Need some advise fitting laminate flooring?

Question

ihave managed to fit some laminate flooring all over the house and i thought that i was home and dry... until i have hit the last room the dining room. the problem is that the emergency water stop tap thinbgy is under the floor boards so if i laminate on top how will i ever be able to get to the tap in an emergency?

it will take forever to unclick all the boards really need some advice asap!!!!

have managed to fit laminate floooring through mos of the house and thoug

Answer 1

You can remove the locking edges from the board that will cover the tap. this will allow you to remove the board when you need to turn your water off in an emergency. This will leave this one board loose, not a problem if it is at the edge of the room, but may cause problems in the middle of the room. I'd suggest a piece of double sided carpet tape underneath the loose board to stop it moving when you dont want it to, but still allow it to be lifted in an emergency.

Answer 2

if its close to the wall box it in. if not make a trap from the laminate boards, leave a corrosponding hole in the rest of the floor & lay previously made trap in. Best I can do without seeing the job. If you need to, give more info & I (or someone else) might be able to give better answer. Good Luck

Answer 3

I thought the water stop-tap was supposed to be accessible anyway,why not find out how much to get a plumber to fit a new stop-tap where the supply pipe rises into a room,so it is then above floor level.Then you don't have to lift any flooring,or try to make a trap in the flooring.  

Answer 4

Could you not make a cutting to lay on top of the tap, that can be released as required?

Like a trap door type affair.

Maybe drill a small hole in the flap/door, so a hook can be pushed through to life it.

Good luck.  

Answer 5

Cut the boards around the area of the shut off. Cut a piece  for ontop of the shut off, leaving about one inch of open space. Then use T cap trim to picture frame the opening. Then if you need to get to the shutoff, just take up the t cap and lift the piece over the shut off. The t cap is made to match most of the laminate products available, so it shouldn't look out of place and is easy to put back.

Answer 6

The answer about removing the snap in edging on the two sides that go under the next boards sounds right to me, but you should also remove the underneath portion of the groove on the short side so that the one board can be lifted easily.Let one long side with a tongue fit into the groove of the next board. Keep a good sized suction cup handy to ease in lifting the board if necessary. Done this way the trap door will hardly be noticeable and should lay flat and tight inside the other boards. Double stick tape or velcro will help if the board is loose. If it does fit tight you should find some subtle way to mark it so that you won't go nuts trying to find which board it is later on.