Why Avoid H Joints In Laminate

H joints are often found on floors laid in a regular pattern these should be avoided for both aesthetical reasons and structural reasons.

Why avoid h joints in laminate.

Between the 5 of them they sometimes have similar designs so look at each one to see what lengths they offer as some are 3 metres some 3 6 and some 4 metres. They are all at least 6 minimum apart from eac. Mar 20 2016 wondering how to install solid hardwood flooring. Trolling many of the diy and home improvement subreddits i have noticed a good percentage of laminate vinyl plank and even some hardwood installations that are installed using h joints rather than staggered joints.

Being a natural organic material wood is always in motion. It s a common saying that wood works. What this means is the wood expands or contracts or grows and shrinks in response to changing temperatures and humidity. Laying a laminate floor in a regular pattern decreases its ability to contract and expand as a whole unit and instead does so as single laminate boards often causing gaps or even lifting like a hinge.

H joints occur when the end joints of two boards separated by a single board line up. Laminate flooring planks come in 3 and 4 foot lengths and when you re installing 3 foot planks you ll want to use a shorter spacing to avoid h joints. Decent laminate worktop suppliers that i d recommend are axiom egger prima odyssey and omega. Expansion joints in laminate flooring laminate flooring consists to about 90 of wood.

The length of the planks you re installing is a limiting factor when spacing end joints. If you find any depressions or peaks that are more than 1 8 inch you will probably need to use mortar to level out the floor. Two things to avoid when staggering either laminate or hardwood boards are h joints and steps or lightning. If you look it almost looks like stairs running up from left to right from this picture i posted.

You need to work out which is cost effective to avoid waste. Try to keep a minimum stagger of about one board width or 3 inches between such joints. Follow these guidelines on solid strip and plank flooring installation.