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laminate wood flooring - after installed

4K views 6 replies 4 participants last post by  msv 
#1 ·
hi all

i have recently installed some laminate wood flooring in my daughters room. (snap and click type...............no nails/glue at all.

first, i removed all baseboard/door trim since we were going to replace it with something new. it has been about a week since the flooring has been complete, the trim has yet to be done but i figured i could do that whenever. last night i noticed that the bedroom door is now bowed. what would cause this?? i didnt even touch the door. i only removed the trim. we have been in this house for 6 years now and this has never been like that. not sur eif it has to do with removing the trim or not or mmaybe cause we ripped the carpet up and placed wood flooring. any ideas?

next. as i mentioned above, the floor has been installed and complete. we are now starting to see thin slivers of gaps between the ends of each plank where they but together. we have used the tapping block to snap them back together but the gap keeps coming back. is there a way to seal this so we dont have to keep hitting back into place? once the trim is in place on the wall, it will be impossible to get the tapping block on the end to hit it back into place. how can i fix this?
 
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#3 ·
In many of the remodels I've done I've seen where the doors were installed initially with very few nails and shims and then locked into place with the trim. When you removed the trim you may have racked the frame which would affect the operation of the door. More than likely the door is fine but the frame needs to be adjusted for the door to operate properly. You should be able to do this while the trim is off by shimming behind the hinges as needed for adjustment. You will also want to make sure the frame is in plain as if one jamb is out of plain with the other the door will appear to be warped when you close it. So make adjustments, close the door and check your reveals and re-adjust and so on until it works again. Make sure its well supported with shims, nail it off (I like to use long screws behind the hinge and strike. you don't have to putty and paint) and install your new trim. Sorry can't help with the gaps in the flooring.
 
#5 ·
only thing that i can think of as a reason for the gaps is that you did not acclimate the flooring before installing it. It's probably shrinking and that's why you get the gaps. if you have a pretty wide variation in moisture in that area of your house, the gaps will open and close with the seasons(dry/wet). right now, let it acclimate as it is and wait on the trim... try to keep the moisture level steady year-round with a humidifier in dry season. I think( get a second oppinion on this) the ideal moisture level is 45-55%. manufacturer should be able to tell you what the ideal limits are for your flooring.
MSV www.getyourfloors.com
 
#6 ·
Even acclimated, which does help, laminate floors contract and expand a lot. As long as the flooring is free to move it should stay together. However, if you place two heavy objects at opposite ends of the perpendicular alignment, pieces would likely separate. Also, was an underlayment layed down to help assist in the floor moving freely? Perhaps a couple of nails heads sticking up are preventing the flooring from contracting?
 
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