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Started installing my first laminate floor today. Client selected Poliface Traffic Marine which appears to be pretty high quality.
The problem we are having is that, although the tongue & groove joints fit together very nicely during the dry-fit stage, once the PVA adhesive is applied to the joints, the tongue & grooves are so tight, you can scarcely beat them together with a hammer and block of wood.
While trying to find a way to pull the joints tight in the first three courses, I even wrapped a ratcheting web-strap clamp around two or three courses of flooring, and used the ratchet to pull the seams up tight. While this did work, it will be virtually impossible to continue to do this as more and more courses are laid.
A call to the supplier wasn’t much help. He agreed that we had acclimated the flooring for a long enough period, but suggested that we should run a dehumidifier over the weekend to see if that would help (I can’t see how, but we’re doing it anyway).
Anybody got any experience with this problem? Any suggestions? I can’t imagine that this stuff is supposed to be this difficult to install or no one would ever buy any. After applying the glue and getting the joints started, you can hardly get them tight together with a hammer and a block of wood.
Thanks for any help. Jay
Replies
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Started installing my first laminate floor today. Client selected Poliface Traffic Marine which appears to be pretty high quality.
The problem we are having is that, although the tongue & groove joints fit together very nicely during the dry-fit stage, once the PVA adhesive is applied to the joints, the tongue & grooves are so tight, you can scarcely beat them together with a hammer and block of wood.
While trying to find a way to pull the joints tight in the first three courses, I even wrapped a ratcheting web-strap clamp around two or three courses of flooring, and used the ratchet to pull the seams up tight. While this did work, it will be virtually impossible to continue to do this as more and more courses are laid.
A call to the supplier wasn't much help. He agreed that we had acclimated the flooring for a long enough period, but suggested that we should run a dehumidifier over the weekend to see if that would help (I can't see how, but we're doing it anyway).
Anybody got any experience with this problem? Any suggestions? I can't imagine that this stuff is supposed to be this difficult to install or no one would ever buy any. After applying the glue and getting the joints started, you can hardly get them tight together with a hammer and a block of wood.
Thanks for any help. Jay