Our hallway is fairly narrow, about 5 feet max. The Front door opens
onto one part, about 4 feet to the foot of the stairs straight ahead,
the hallway continues to the left of the stairs about another 10 feet,
again max width here about 3 feet. As well as the front door there are
five other doors opening off.
My question is - what direction should the laminate be laid? Joints at
right angles to front door i.e. across shortest dimension of hall or
joints running away from front door?

Mortimer,

It is advisable to lay laminate flooring along the longest dimension of the
hall. It is less wastefull of the laminate, as you will have to cut some of
the laminate pieces as you reach the end of each row of laminate. As you
build up the rows of laminate across the room you will form a zig-zag
pattern of joints (Imagine the typical 'brick-wall' pattern in a wall, but
obviously on the floor).

Hope this helps.

Regards,

Martin


"Mortimer" wrote in message
om...
Our hallway is fairly narrow, about 5 feet max. The Front door opens
onto one part, about 4 feet to the foot of the stairs straight ahead,
the hallway continues to the left of the stairs about another 10 feet,
again max width here about 3 feet. As well as the front door there are
five other doors opening off.
My question is - what direction should the laminate be laid? Joints at
right angles to front door i.e. across shortest dimension of hall or
joints running away from front door?

"Mortimer" wrote in message
om...
Our hallway is fairly narrow, about 5 feet max. The Front door opens
onto one part, about 4 feet to the foot of the stairs straight ahead,
the hallway continues to the left of the stairs about another 10 feet,
again max width here about 3 feet. As well as the front door there are
five other doors opening off.
My question is - what direction should the laminate be laid? Joints at
right angles to front door i.e. across shortest dimension of hall or
joints running away from front door?

I fitted some recently. In fact I am laying it in my other sons bedroom come
this Friday/ Sat (and Sunday knowing my pace).
It recommends that you lay the flooring long ways up in front of you as you
look into the room from the door, running away from you as you describe it.
With 5 doors leading off it, obviously not all will be in line with the
flooring. I would go for maximum affect and go for the view you get when
entering the house.

Roddy

In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
Mortimer wrote:

Our hallway is fairly narrow, about 5 feet max. The Front door opens
onto one part, about 4 feet to the foot of the stairs straight ahead,
the hallway continues to the left of the stairs about another 10 feet,
again max width here about 3 feet. As well as the front door there are
five other doors opening off.
My question is - what direction should the laminate be laid? Joints at
right angles to front door i.e. across shortest dimension of hall or
joints running away from front door?

The 'planks' need to run along the longest dimension - i.e. straight up the
hall from the door in your case.

Make sure you remove the skirting while you do the job, and then put it
back - or renew it - afterwards in order to cover the expansion gaps. Also
undercut the doorframes and architraves by the thickness of the laminate +
underlay so that it can slide under, with no unsightly gaps.
--
Cheers,
Set Square
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"Set Square" wrote in message
...
In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
Mortimer wrote:

Our hallway is fairly narrow, about 5 feet max. The Front door opens
onto one part, about 4 feet to the foot of the stairs straight ahead,
the hallway continues to the left of the stairs about another 10 feet,
again max width here about 3 feet. As well as the front door there are
five other doors opening off.
My question is - what direction should the laminate be laid? Joints at
right angles to front door i.e. across shortest dimension of hall or
joints running away from front door?

The 'planks' need to run along the longest dimension - i.e. straight up
the
hall from the door in your case.

Make sure you remove the skirting while you do the job, and then put it
back - or renew it - afterwards in order to cover the expansion gaps.

I personally went for the lengths of wood effect coving which glues on and
which covers the space without the hassle of removing the skirting. This
gives a nice finish and, in my opinion having removed and replaced very
piece of skirting in my house when first bought, is 100% easier.

Rory

In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
Rodders wrote:

"Set Square" wrote in message
...

Make sure you remove the skirting while you do the job, and then put
it back - or renew it - afterwards in order to cover the expansion
gaps.

I personally went for the lengths of wood effect coving which glues
on and which covers the space without the hassle of removing the
skirting. This gives a nice finish and, in my opinion having removed
and replaced very piece of skirting in my house when first bought, is
100% easier.

Sorry, but IMHO, beading always looks naff compared with having the gap
covered by skirting. With beading, it's *always* obvious that it's a
retro-fit.
--
Cheers,
Set Square
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I too would recommend 'not' lifting the skirting boards. Lay as
suggested and cover expansion gap with suitable moulding.

Unless you've opted for an expensive version of this 'modern' floor
covering you're unlikely to get a very long life out of it, especially
in a high use area such as you describe. You'll probably be faced with
replacement in a relatively short space of time.

I would consider the use of glued joints to help prolong the life of
your flooring.

KG

"Set Square" wrote in message
...
In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
Rodders wrote:

"Set Square" wrote in message
...

Make sure you remove the skirting while you do the job, and then put
it back - or renew it - afterwards in order to cover the expansion
gaps.

I personally went for the lengths of wood effect coving which glues
on and which covers the space without the hassle of removing the
skirting. This gives a nice finish and, in my opinion having removed
and replaced very piece of skirting in my house when first bought, is
100% easier.

Sorry, but IMHO, beading always looks naff compared with having the gap
covered by skirting. With beading, it's *always* obvious that it's a
retro-fit.

I agree. And it reduces the floor area. You might not think it matters but
it can do. some furniture which goes right up to the skirting has to stand
away from it, thus making less room by quite a considerable amount.

Mary
--
Cheers,
Set Square
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"Set Square" wrote in message
...
In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
Rodders wrote:

"Set Square" wrote in message
...

Make sure you remove the skirting while you do the job, and then put
it back - or renew it - afterwards in order to cover the expansion
gaps.

I personally went for the lengths of wood effect coving which glues
on and which covers the space without the hassle of removing the
skirting. This gives a nice finish and, in my opinion having removed
and replaced very piece of skirting in my house when first bought, is
100% easier.

Sorry, but IMHO, beading always looks naff compared with having the gap
covered by skirting. With beading, it's *always* obvious that it's a
retro-fit.
--
Cheers,
Set Square

I totally agree, in an ideal world, removing the skirting would be best, but
we are offering up options to someone who is tackling this probably for the
first time. Everyone has his individual standards, my standards are that a
retro fit is acceptable, obviously yours insn't. But it is up to the OP. We
can only offer advice and then leave it up to him to decide. In my opinion
beading doesn't look naff but is now an acceptable addition to a laminated
floored room.

Rory

In message , Rodders
writes

"Set Square" wrote in message
...
In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
Rodders wrote:

"Set Square" wrote in message
...

Make sure you remove the skirting while you do the job, and then put
it back - or renew it - afterwards in order to cover the expansion
gaps.

I personally went for the lengths of wood effect coving which glues
on and which covers the space without the hassle of removing the
skirting. This gives a nice finish and, in my opinion having removed
and replaced very piece of skirting in my house when first bought, is
100% easier.

Sorry, but IMHO, beading always looks naff compared with having the gap
covered by skirting. With beading, it's *always* obvious that it's a
retro-fit.

I totally agree, in an ideal world, removing the skirting would be best, but
we are offering up options to someone who is tackling this probably for the
first time. Everyone has his individual standards, my standards are that a
retro fit is acceptable, obviously yours insn't. But it is up to the OP. We
can only offer advice and then leave it up to him to decide. In my opinion
beading doesn't look naff but is now an acceptable addition to a laminated
floored room.

Indeed. Pulling off the skirting in this house invariably leads to the
skirting ending up a bit of a mess, and the plaster all coming off
behind them. Ok, if big redecoration is under way, but not if you are
just doing the floor.

What does look neat if you need to use beading is to mitre the ends, and
put little return on the beading at the end of runs by doors etc. Easy
if you use a power mitre saw, and much neater than straight finish.
--
Chris French, Leeds

"Indeed. Pulling off the skirting in this house invariably leads to the
skirting ending up a bit of a mess, and the plaster all coming off
behind them. Ok, if big redecoration is under way, but not if you are
just doing the floor."

However because you are raising the floor level the small dints you make at the top of the skirting are ususally unseen later. It's a matter of how much effort it takes and the quality of your floor. Skirting would all have to be renewed usually. The two pins which hold the external mitre may require cutting with a reciprocating/hacksaw to lessen the effort of tugging the old off.

Don't forget to undercut the architrive with a panel saw.

"What does look neat if you need to use beading is to mitre the ends, and
put little return on the beading at the end of runs by doors etc. Easy
if you use a power mitre saw, and much neater than straight finish.
--
Chris French, Leeds[/quote]"

Yes doesn't it,? only the best professionals do that, but it's a great aim for a diy'er.

Having done a full year of nothing but lay laminated and real wood floors when it was in fashion (it's terribly passet now), I'd rather return to my vomit than lay any in my own hall.

On 2 Feb 2005 14:02:19 -0800, "keng" wrote:

I too would recommend 'not' lifting the skirting boards. Lay as
suggested and cover expansion gap with suitable moulding.

Unless you've opted for an expensive version of this 'modern' floor
covering you're unlikely to get a very long life out of it, especially
in a high use area such as you describe. You'll probably be faced with
replacement in a relatively short space of time.

I would consider the use of glued joints to help prolong the life of
your flooring.

Yep - I put some cheap stuff down in the bathroom and it's crap. It
doesn't really last and it moves at the joints.

A good idea might be to have "quick release" skirting with a couple of
levers!! :-)

Seriously though, sometimes there are advantages to screwing on the
skirting boards.

M.

In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
chris French wrote:


What does look neat if you need to use beading is to mitre the ends,
and put little return on the beading at the end of runs by doors
etc. Easy if you use a power mitre saw, and much neater than straight
finish.

I think it's time to dust off my "how not to do it" photo once again - taken
in an otherwise beautifully appointed holiday let in Cornwall a couple of
years ago.
http://www.hampton-magna.freeserve.c...y_doorways.JPG
--
Cheers,
Set Square
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"Set Square" wrote in message
...

I think it's time to dust off my "how not to do it" photo once again -
taken
in an otherwise beautifully appointed holiday let in Cornwall a couple of
years ago.
http://www.hampton-magna.freeserve.c...y_doorways.JPG

That's unbelieveable!

So is the expectation of a new keyboard ...

Mary

On Thu, 03 Feb 2005 11:39:09 +0000, Set Square wrote:

http://www.hampton-magna.freeserve.c...y_doorways.JPG

I used an offset saw to undercut various door frames, which cost me all of
about 15 quid, when I did mine...

Timbo

In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
Mary Fisher wrote:


So is the expectation of a new keyboard ...


Eh?

--
Cheers,
Set Square
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"Set Square" wrote in message
...
In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
Mary Fisher wrote:


So is the expectation of a new keyboard ...



Eh?


Mine is covered in spit and coffee after seeing your picture but I don't
suppose you'll buy me a new one ...

Mary

Cheers,
Set Square
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In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
Mary Fisher wrote:

"Set Square" wrote in message
...
In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
Mary Fisher wrote:


So is the expectation of a new keyboard ...



Eh?


Mine is covered in spit and coffee after seeing your picture but I
don't suppose you'll buy me a new one ...

Mary


Sorry - maybe the photo have should come with a health warning!g
--
Cheers,
Set Square
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