Hardwood Floor Expansion Gap

1 8 gap at tile to hardwood is plenty.

Hardwood floor expansion gap.

Normally a space of between 10 and 15mm it s not a huge amount of space but it s enough to help prevent problems with wood flooring when it expands and contracts. Since both floors are at equal height. Where the two meet add a header board if the wood is running into the tile. I say this because if you were smart you would know some hardwood floors require a very large gap at the edge of the room for expansion.

The expansion gap should be around the whole perimeter of the room wherever the flooring may be against fixed objects such as walls doorways radiator pipes and fireplaces. Perimeter spacing not only allows for seasonal expansion but also provides airflow. For example â thick flooring will require â expansion gap. It is an essential gap that must be left around the edge of the room when fitting hardwood bamboo or laminate flooring.

Equations for hardwood looks like this. An expansion gap is a term used when fitting wooden flooring. Yes it can still have gaps. This doesn t work well for baseboard install so cutting the drywall up 7 8 allows you to set wood 1 4 away from wall and any base will cover.

Gapping in engineered hardwood can be due to many factors including but not limited to the material s manufacturing changes in humidity and the type and quality of the installation. In most cases the perimeter expansion gap is related to the thickness of the new flooring. Many flooring sales people unfamiliar with hardwood flooring assume expansion is the same as laminate flooring. Figure 2 hardwood flooring expansion gap.

Engineered hardwood flooring is designed to minimize gaps due to expansion and contraction of the wood. You calculate moisture content mc for your area by the type of wood coeffecient cc by the size of each board and then calculate that for your room. Unless your floating the floor. If it runs along the tile then obviously no header is needed but all you need to do in each case is just leave a grout gap between the two floors.

A general rule of thumb is that you should allow 1cm to 1 5cm expansion gap all around the room and wherever there is a fixed object. As moisture increases in the hardwood flooring the boards will expand and as the moisture levels lessen the. With all that said if its 3 4 thick leave 3 4 expansion on the perimeter. Stair nose is part of the floor so install it tight.

Expansion gaps should be left wherever the floor comes up against a fixed object for example next to a wall a doorway or a heating pipe. The term expansion gap when used in conjunction with wood flooring refers to the space left around the edges of a room when a floor is fitted. You dont need 3 4 expansion gap for solid hardwood. The moisture content of the hardwood flooring is relative to he humidity levels in the area where it has been installed.

But to answer a common question.