# Laminate T-Molding Nailed Down?



## rusty baker (Feb 13, 2009)

He did not do it right. May not be easy getting them to fix it tho.


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## henlij (Jun 29, 2008)

rusty baker said:


> He did not do it right. May not be easy getting them to fix it tho.


If they don't fix it, I was planning on trying to remove the t-molding myself. I'm hoping that the nails will just pull through the molding. I saved the metal grooves and perhaps can just re-install. I just hope that the tongue and groove isn't stressed too much. Not sure I want to replace much more on my own. The whole point of having an installer was to have it done right.


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## Bud Cline (Mar 12, 2006)

Wrong wrong wrong, that installation is just plain wrong.

The metal channels can be a pain in the ass to use, that's why they didn't use them. They have also ruined the transition pieces by punching nail holes in them, let HD replace those pieces for you.:yes:

Just because "they never use them" correctly doesn't mean the standard has changed.


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## henlij (Jun 29, 2008)

Update. I met with the installer....

Installer: "no one uses the tracks, they are complete junk." 

Me: "I wasn't able to find any place that advocates using nails."

Installer: "where did you look?"

Me: "online"

Installer: "ha, I can find all sorts of things online. No one uses them anymore"

Long story short, I asked him to pull up the pieces and I'd replace them, using the tracks myself. Of course, the nails destroyed the modlings during removal so I have to get new ones.

Another lesson learned. I'll post a follow-up once I have them replaced. Thanks for the replies guys!


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## Bud Cline (Mar 12, 2006)

Let the original supplier pay for the new moldings. That installer is just plain lazy and thinks you are stupid. Run his ass off and lock the doors behind him. Those channels are used everyday or they wouldn't be in the marketplace.


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## henlij (Jun 29, 2008)

Bud Cline said:


> Let the original supplier pay for the new moldings. That installer is just plain lazy and thinks you are stupid. Run his ass off and lock the doors behind him. Those channels are used everyday or they wouldn't be in the marketplace.


I didn't see this reply, sorry for the delay in response. Two things. 

1. I don't deal well with confrontation. This whole thing will be less stressful if I just fix it on my own. 

2. The pieces they installed were pieces I bought on my own some time ago when I was planning on doing the rest of the house. I just ran out of time. The transitions were bought at a Menards and the work was contracted by a Home Depot. If I went into the Home Depot making a deal out of this, perhaps they would do something but it just isn't worth it to me. 

So, I just spent 40 bucks on 4 more pieces from Menards and will get them installed soon. I'll post a follow-up picture.


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## Bud Cline (Mar 12, 2006)

> 1. I don't deal well with confrontation. This whole thing will be less stressful if I just fix it on my own.


I can understand that. Most people aren't like me and they would rather cower than risk a confrontation. This is exactly what mechanics like that guy are counting on. They know they can blow smoke and back someone down nine times out of ten. This is why there is so much shoddy work in this country done by unskilled people claiming to be professionals.



> 2. The pieces they installed were pieces I bought on my own some time ago when I was planning on doing the rest of the house.


That doesn't matter the guy still should have done the work properly.



> So, I just spent 40 bucks on 4 more pieces from Menard's and will get them installed soon. I'll post a follow-up picture.


Good luck with it!:thumbsup:


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## woodfloordallas (Dec 28, 2016)

The installation was not done properly as you have seen. However some lazy installers do it this way. The channels that are provided with these t-molds are indeed junk. They do not provide a strong enough grip on the t-mold itself which causes the t-mold to stay either make noise all the time or just become loose and come out of the channel on a regular basis. The lazy way is to shoot nails through it. The proper way and the way we do it on all of our professional installs is to use adhesive to stick the t-molds in place. Liquid Nails is ideal. Make 4 small circles of adhesive like a dollop of whip cream in the channel. Just enough for it to make good contact with the substrate and with the bottom of the moulding. Then place the t-mold on top and make sure it gets good contact with the adhesive. After its installed put some heavy books on top of the t-mold for 24 hours to make sure it doesn't move. The joints on the existing laminate should be just fine one you push them back together again after removing the pressure from them. The main concern with this type of installation is people are concerned the adhesive being in the joint causes the floor not to be able to expand and contract as required. In my many years in the business this has never caused any type of flooring failure as there is plenty of space around all the edges of the floor (if it was installed correctly and a gap was maintained around the entire perimeter) to allow for normal expansion and contraction. Especially with a laminate floor which typically have a low expansion/contraction potential by manufacturing standards. Hope this helps.
Regards,
Hunter
Owner
Wood Floors of Dallas


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## joecaption (Nov 30, 2011)

No under cut in the door stop moulding also.


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