On 9/4/2013 10:51 AM, Ron C wrote:
Ray wrote:
I am finishing my basement, and want to put laminate flooring in 2
large rooms (kitchen and family room.

These rooms are separated by an 8 foot open archway.. as indicated by
the link below.

The question is, Can the 2 rooms be laid continuously. or do I have to
put a transition between the 2 rooms ?
So far Ive got conflicting advice,,


Thanks for any help

Ray


https://www.dropbox.com/s/fhlb9vzy6yzlw05/basement3.JPG


Not enough information to give you an answer. You don't have the room
sizes marked, or brand of laminate. There should be no conflicting
advice with the necessary information.

For example: both Mohawk & Pergo state transitions are required over
40'. Think length & width. Whatever brand you go with, follow the
instructions.

Don't believe the brochures and youtube videos. It's a LOT harder than
you think. Not every room is rectangular. They gloss over all the
edge issues.

Every constraint you add dramatically increases the difficulty.
Some things to think about:

Your rooms probably aren't exactly square.

The perimeter spacing requirements are probably close to the
baseboard trim thickness. There's zero margin for error.
Measure the board width very carefully. Tiny differences really
add up over a large distance.

If it's the stuff that tilts to lock into place, you need to
have a place to tilt it. If you try to go thru an opening,
you may not be able to tilt it. Even with transitions,
I had several situations where
I had to lay down 100 square feet or so and slide the whole
assembly under a door jamb. When this happens on three sides,
it becomes tricky indeed.

There are minimum width and seam offset constraints.
If you have a lot of stuff on the
floor, which it appears you do, you have to maintain those minimum
constraints everywhere simultaneously.

Make detailed, ACCURATE, drawings to make sure you can meet those
constraints everywhere.
It may be impossible unless you run the boards one way. Pick a pattern
that looks nice either direction and with random arrangement of boards.

Even with a rectangular room,
You can't just start laying boards. When you get to the other end
and are an inch short, what do you do?
Do the math first and trim the first course so the last course meets
the minimums. You may to trim the first course at an angle to
fix any out-of-square issues. Of course, that also impacts where the
seams fit into
doorways and around fixtures and heater vents, etc.
I found that starting at the other end of the room dramatically
changed the difficulty of the solution.

Start with that EXACT drawing that shows every seam and cutout.
Something as simple as a counter that overhangs and won't let you
tilt
the board into place can derail your plan.

Take careful note of which end you're gonna cut and whether
you can use the other end elsewhere. Your pattern can depend
on the length of the leftover board from the previous course.
If you just start laying boards, you're gonna waste a LOT.

Don't even think about doing this without a chop-saw and more than
one carbide blade. The stuff dulls blades FAST. Do all your
sawing outside with eye and breathing protection. The surface
material is hard and sharp.

I spent several days with pencil and paper and calculator to come
up with a solution that worked. I managed to get all the closets
working without seams, but I still have a transition at every room.

Are we having fun yet?