Filling Small Gaps in Laminate Floors and Skirtings

PRman

Hi Got my balterio floor laid recently by a couple of apprentice chippies. There is a couple of small gaps in the floor and they used glue and saw dust to shore them up. Is this best practice? Also the skirtings have slight gaps above and below as the walls weren't 100% straight - they suggested I use painters mate on the above gaps and wood filler for the below gaps. Is this also the best course of action? cheers.

bartholmew

I dont know about the glue and sawdust

Noelie

the scirting seems fine, but the floor definately wouldn't. My dad was called into a guys house where someone had laid the flooring and left gaps at the ends so the floor could 'expand' long ways.
Dad had to cut little slivers of wood to fill the gaps.

GreeBo

Yeah, Ive just finished filling the gap between skirting and wall with a few tubes of B&Q Decorators Caulk (~€1.40)
The skirting should be touching the floor, but the floor shouldnt be touching the wall (to allow for expansion)

Mellor

Noelie wrote:

the scirting seems fine, but the floor definately wouldn't. My dad was called into a guys house where someone had laid the flooring and left gaps at the ends so the floor could 'expand' long ways.
Dad had to cut little slivers of wood to fill the gaps.

Were the gaps big, gaps are often need for expansion, and should be covered my the skirting.

Noelie

wood will only expand width ways not long ways, if anything it will get shorter. the guy who put the floors down left room for the floor to get longer which won't happen.
Dad said it was about 1/8th of an inch, but the gaps had been left all over the place, even in the middle of the floor, not just at the edges of the room.