwood floors a gap of at least 12mm should be left around the whole edge of the room, including all doorways, fire places and around any pipework. Both solid hardwood and engineered hardwood need an expansion gap.

Why do you need an expansion gap for laminate flooring?

Why Do I Need An Expansion Gap? When temperatures increase so does humidity, your laminate flooring will absorb the moisture in the air causing your flooring will expand. If your flooring expands without the necessary space to do so your floor may buckle, bubble, or crack.

What happens if an expansion gap is not left?

When you don't have the proper expansion gap, the pressure caused by the natural expansion of the floor will need to go somewhere. This causes the floor to buckle and often leads to irreversible damage that calls for plank replacement. Buckling: What happens when a floor can't expand properly.

Floating Floor Tips - How To Plan for Expansion and Contraction

Do laminate floors really expand?

Expansion gaps are essential in all laminate floor installations. Temperature and humidity will change in all rooms. This result is the laminate flooring will expanding and contract as the temperature and humidity change. It's the same with solid and engineered wood floors.

Does engineered floor need expansion gap?

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.

Do you need an expansion gap for vinyl plank flooring?

Because of vinyl flooring's climate sensitivity, be sure to leave about a ¼-inch expansion gap around the perimeter of your floor. This way if the flooring expands it will have the space to do so and it won't warp or buckle in the middle.

How much does a wood floor expand?

This can be important to note when choosing wood floor planks and installing wood flooring, so you can plan for which way the floors may shrink or expand. Floors can shift up to 1/4 inch due to expansion or shrinkage.

What is the maximum floor length I can install without expansion joint?

If the room is more or less square and if there aren't too many indoor climate changes between weekdays and the weekend or during the day, then you can lay up to 13 running metres without extra expansion joints in the floor surface. The expansion joint along the walls depends on the total length of the floor.

Does wood floor expand in summer or winter?

Solid hardwood floors move in sync with fluctuating conditions in their environment. They expand when the humidity increases, and contract when it decreases. During the winter months, contracting floors will often leave thin cracks or gaps between the planks.

Should I leave gaps between floorboards?

Leaving the right expansion gap is an essential part of fitting any wooden floor. Whether it be solid wood, engineered wood or parquet block flooring, they all need an expansion gap to allow for natural movements when the wood expands and contracts with changes in the surrounding atmosphere.

Are gaps in hardwood floors normal?

Generally speaking, gaps in a wood floor are normal for boards up to 2¼ inches wide if the gaps close during more humid times of the year. Normal gaps can vary in width, ranging from hairline gaps to the thickness of a quarter.

Why is my wood floor expanding?

High Humidity

That's why if you live in an area that has humid weather, a wood floor is usually not recommended. Especially in small and windowless parts of your house, like the bathroom and kitchen. Your wooden floor can absorb moisture from the air, and this will cause the wood to expand and to buckle.

How do you cover expansion gaps?

To cover an expansion gap around the edge of your room, you will either want to use bamboo skirting. Alternatively, if you already have existing skirting boards you would use bamboo beading.

Do you install baseboards before vinyl plank flooring?

As a general rule, baseboard is installed after the floor is installed, which makes covering the vinyl planks easy. However, door casings and jambs are often installed before a floor, which means you need to undercut the jambs/casing.

Does vinyl flooring really expand?

Expansion and contraction is a fact of life

vinyl! Vinyl is susceptible to temperature changes in its ambient environment which will cause the vinyl flooring to expand and contract with normal hot and cold fluctuations.

Why is my vinyl plank flooring separating?

High-traffic and moving heavy furniture around

You might notice gaps in your vinyl plank flooring around the areas with high traffic in your home. Especially if your kids are running around the area all the time or someone religiously performs strenuous exercises, the pressure might cause the planks to move around.

Why is my engineered wood floor cracking?

Keep your space dry and at a consistent temperature.

You may need to buy a humidifier or dehumidifier or both, depending on the time of year and where you live. Checking is common with low humidity. Cracks occur when it is very dry, and are even more obvious than checks.

Is it better to glue or float an engineered wood floor?

If you are trying to decide between the two, then for engineered wood flooring floating is usually the best option as you can install it quickly and don't have to worry about which glue to use and how long to wait for it to dry. If you are installing hardwood flooring then using glue may give you a more stable result.

Does engineered wood floor shrink?

It swells in high humidity and shrinks when the air is drier. The amount of expansion and contraction largely depends on the orientation of the wood grain.

How much space should be between laminate and wall?

How wide should the gap be between the laminate flooring and the walls? 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.

Do laminate floors shrink?

Humidity can make your laminate floor boards shrink or expand a bit. This fluctuation in humidity levels can cause them to click loose and move, resulting in openings between the boards. Fortunately, you don't have to remove the entire floor to close these open joints.

Does laminate flooring need underlay?

Yes. Unless your flooring planks have pre-attached underlay, you will need to buy separate laminate underlay for your project. The extra layer of cushioning can provide a wide range of benefits, protecting your new floor from damage. This will significantly improve your new floors look, feel, and overall performance.