Vinyl Flooring Expansion Gap Too Big

Since laminate flooring is a floating floor it is not attached to the sub floor and sits on top of the underlayment.

Vinyl flooring expansion gap too big.

Ways to prevent vinyl plank buckling. Vinyl is susceptible to temperature changes in its ambient environment which will cause the vinyl flooring to expand and contract with normal hot and cold fluctuations. Just enough to absorb the smaller amount of expansion a bonded vinyl floor moves. Vinyl plank doesn t need lots of expansion gaps.

Expert installers say that the larger the space the larger the expansion gap should be as the floor needs more space to expand and contract with temperature. You just leave 1 4 inch between the wall and planks. Stop the floor between a quarter inch and a half inch shy of the wall to allow for this natural expansion. Read the manufacturer s instructions but generally 1 4 5 16 of gap along the wall measured from the bottom plate if your drywall is 1 2 off the floor as it should be is ample expansion space and easily covered by the baseboard.

The recommended expansion gap is a minimum of inch. Floating floors are designed to allow for the seasonal expansion and contraction of the flooring planks. If the floor is installed flush with the wall there is no room for growth in the hot months and the loose lay floor can easily buckle. A floating floor usually needs 5 10mm the loose planks will absorb heat and expand like any flooring material some more than others so you run the risk of it buckling.