Caulking Laminate Flooring

margog85

I recently installed Legends laminate flooring. There were some areas where the floor dipped,and I used asphalt shingles to level it out. It came out great, and is very sturdy. However, there are some areas where the gap between the surface of the flooring and the actual sub-floor are greater than 1/2 inch- probably close to an inch in some areas.

I purchased DuPont Kitchen and Bath caulking, and the packaging says to use something called a "backer rod" for gaps deeper than 1/2". Is this necessary for laminate flooring? Or can I just fill in the entire gap with caulking? What is the best way to approach this?

Also, am I supposed to caulk at the transitions, or just where the floor meets the wall?

Thanks!

bob22

Are you trying to fill in the gaps between your piles of leveling-shingles? If so, how wide are the gaps? IMO, I would have used leveling compound instead of shingles but there are more than one way to skin a cat.

margog85

I had to place the shingles all along one wall where the floor dipped down. the gap between the floor and the wall in that space is only 1/4", but between the subfloor and the surface of the new laminate, it ranges from 1/2" to roughly 1 1/4". Since it is so deep in that space, I was wondering if I should use something to fill the gap, depth wise, before adding caulking.

(I didn't use leveling compound because there are two doorways along that wall, and I was concerned it'd make an even worse mess by spilling over into other rooms. Also, it is a long wall that I needed to level out, and we need to walk on that area regularly to get to the other half of the house (bathroom!) so it couldn't really be left "off-limit" to dry, either. A rep at home depot recommended shingles to me, and I found similar advice from others on both this forum and others... it seemed like the most realistic fix!)

Thanks!