"Tim S" wrote in message
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Does wood expand when it gets hot ?

It seems to me that in my house wood expands when it's cold & wet and
shrinks when it's hot & dry.

There are two different effects here. Wood tends to swell when wet, but it
will also expand due to temperature by a very similar amount to steel,
all other effects remaining constant. That might very well be offset by
the drying out shrinkage.

Then again, there's not much "wood" involve in laminate. So the question
is whether an MDF like substrate will expand when damp? That I don't know.

I've been to a village hall where no expansion was allowed for the laminate
flooring. there was a huge hump in the middle of the floor and no chairs or
tables were stable in that part.

A son was asked to remove laminate flooring from a kitchen where it had been
laid with no gap. It wasn't a huge area but there were humps.

The reasons aren't worth arguing about, expansion gaps are essential if the
floor is to remain flat.

Mary

Tim