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Thread: Question about tongue-in-groove flooring

  1. #16
    Join Date
    May 2005
    Location
    Highland MI
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    4,511
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    I just put down 800 sf of floating stranded bamboo click and lock flooring. Of course they wanted an allowance around the perimeter for expansion. I installed it in mid winter with 30% indoor humidity. I undercut the entire dry wall perimeter and installed it basically flush with the drywall, leaving a 1/2" underneath for expansion. I measured an offcut, approximately 5"x5" with my digital calipers at 30% humidity at install and again in the summer at 50% indoor humidity. Not more than a few thousandths difference in size across 5". Two thousandths across a 14' floor (33 boards) is less than an eighth of an inch. I left an inch.
    NOW you tell me...

  2. #17
    Quote Originally Posted by Ole Anderson View Post
    I just put down 800 sf of floating stranded bamboo click and lock flooring. Of course they wanted an allowance around the perimeter for expansion. I installed it in mid winter with 30% indoor humidity. I undercut the entire dry wall perimeter and installed it basically flush with the drywall, leaving a 1/2" underneath for expansion. I measured an offcut, approximately 5"x5" with my digital calipers at 30% humidity at install and again in the summer at 50% indoor humidity. Not more than a few thousandths difference in size across 5". Two thousandths across a 14' floor (33 boards) is less than an eighth of an inch. I left an inch.

    Of course manufacturers have to allow a massive safety factor for anything from poorly acclimated/not acclimated materials, tropical climates, and 300 miles of other variables they are trying to cover their butts on. A good one I remember clearly was helping a local shop with setting a bunch of cabs in a home (other shop had had surgery and was on low power) and went to this large home where the homeowner wanted to use all kinds of local/off the property material. Had cabs made by other shop from old heavily weathered barn wood that was cleaned of grit and dust, shipped to a drying facility, kiln dried, then shipped to the other shop for cabs. Similarly flooring was all locally sourced random with full thickness (3/4") Vgrove T&G hickory. Stained and pre-finished a local millwork shop.

    While there for initial batch of cabs the mountain of flooring was staged in the great room and the homeowners were carrying on about how long they wanted to acclimate the hardwood to the space. Heat on (end of winter). 8 weeks minimum I believe was the plan. Went back again to help with the kitchen cabs into the space and setting them and all the flooring was in and they had painted the walls and done a lot of other door and trim finishing. Warm damp spring rains were setting in. Every single window in the house was open with warm damp air blowing through the house because the homeowners didnt like the smell of the paint and finish. The home was left window open for days likely pouring who knows how much moisture into the structure, drywall, flooring, etc..

    No makey a lot of sensey. But manufacturers have to cover their butts for scenarios far worse than that. Ive only seen one or two wood floors in my live tent due to expansion. The most common scenario is someone installs a prefinished floor super tight hoping for the floor to remain tight and then they are upset when all the gaps appear. Whether the floor shrunk or expanded, jacked itself apart, and then shrunk, who knows.

    Bottom line if you want super tight it better be narrow strip, installed raw, sanded and finished old school. Either that or clip/glued together floating.

  3. #18
    Join Date
    May 2018
    Location
    Lancaster, Ohio
    Posts
    1,346
    Have seen numerous gym floors being laid new and older floors repaired due to water damage
    New/replacement floors every 5th strip install a gap using flat washers. Some have special underlayment with rubber? cushions installed. High traffic areas with lots of play that gap vanishes.
    old floors with severe water damage will tent up, run fans into the wall with baseboards removed to get air under floor. most times the floor will settle back down. some floors have been bad enough over lots of years to have sections cut out and replaced
    Ron

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