Browse Forums Flooring & Floor Covering 1 Jul 22, 2010 12:30 am Hi , Does anyone have some sort of expansion joints installed with their floors? I think they are mandatory for floors wider than 6m. Can you please share your pics? Thanks! My signature is distracting people from my wise posts ... Re: Expansion joints in timber floors 2Jul 22, 2010 11:02 am I install expansion gaps in floors over 6m wide regardless. It is just a 3mm strip of cork which sands down very neatly. I also make sure that I have 5mm gaps at the walls, with no pressure points at doors and windows. If you live in an area of higher humidity and install flooring which is more prone to expansion then you could be looking at more expansion gaps. Which may include something as simple as a 1mm gap between boards every metre or so. Re: Expansion joints in timber floors 3Jul 22, 2010 6:47 pm No pictures!?!? All the people with those glorious floors that we all admire - Does everyone have small rooms, so there was no need for joints!?!? My signature is distracting people from my wise posts ... Re: Expansion joints in timber floors 4Jul 22, 2010 7:11 pm Lex you have seen pics of my floors... to my knowledge there are no expansion gaps. least I can't see any obvious ones. our largest expanse is 8 x 4 metres, but that joins onto other areas. soz! "Your emotions are the slaves to your thoughts, and you are the slave to your emotions." — Elizabeth Gilbert Living in our new house. Currently scaping the land. Re: Expansion joints in timber floors 5Jul 23, 2010 7:41 am Yes, thanks donuts, I did checked them over many times but I thought it's just not obvious in the pics ... So, your widest timber floor is off the kitchen, isn't it? It definitely looks wider than 6m on the pics ... If there is any 3-5mm cork strip in between 2 boards, I'm sure you should be able to see it My signature is distracting people from my wise posts ... Re: Expansion joints in timber floors 6Jul 23, 2010 7:49 am thats right the 8x4 expanse is just off the kitchen, and there are boards in the kitchen too, and coming off that expanse into the rumpus and two hallways... no little joins anywhere that I can see! what's going to happen?? will my floor buckle and create little mountain ranges inside my house? or maybe it will come apart somewhere and we'll all fall into the slab? "Your emotions are the slaves to your thoughts, and you are the slave to your emotions." — Elizabeth Gilbert Living in our new house. Currently scaping the land. Re: Expansion joints in timber floors 7Jul 23, 2010 8:46 am I think what's going to happen is that a big black bear will come out of the woods and eat all your honey Hahaha, sorry, couldn't resist ... OK, sobering up .... How old is your floor? About 1 year? I think (me being such an "expert" ) that you are not far from nearing the end of the most critical period for your new floors. It's not to say that, with some severe and prolonged moist weather, they won't be affected, but I'd say that a year's amount of ageing adds to the stability and that itself should help reduce the risk of popping. But let's wait to hear real experts (So you're sure you've taken a magnifying glass and gone over the floor on all fours? ) My signature is distracting people from my wise posts ... Re: Expansion joints in timber floors 8Jul 23, 2010 7:57 pm namtrak I install expansion gaps in floors over 6m wide regardless. It is just a 3mm strip of cork which sands down very neatly. I also make sure that I have 5mm gaps at the walls, with no pressure points at doors and windows. If you live in an area of higher humidity and install flooring which is more prone to expansion then you could be looking at more expansion gaps. Which may include something as simple as a 1mm gap between boards every metre or so. A man after my heart.This is exactly what I want. (See my thread viewtopic.php?f=7&t=35808). Basically I don't want any skirting and would be happy with 5 mm cork around the perimeter. namtrak, do you work as far away as Sydney? Demolition August 2009, Construction Started September 2009, Completed December 2010 Re: Expansion joints in timber floors 10Jul 23, 2010 8:26 pm Without knowing for sure (I was referring to a 5mm gap with skirting board over the top - where the skirting board is fixed to the wall, not the floor) I would think that it would be entirely plausible to use cork around the wall. I assume it is a gyprock wall? Would be a very neat look. I vaguely recall that skirting board was largely created to prevent vacuum cleaners from bumping into walls - so I would consider if you need to protect the 'kick' area of the walls in the same way that kickboards work in a kitchen. Re: Expansion joints in timber floors 11Jul 23, 2010 8:26 pm Lex :lol: So you've found your solution, Casa !!! Finally. See, every problem has a solution. It just has to be found. Demolition August 2009, Construction Started September 2009, Completed December 2010 Re: Expansion joints in timber floors 13Jul 23, 2010 8:31 pm namtrak Without knowing for sure (I was referring to a 5mm gap with skirting board over the top - where the skirting board is fixed to the wall, not the floor) I would think that it would be entirely plausible to use cork around the wall. I assume it is a gyprock wall? Would be a very neat look. I vaguely recall that skirting board was largely created to prevent vacuum cleaners from bumping into walls - so I would consider if you need to protect the 'kick' area of the walls in the same way that kickboards work in a kitchen. The walls are rendered over brick (it's a full brick house). Skirting boards do nothing to protect against vacuum cleaners. We live in a unit at the moment with carpet flooring up to rendered walls. No skirting. There are no more marks down low than anywhere else. (Actually the only place there are more marks are about 750 mm up, which is where kids hands like to go.) Yes, the neat look is what I'm after. I should add that I have no architraves, no cornices and, hopefully, no skirting. A very clean contemporary look. Demolition August 2009, Construction Started September 2009, Completed December 2010 Re: Expansion joints in timber floors 14Jul 23, 2010 8:37 pm Lex (So you're sure you've taken a magnifying glass and gone over the floor on all fours? ) nope! I wonder if they are there somewhere but they're so well hidden I can't see them? our floors are 18 months old now. toddler floors "Your emotions are the slaves to your thoughts, and you are the slave to your emotions." — Elizabeth Gilbert Living in our new house. Currently scaping the land. Re: Expansion joints in timber floors 16Jul 26, 2010 9:47 am What is actually the width of the floor? Does it always follow the width of the boards (regardless of room shape/size), as in this pic? Are the joints always placed only alongside the boards, like on the pic? My signature is distracting people from my wise posts ... Re: Expansion joints in timber floors 17Jul 26, 2010 4:37 pm Anyone?? I'm interested to see any expansion joints. Also, does the above picture properly describe "the width of the floor", ie. is it always in the same direction as the width of the boards?? My signature is distracting people from my wise posts ... Re: Expansion joints in timber floors 18Aug 03, 2010 6:15 pm Lex Anyone?? I'm interested to see any expansion joints. Also, does the above picture properly describe "the width of the floor", ie. is it always in the same direction as the width of the boards?? Is it recommended to have expansion joint for that 8m "width" btw? And if we lay it the other way around (on your picture, make the 8m the length), do we still need it? I actually have similar room to yours, but I'm thinking to do it on different direction that you (8m is the length, 4m is the width). Re: Expansion joints in timber floors 19Aug 03, 2010 7:55 pm hanofee, that's not my floor, that's just an illustration. And yes I have marked the pic correctly - intermmediate joints are only installed alongside the boards (as indicated on pic). Intermmediate expansion joints are should be installed for any floor that is over 6m wide. My signature is distracting people from my wise posts ... Re: Expansion joints in timber floors 20Aug 04, 2010 3:10 pm So doesn't matter which directions of the laying, if the either the length/width is more than 6m, then we need to have expansion gap? Looks like my understanding is wrong, I was thinking if we lay it on 90 degree directions of what in your picture, then we don't need that gap. Hi All, First time poster. I was hoping to get some advice on villaboard installation within a bathroom. I have installed villaboard before, in a laundry. I think I did… 0 7471 Engineering timber is certainly a less fuss option, times cheaper to supply and install and better withstands humidity. 1 15923 2 4684 |