Expansion gaps too big and closet next to transition puzzle

[wytkat28]

Not afraid to admit, inexperienced DIY'er who fell victim to fatigue. Lessons learned for sure. I installed a Mohawk product with click-lock, 12mm thick, 7"+ wide plank.

As I installed the floor, I had a few situations where my expansion gap is way too big, creeping up to 3/4" in some spots. I'm sure those experienced can guess all the ways it happened, and I'm sure I committed all the sins. No sense in beating a dead horse. Beautiful floor otherwise.

I installed in our warm/humid midwest summer and am afraid contraction will expose the gaps under the quarter round once dry/cold winter sets in.

Should that happen, is caulk the best method to "hide" those contractions should they appear? Or does anyone have other ideas? I haven't installed the quarter round yet, so I still have access to those gaps. One idea I had was gluing small strips to reduce my gaps. Even with contraction, they'd be nearly unnoticeable should contraction occur. Thoughts?

2nd issue. I had quite the puzzle to deal with near the room entrance. Long story short, I had 4 door jams near a corner all within a few feet of each other. I cut out all jams, and the flooring cuts went pretty well. Unfortunately, in order to get one jam cut piece to clear the other jam cut piece, my install order was backwards and left me tapping in middle pieces because I could no longer engage click-lock. Which actually went fine until I ran against another wall and couldn't get clearance to tap in the piece. I decided to cut off all the click-locking on the board being tapped and the adjoining jam cut board to give clearance for the board. It worked, but now I have nothing holding the door jam board in, which of course is now slightly raised. Since that board technically isn't click-locked in, could I put a few finishing nails in it to hold it down? It'd only be that board which isn't locked into any other board.

In hindsight (and after some food and a good nights rest), I would have approached this differently, but now it's all installed and I want to avoid pulling it up if possible. I'm not a flipper, I'll be in this house for the foreseeable future. So possible issues that could arise will be all on me.

Any advice is appreciated. Thanks!

 

[highup]

Not afraid to admit, inexperienced DIY'er who fell victim to fatigue. Lessons learned for sure. I installed a Mohawk product with click-lock, 12mm thick, 7"+ wide plank.

As I installed the floor, I had a few situations where my expansion gap is way too big, creeping up to 3/4" in some spots. I'm sure those experienced can guess all the ways it happened, and I'm sure I committed all the sins. No sense in beating a dead horse. Beautiful floor otherwise.

I installed in our warm/humid midwest summer and am afraid contraction will expose the gaps under the quarter round once dry/cold winter sets in.

Should that happen, is caulk the best method to "hide" those contractions should they appear? Or does anyone have other ideas? I haven't installed the quarter round yet, so I still have access to those gaps. One idea I had was gluing small strips to reduce my gaps. Even with contraction, they'd be nearly unnoticeable should contraction occur. Thoughts?

2nd issue. I had quite the puzzle to deal with near the room entrance. Long story short, I had 4 door jams near a corner all within a few feet of each other. I cut out all jams, and the flooring cuts went pretty well. Unfortunately, in order to get one jam cut piece to clear the other jam cut piece, my install order was backwards and left me tapping in middle pieces because I could no longer engage click-lock. Which actually went fine until I ran against another wall and couldn't get clearance to tap in the piece. I decided to cut off all the click-locking on the board being tapped and the adjoining jam cut board to give clearance for the board. It worked, but now I have nothing holding the door jam board in, which of course is now slightly raised. Since that board technically isn't click-locked in, could I put a few finishing nails in it to hold it down? It'd only be that board which isn't locked into any other board.

In hindsight (and after some food and a good nights rest), I would have approached this differently, but now it's all installed and I want to avoid pulling it up if possible. I'm not a flipper, I'll be in this house for the foreseeable future. So possible issues that could arise will be all on me.

Any advice is appreciated. Thanks!

I'm guessing you mean 3/4 on some of the end joints and not the long sides?
On any of the ends that you say are close to 3/4", is the opposite end within the manufacturers requirements. I ask, because you might be able to tap the entire row towards the place with the big gap and end up with two gaps that are OK.

I decided to cut off all the click-locking on the board being tapped and the adjoining jam cut board to give clearance for the board. It worked, but now I have nothing holding the door jam board in

Glue and some wight to keep the joint flat until the glue dries.

If the results are good enough for you, that's all that counts. Some people never have the guts to try to do stuff like you did. Pat yourself on the back.

I'll try to sketch up something to better describe part of my reply. How long and wide is the room you did where the big gap or gaps are?

 

[highup]

See if this represents your gap problem. You didn't mention using what's called a "pull bar" If you didn't use one, you will need one to do what I'm showing here. Not a cheap one either....... a real pull bar won't bend when you tap hard on it. Maybe you can find a flooring shop that will rent you one.
The darker brown represents the gap around the room.
What I am showing here, is moving or sliding one entire row by tapping on the end opposite of where your gap is too big. Tap it far enough to fix the problem, but not so far that you cause too large a gap at the opposite side......... just split the difference.
You must install some snug fitting spacers to the boards on either side of the board you want to move. The spacers will keep the rest of the floor from moving while you tap. This procedure might work, and might not work. It depends on how long the room is and how tight the joints lock together. I once did this on a 35 foot long room.

 

[Ernesto]

On the plank under the jambs, we usually will shave the lip of the locking mechanism not cut it all the way off. Then apply a bead of T&G adhesive is the joint.
But the UNICLIC locking mechanism is the only one that will allow you to engage the other plank when laid flat without shaving the lip off.

 

[wytkat28]

I think the "real" pull bar is probably where we're running into issues. We've had no luck trying to tap the whole row with the row bar that came with our install kit, but yes what you describe is what happened. I had started using spacers but didn't have enough/got lazy.

Ernesto - I know the instruction said the UNICLIC locking is also supposed to support tapping in, but we had zero luck with that. We could never get it tight.

I would have been able to get away with shaving off the locking mechanism, but I lost clearance because of a stupid wall outcropping. In hindsight, I should have cut the board, and just glued the end. It would have saved me a big headache, but would have looked a little weird with 2 short boards together.

Here's a crude diagram of my install order and pick of finished result. Everything blocked in red was already done. #1 entrance door jam, #2 closet right door jam, #3 tapped in middle board (went in fine), #4 finished middle row, #5 went to tap shaved edge in, oh no, no clearance with wall outcropping. Cut off edge of #5 board and #1 to drop in.

highup - Like you said, glue and weight will finish it nice. I also used some colored vinyl putty to fill in the chips. Have a good adhesive recommendation with a precision (needle-like) applicator?

Thanks for the help BTW.

 

[Ernesto]

The trick is to get your last piece fit in prior to the second to last then pop them in at the same time.

 

[wytkat28]

Ernesto - Totally agree with you there, but the "popping" part was a not happening since I had to get it under the door jam first

 

[Ernesto]

Ernesto - Totally agree with you there, but the "popping" part was a not happening since I had to get it under the door jam first

Well now that you know how, rip it apart and do it right.

 

[Ernesto]

Ernesto - Totally agree with you there, but the "popping" part was a not happening since I had to get it under the door jam first

Well now that you know how, rip it apart and do it right. :machine gun:

 

[highup]

What is the blue in the lower right corner?
Here's the tapping bar I was talking about. You mentioned a "kit" that included a tapping or pull bar.......... betting it's pretty wimpy and bends when you smack it. To move boards, you need a bar that won't flex or bend or vibrate. I have this one. A small 2lb sledge hammer works well with it.

 

[Nick]

Make sure to stand on it when you hit it .