That said, yes you absolutely can trim the drywall to allow the wood floor to expand. An engineered floor, though, likely doesn’t need more than 1/4″ on each side.
How do you cover expansion gaps on a wood floor?
There are a range of ways to cover the expansion gaps in your timber floor — take a look at these ideas:
- Use baseboards. Baseboards are one of the most common and simplest ways to cover your expansion gaps. …
- Embrace transition strips. …
- Rout the bottom of door frames. …
- Allow expansion with other materials.
How do you cover gaps between wood floors and walls?
To fix a large gap between the hardwood floor and wall, it’s important to use a quality wood filler. Apply the wood filler in the gap, let it dry, and sand down any excess filler sitting on the surface. This is a quick fix and one that will work in filling a gap instantly.
What happens if expansion gap is too big?
In addition to detracting from the aesthetics of your surroundings, buckling can also damage the interlocking mechanism of your laminate planks, resulting in extra expenditure to have them replaced. The minimum recommended size for an expansion gap is a quarter( ¼ ) of an inch.
Should hardwood go under baseboard?
A: It is not absolutely necessary to remove baseboards to install new hardwoods, but remember that wood floors require an expansion gap of 1/2 inch along the surrounding walls to accommodate expansion and contraction with changes in moisture and humidity.
How do you put a border on a wood floor?
How to Lay Hardwood Floor With a Contrasting Border
- Step 1: Design the floor and gather tools and materials. Border detail. …
- Step 2: Prep the old floor. …
- Step 3: Lay out the wood border. …
- Step 4: Install the wood border. …
- Step 5: Fill in the perimeter and alcoves. …
- Step 6: Lay the field. …
- Step 7: Finishing details.
What happens if an expansion gap is not left?
When you don’t have the proper expansion gap, the pressure caused by the natural expansion of the floor will need to go somewhere. This causes the floor to buckle and often leads to irreversible damage that calls for plank replacement. Buckling: What happens when a floor can’t expand properly.
How do you fill the gap between hardwood floors and baseboards?
If you want to maintain a modern, contemporary look, filling in the gap with caulk is a good option. Choose a waterproof, latex caulk that is paintable for this job. This will ensure that it seals off the gap and makes it airtight to keep heat in. Apply the caulk sparingly with just enough to cover the space.
How do you seal a gap between baseboard and floor?
If the gap between your baseboard and tile floor is ¼-inch or smaller, it should be filled with caulk. If the gap is larger than this, it’s best to install shoe molding to hide the gap. When caulking gaps between your floor and tile, it’s essential to use a paintable caulk.
Should there be a gap between drywall and floor?
It might sound counter intuitive at first to leave space between your floor and your wall, but you should always leave a ½ inch to ⅝ inch gap between drywall and the floor.
What to do with baseboards when installing wood floors?
Most flooring applications do not require you to remove existing baseboards. However, you may choose to remove the baseboards and replace them at the same time as flooring installation if you want to switch to a different baseboard height or change the style to match the overall look of your remodel.
How do you undercut a baseboard?
Quote from the video:
Quote from Youtube video: The hard board raises the biscuit cutter to the right height and provides an easy surface over which to move it depth of cut is set to the thickness of the baseboard.
Do you remove baseboards when refinishing hardwood floors?
As a general rule, we recommend leaving your base and shoe on when having your floors refinished, especially if it is painted. Depending on how the painters prepped your base, you can actually cause more damage to the base and walls by removing it.
Can hardwood be installed over hardwood?
Yes, you can install over an existing wood floor, provided it meets some important conditions. First, make sure doing so won’t create problems with height differences at areas such as transitions with other rooms and stairs.
What do you paint first sand floors or walls?
The answer to the question is, “do the floors first!” Here’s why: Removing and replacing flooring or carpeting is dirty work. If you paint first, and then do floors, there is a good chance that a lot of dirt, dust, sawdust or tile/stone dust will end up on your freshly painted walls and trim.
Should I remove quarter round before refinishing floors?
If you’re refinishing your floors, you’ll want to remove the quarter round trim to sand or strip off the old finish all the way to the edges. If done correctly, you can even replace the same trim once the floors are done!
Do you put quarter round on baseboards?
While quarter-round can be installed along the bottom of baseboard, trim carpenters and homeowners tend to prefer the sleeker look of shoe molding, which is taller and narrower than its curved counterpart.
How do you remove quarter round without damaging baseboards?
Quote from the video:
Quote from Youtube video: So the first thing you're going to do is take your utility knife and cut the seal of caulk and paint between the quarter round and baseboard to get some separation.
Do you need quarter round?
One of the most common questions people ask is if they really need the base shoe, or if it’s just an add on. The answer is a simple yes. Without it, there is typically a gap between the trim and flooring, which is not only unattractive but makes it extremely easy for dirt and debris to build up under the base trim.
Should baseboards touch the floor?
Baseboards should only touch the floor if you have no plans to carpet your floors and if you’ve already finished installing your other flooring. If you have yet to install the rest of your floor, carpet or otherwise, you’ll need to take into account the height of the installed flooring.
Should baseboard match hardwood floor or doors and trim?
If you have other natural wood trim in the room, such as window trim or chair molding, having the trim and the baseboards match the floor can lend a feeling of coherence throughout the room. The stained wood accents will tie in to one another throughout a room and complement one another.
