Gaps in my floating floor boards.. please help?

Question

I'm doing up a flat/unit at my grandparents & i got them floating floor boards. i watched lots of videos on it & read up on it heaps. anyways i did about 80cm of the room, then when i came back to finish it my grandpa had took over & nearly finished & has left gaps everywhere. my part of the room looks good then the rest doesn't, & he is so stubborn he wont let me take it up and do it again! he keeps saying he will put putty on the gaps to fix it but the shop where i got the boards had the floor installed and it didn't look anything like this..

are the gaps bad? & if so what will happen if we leave them?

Answer 1

Everyone agrees it is not good to leave the gaps, or to fill them with putty, however it is your grandfather's floor and if he wants gaps, then subject to your grandmother's veto gaps he will have.  However when it all turns to sherbet, or rather his bit turns to sherbet, you will be able to quietly put it right.  In the meantime stop worrying, it is his problem.

Quietly putting it right will of course depend upon what is meant by a floating floor, laminate floor, or chipboard.  It may be possible to lever the open sections together if they are simply push-fit, however if they are glued and neither in nor out, you will need to cut away the section the grandfather did and butt on some more, it might be possible to slide, using floorboard cramps, the good part across the room and start again on a good edge.   You may have to start again.

The moral of this story appears to be that you are never too old to learn by experience.

Answer 2

Yes the gaps should not be there..and you canot use putty on a floating floor..for they are meant to expand and contract some thus why they are called "floating"...the putty will crack out and very quickly..they need to be taken up and put down properly..You are going to have serious problems if you don't..to include the boards popping up

Answer 3

The same as pc said but a step further... You can mark / number ,(w/ pencil or a pc of masking tape w/ writing on it)  the side cuts.. abcde on the right side and 12345 on the left  side.. Although which side the cuts are on will tell you..take up  by pulling up the board to a 90 degree angle and they ll pop rt up and you can do 1 whole row at a time.. Keep every thing neat together and it ll go rt back together easily..

  Sounds like GP didn t tap them together all the way and since their not they will unhook and come a part soon GL