Hey thanks, this does help a lot and this won't be nearly as difficult as I think. I am also learning that everyone who has done this has their own idea on where to start. I had been told that even starting at a doorway is best, but that does seem a strange place to start. Either way, thanks for answering the questions concerning the transitions as it really help confirm some things for me.
On Jun 8, 2008, at 1:59 PM, Dale Leavens wrote: > Hi Scott, > > OK, > > As for transitions, the usual thing where there is a door is to > imagine how it looks with the door closed. You don't want to see > part of the other floor projecting into the other area under the > door so you put your transition there. That will usually mean it > will bridge the gap between the door jams, you may set it up so that > the transition strip lines up directly under the closed door or so > that one edge projects into one or other of the areas but the point > is that you don't probably want to be seeing a couple of inches of > strip from the other room when the door is closed. sometimes the > door is too long to swing over a transition so it is set up to nudge > just under the door. They even have hinges to allow for this, a > bevel on the leaf so the door rises immediately when opened to clear > the carpet or other transition. > > Where there is an archway and there isn't going to be a door then it > usually comes down to convenience. The first room done will often > scoot right past the doorway so the second area has to have a tongue > into the doorway. > > The usual way, if you are working around a door frame is to run the > flooring under it. Usually one removes the frame, cuts an eighth of > an inch or what ever off the bottom then reinstalls it always > assuming you don't split it while removing it. This is similar with > the door casing. Careful notching though will usually do. > > Yes, a Zip saw should work fine. You can get piloted bearing cutters > for them and use the bearing to follow a template to give you a > truly accurate cut. I say this but I should also tell you that I > don't have a Zip saw and I have never used one. Nevertheless this is > one of their intended purposes. > > When laying the floor you are expected to stagger the end joints. > The usual way to do this is to run one course, the fragment you cut > off of the end of the last board becomes the piece you begin the > next course with, you take it back to the beginning of the next row > and off you go. > > You should really pull your baseboards or if you have quarter round, > that should come up so the floating floor will snug up to within > quarter of an inch or so of the wall and the edge is covered when > you reinstall the quarter round or baseboard or both if that is your > pleasure. Actually, because these are usually truly laminates the > floors are very stable and it is the rest of the house that is > likely to move. Modern houses though generally have a plywood or > other composite floor decking which too is pretty darn stable so you > are not likely to see much movement, you probably don't need much > space for the floor to expand and contract. > > If you are to do a truly professional job, and most professionals > don't, you carefully measure the width of the room in three or five > locations taking care that you do have the shortest distance between > them and divide the smallest dimension by the finished width of the > boards, that is, excluding the tongue. You then divide the > fractional left over distance by 2 which will tell you how wide the > filler strip will be at each side and you will begin your first > course that distance from one wall so that you end up with the same > fractional strip along each wall. It will probably have to be > scribed and cut to fit precisely but here again, the quarter round > or baseboard can hide any imperfections. In that way you have a > symmetrical installation. This of course is much more important with > tile floor where partial tiles along one wall becomes way more > obvious. Most laminate flooring won't show that very obviously > especially in a furnished room but in a hallway it might be a little > more obvious depending on any pattern in the material. > > Hopefully I have covered your questions, and equally hopefully > correctly, I haven't forgotten anything. > > I did see your posting yesterday but was pretty sure someone else > was going to respond. > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: Scott Howell > To: [email protected] > Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Sent: Sunday, June 08, 2008 11:43 AM > Subject: [BlindHandyMan] installing laminate flooring, I get some of > it > > Ok folks, I did some additional research and I think I have a better > understanding of this laminate installation business. I guess part of > my problem is fear of screwing things up and wasting materials which > isn't as though it is incredibly expensive, but I just hate wasting > anything. One of my questions was concerning installing the laminate > around a doorway. Seeing as I am not sure what that piece is called > exactly that stops the door from swinging through the doorway, I'll > call it the jamb for now. Now lets call this entire doorway five and a > half inches wide. The reason I'm going through this entire explanation > will be apparent in one second. See, I looked at how the tile was > installed in the kitchen and upstairs bath. Seems they brought the > tile to one side of that half-inch piece that the door rests against > while closed, what I'm calling the jamb. The carpet starts on the > otherside with a transition strip, but actually the carpet really does > butt up against the tile and the strip is a transition piece. Now in > our kitchen, the doorway of course is just a doorway so no door and no > half-inch piece (assumed width) jamb so the tile and carpet meet half > way. I gather this is all personal preference. Now down on the level > where I'm starting this project, they really did a stupid thing. The > problem where I was trying to deal with is they brought the tile up to > the baseboard and door casing. In other words, they made a straight > line across the width of the room and never cut in to the door way. > So, the carpet came all the way through the doorway and I don't think > that looks clean. Seems you'd want the transition from one floor > surface to another to be mid-way with a transition strip which in this > case they did not have, it went from carpet to tile. > My problem is I can't possibly undercut the door casing, I'd have to > cut into the frame itself so this means I either get some tile and cut > it down to little squares to fill-in the area they neglected, find a > very wide stransition strip that doesn't look bad, or notch the > laminate out so it'll fill in that gap and still use a stransition > strip. > I won't have as much a problem with the other two doorways since I > will be replacing the carpet in both places and I can do what I want > with them. If I choose to cut the laminate by notching it and I also > have to cut some in order to make holes for the vents in the floor, > would a zip saw do the trick? I don't have a jig saw. > > Thanks guys for putting up with my ramblings etc. This is one of those > projects you really want to look nice. The one thing I did learn is > that you may at times have to rip a piece down the middle to make it > fit properly on either side of the room. It also seems that if you had > two ends of two separate planks butted up against one plank it still > would look just fine. Seems there's nothing you really can't do. I > know the point is not to make it look uniform. > > tnx > Scott Howell > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > ---------------------------------------------------------- > > No virus found in this incoming message. > Checked by AVG. > Version: 7.5.524 / Virus Database: 270.0.0/1489 - Release Date: > 6/7/2008 11:17 AM > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > > > Scott Howell [EMAIL PROTECTED] [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
