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wooden floor expanding
theconrodkid - 7/12/17 at 01:41 PM

Ok masters of the interweb, my front room floor is tounge and groove wood about half inch thick, it has expanded near the doors so the doors are scraping, i looked on the interweb where it stated that ther should be a 10mm gap between the planks and the wall....there is none hense the upheave of the planks.
as this is all glued together i have 2 options, one is get my buzzsaw and make slots between some planks and let them settle or my fave idea at the mo, remove the skirting board and trim some from the outside plank.
anyone done this and if so how, i dont have any woodworking tools as such, my idea would be to use my angry grinder with a cutting disc to remove the above mentiond 10mm.
your thoughts please


HowardB - 7/12/17 at 02:10 PM

Do the planks go under the skirting or up to it? I removed all the skirting and then replaced it after.
In terms of tools, a buzz saw is good but hard work, what is really required is something like that gets in close that had a guide and a guard, I fear that an angle grinder may not be the safest,...

How about a hobby circular saw? This sort of thing?

HTH


theconrodkid - 7/12/17 at 02:38 PM

thanks for the reply, it goes under the skirting and thanks for the link, looks like the tool i need


jossey - 7/12/17 at 02:44 PM

Depending on the pressure long ways of the wood you may find it makes it worse. It would be better to take the skirting off and trim under the skirting than going down the joins.

Then glue the skirting back and and a bit of caulk will tidy the wall damage up if there is any.


nick205 - 7/12/17 at 03:15 PM

We have T&G laminate flooring. When I laid it I removed the skirting and left a 10mm "expansion" gap around the edges. I replaced the skirting with new slightly deeper skirting (using no more nails) so the flooring goes underneath.

In your situation I'd favour removing the skirting and using a smallish power tool to trim away an expansion gap. An angle grinder might well be a bit dangerous for this and potentially go into the floor below (concrete?). Also worth getting a length of the replacement skirting before hand to check it's thickness so you don't cut too big a gap!

Alternatively plane a bit off the bottom edge of the door for clearance.

[Edited on 7/12/17 by nick205]


JMW - 7/12/17 at 03:42 PM

quote:
Originally posted by HowardB
Do the planks go under the skirting or up to it? I removed all the skirting and then replaced it after.
In terms of tools, a buzz saw is good but hard work, what is really required is something like that gets in close that had a guide and a guard, I fear that an angle grinder may not be the safest,...

How about a hobby circular saw? This sort of thing?

HTH


If you do fancy a mini circular saw you can get cheaper at Screwfix. Doubtless other places as well.


theconrodkid - 7/12/17 at 03:53 PM

thanks guys, as posted above, the 10mm gap was not put in then it was laid, ordered some blades for Mr angry, i shall attack it next week


ash_hammond - 7/12/17 at 04:09 PM

For re-attaching the skirting board as I have just fitted laminate flooring in our dining rooms with the 10mm gap.

I read a few posts that suggested using cheap silicon sealer to stick the skirting boards back on. Strong enough hold then in place, but can be pull then back off if needed with out the high risk of splitting them if they are cheap MDF ones. Plus once calked, the top hold in place anyway.


joneh - 7/12/17 at 05:52 PM

Have you started looking the floor over the last couple of months? They hold water. If so, use one of those spray dry mops for 3 months.


theconrodkid - 7/12/17 at 06:11 PM

skirting is just stuck on, as Mr BT proved when he tried to nail my phone cable to it,it has started to heave since the cold weather has set in and mopping up the mud my dog brings in dont help either


joneh - 7/12/17 at 06:33 PM

quote:
Originally posted by joneh
Have you started looking the floor over the last couple of months? They hold water. If so, use one of those spray dry mops for 3 months.


That should say wet mopping.


macc man - 7/12/17 at 08:56 PM

I fitted a solid oak floor over a concrete base. Within a couple of months it started to hump severely. Turned out I had not left it long enough to dry after self levelling it. I had to cut a big chunk out of it and relay with a bigger skirting gap. This a common mistake with real wood and you cannot easily fix it. Try using a multitool vibrating cutter it is more forgiving than a circular saw or grinder.


Hopley89 - 7/12/17 at 09:14 PM

A multi tool is your best option as you can cut it a lot easier.


Pete Jordan - 7/12/17 at 11:26 PM

I'd use a vibrating multi-tool with a wide blade and put an 8mm ish strip of wood between the blade and the wall (after the skirting has been removed) to space it the right distance off the wall a give a nice even cut.


ash_hammond - 8/12/17 at 08:44 AM

I second the multi-tool, they are brilliant.

The Makita 18v with the change blade is one of the best tools I own. Aldi/Lidl had their version in the other week. Also screwfix have a cheapy too.

Also if you are cutting lots of MDF with one, get a mask on as the dust is very fine. Mr HSE out.

- Ash


Irony - 9/12/17 at 06:20 AM

Done this. Take the skirting board up and you will probably be able to tell which planks are under pressure. I'd use a multi tool to trim said planks.


theconrodkid - 9/12/17 at 02:49 PM

woo hoo, all done
tried the correct method but gave up after an hour and 2 cups of tea.
reverted to plan B, my buzz saw down the join in 2 planks, gap closed up, hump went down and i was happy again.
both doors swing freely and the gap is hardly noticable.
thanks for your input peeps