# Laminate Flooring direction/cut



## greentrees (Apr 28, 2012)

I am laying a laminate floor similar to the photo but will go from left to right for the whole hallway. For the short lengths, is it better to use a whole plank, or to cut it shorter than the hallway width to add any character or strength to the flooring connection. 

The instructions say to stagger the boards, but not sure if it applies to a width shorter than the board length.


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## TattooedGunner (Sep 26, 2014)

Stagger it. Whatever you cut off of the first board use that first on the next row then measure and cut the next piece. Whatever you have left on that board use it first on the next row, etc, etc.


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## greentrees (Apr 28, 2012)

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TattooedGunner said:


> Stagger it. Whatever you cut off of the first board use that first on the next row then measure and cut the next piece. Whatever you have left on that board use it first on the next row, etc, etc.


Forgot that i could use the cutoff piece to save some laminate. Thanks.


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## joecaption (Nov 30, 2011)

What your showing in that picture is not laminate.
Can not change direction of the planks like that with laminate.
Have you stopped and read all the directions on the box or down loaded them on line, if not you really should so you will know how much gap to leave and how to run it into the door openings.


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## greentrees (Apr 28, 2012)

joecaption said:


> What your showing in that picture is not laminate.
> Can not change direction of the planks like that with laminate.
> Have you stopped and read all the directions on the box or down loaded them on line, if not you really should so you will know how much gap to leave and how to run it into the door openings.


The whole hallway floor will go left to right. There will be no change of direction. The laminate will not enter a room, since different flooring will be used. A transition strip will be used for the room entry.


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## joecaption (Nov 30, 2011)

Laminate still needs to be installed to about the middle of the door stop moulding.
It's not run straight down the hallway.
May want to check out the other poster today having to go back and fix this mistake.
If it's installed incorrectly your going to see to different type floors under the door.


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## greentrees (Apr 28, 2012)

I bought a transition strip with a metal rail. I was thinking of gluing the rail to the cement, and then press fit the transition strip. I am not sure if that will hold well enough. I would think something like Liquid Nails would work. 

As long as the rail can push down a bit on the laminate so there isn't a gap where someone can trip. I can try screwing the rail to the cement, but don't think that is easy to do.

Thoughts.


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## RobertCurry (Oct 20, 2014)

Switching the direction of hardwood flooring is not that easy. You should have a better understanding about how to install rows and fix problem boards, if you are installing suddenly opposite direction then you need to make a spline that acts as the tongue of the board.


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## MaineLL (Jun 23, 2013)

How come you didn't use a standard transition strip for laminate? It would accommodate the expansion/contraction needs of the laminate, while still matching the laminate for a more attractive look. It has a metal track that you apply to the subfloor and then the trim piece snaps into the metal track.


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## greentrees (Apr 28, 2012)

MaineLL said:


> How come you didn't use a standard transition strip for laminate? It would accommodate the expansion/contraction needs of the laminate, while still matching the laminate for a more attractive look. It has a metal track that you apply to the subfloor and then the trim piece snaps into the metal track.


The strip is a transition strip. I just showed the metal piece that came with it. Here is how it looks when I put the T-mold on top of it. Because the T-mold is not as deep as the laminate, I assume I will just fill the difference with glue. Right now, it just sits on top of the laminate, which isn't bad (without any glue).


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## MaineLL (Jun 23, 2013)

Did you use a T-strip for your particular laminate? Usually the t-strip has a metal track that is screwed to the floor between the adjacent floors and then the t-strip is snapped into the track. T-strips have different thicknesses (heights) according to the thickness of the laminate that it matches.


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