Browse Forums Flooring & Floor Covering 1 Jul 09, 2010 9:00 pm I'm looking for solid timber flooring without skirting. I'll be using 12 mm ply with Slimwood on top. Does anyone know of any options? I'm after a clean look to match the square set ceilings, which look great. Demolition August 2009, Construction Started September 2009, Completed December 2010 Re: Timber flooring without skirting 2Jul 09, 2010 9:54 pm Unfortunately you must have a 10mm gap between your slimwood and the wall. The option is to fill the gap with a flexible caulk compound in a similar colour to the wall Re: Timber flooring without skirting 4Jul 09, 2010 10:52 pm Dukekamaya Unfortunately you must have a 10mm gap between your slimwood and the wall. The option is to fill the gap with a flexible caulk compound in a similar colour to the wall Would it not be better to have the flexible caulk compound in a similar colour to the floor? Demolition August 2009, Construction Started September 2009, Completed December 2010 Re: Timber flooring without skirting 5Jul 09, 2010 11:28 pm Its purely aesthetic - up to you what colour you choose. I've seen it done in houses with no skirting ( with sandstone walls) - looks fine Re: Timber flooring without skirting 7Jul 19, 2010 12:52 pm waylow, Would it be possible to reduce the cork to 5 mm wide (even 8 mm would be better than 10 mm). I really want it to disappear and my flooring is on a suspended slab so I can't see it expanding much in the future (unless the dishwasher fails!). Cheers, Casa Demolition August 2009, Construction Started September 2009, Completed December 2010 Re: Timber flooring without skirting 8Jul 19, 2010 3:06 pm It has nothing to do with it being on a suspended slab. The ambient air always holds a percentage of moisture - it is variances in this humidity that causes timber flooring to expand and contract. Do you want to use a 5mm gap rather than the BCA and manufacturer recommended 10mm and risk having flooring butt into the wall and lift? Re: Timber flooring without skirting 9Jul 19, 2010 8:06 pm The way I look at it, as the slab dries with time, it's moisture content will drop. Therefore on top of the variation in ambient humidity, there will be a drying effect from the slab drying. The BCA recommends a minimum of 10 mm, but that is for Australia wide. The humidity variation in Sydney is half that of Canberra. I also find that the BCA is conservative. For instance, they recommend expansion joints in brickwork every 6 metres. I got an engineer to sign of on a wall that is just over 13 metres long - without an expansion joint. I would rather have a 5 mm gap to the wall (looks good) with a slight risk of buckling than a 100% chance of the timber flooring looking not as good, but no chance of buckling. Demolition August 2009, Construction Started September 2009, Completed December 2010 Re: Timber flooring without skirting 10Jul 19, 2010 9:20 pm There will be a moisture barrier between the slab and your flooring - it will have no bearing on the timber. I would think Sydney has twice the variation of humidity to Canberra - Canberra is a dry dust-bowl most of the years round (no offence) Sydney goes from extreme dry to humidity levels in Summer to rival the top-end and Indonesia sometimes (I have been to both and grew up in south-west Sydney) At the end of the day its up you and if you have problems you know who to blame Re: Timber flooring without skirting 12Jul 20, 2010 7:29 pm Hi Casa, I also think that a proper gap is more important than the look. I personally wouldn't take the risk. Sydney has some awful totally dripping wet days that sometimes stay for a week or two, and everything is so wet - just imagine what would it do to tightly pressed floors. If you want a modern look, there are some nice looking skirtings, like the half-splayed one, for example. We also have beautiful bulkheads and square sets but it doesn't at all clash wiht our skirtings (and architraves) even though ours are quite traditional style. I would put normal proper skirtings 18mm thick, and higher ones (at least 67mm). I love skirtings! My signature is distracting people from my wise posts ... Re: Timber flooring without skirting 13Jul 21, 2010 9:43 pm I should point out that I have no architraves or cornices. At the moment, the only areas that may need skirting are the timber flooring area. Trying as hard as I can to not have skirting. If I can pull it off, the house will look great. Demolition August 2009, Construction Started September 2009, Completed December 2010 Re: Timber flooring without skirting 14Jul 22, 2010 12:24 am Oh, now I see ... and your walls are probably rendered too. It's a tough one. Maybe just something really flat (like 5mm high) but about 1.5 cm wide? Just enough to cover the gap properly. Found this one (not Oz) http://www.birbek.com/products/cork-expansion-stripping.html, maybe that's the concept you could use. Another thing - do you know if your flooring guy is going to install any expansion joins (joints?) in the floor? How does that look? My signature is distracting people from my wise posts ... Re: Timber flooring without skirting 15Jul 22, 2010 12:45 pm Yes, my walls are rendered. Thanks for the link. I don't reqired any expansion joints in the middle of the floor since the largest span is 6 metres. (Thank goodness, a cork expansion joint in the middle of the floor would be too much.) Demolition August 2009, Construction Started September 2009, Completed December 2010 Re: Timber flooring without skirting 16Jul 25, 2010 8:37 pm Casa, go the 10mm gap. The floor that had the skirting left on and corck strips buckeled within 6 months, it was laid with polyethene plastic moisture barrier as per the timber suppliers specs. Re: Timber flooring without skirting 18Jul 26, 2010 9:04 am waylow I've done a floor into an existing house where the owner didn't want to remove the skirtings, I just used 10mm wide strips of cork all the way around. waylow Casa, go the 10mm gap. The floor that had the skirting left on and corck strips buckeled within 6 months, it was laid with polyethene plastic moisture barrier as per the timber suppliers specs. How wide was this floor (did it need any cork expansion joints within the floor)? And what species it was? I assume it was the traditional 19mm boards? On another note - last year when I made my first flooring inquiries, I heard that the gap around walls should be even wider - some suggested closer to 15mm, but definitely larger than 10mm. Would that help with expansion? I suppose in wide floors (> 6m), we'd still need proper joints, since the boards are nailed and glued? My signature is distracting people from my wise posts ... Re: Timber flooring without skirting 19Jul 26, 2010 9:25 am Most flooring producers specify 10mm, the BCA actually states 12mm Re: Timber flooring without skirting 20Jul 26, 2010 12:56 pm Lex waylow I've done a floor into an existing house where the owner didn't want to remove the skirtings, I just used 10mm wide strips of cork all the way around. waylow Casa, go the 10mm gap. The floor that had the skirting left on and corck strips buckeled within 6 months, it was laid with polyethene plastic moisture barrier as per the timber suppliers specs. How wide was this floor (did it need any cork expansion joints within the floor)? And what species it was? I assume it was the traditional 19mm boards? On another note - last year when I made my first flooring inquiries, I heard that the gap around walls should be even wider - some suggested closer to 15mm, but definitely larger than 10mm. Would that help with expansion? I suppose in wide floors (> 6m), we'd still need proper joints, since the boards are nailed and glued? It would also be interesting to note if the 10 mm with cork flooring has subfloor space that was not well ventilated, a dishwasher flood or any other unusal circumstance. I'm still keen on a 5 mm gap, but want to be reasonably confident it will handle a suspended slab situation. Demolition August 2009, Construction Started September 2009, Completed December 2010 Engineering timber is certainly a less fuss option, times cheaper to supply and install and better withstands humidity. 1 15841 This certainly doesn't look good. I would be engaging with an independent inspector to have a look at this. 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