Been doing this 22 years and folks still mess up expansion gaps on LVP

Walked into a job yesterday in Austin and the guy had the planks butted right up against the wall with zero gap. Said he read the box and it didn't say anything about leaving space. I pointed to the fine print on the side of the box that says 1/4 inch minimum. He argued with me for 10 minutes until I showed him the buckling on a job he did last month. I swear every time I see flooring installed tight to the baseboard I know it's gonna fail within a year. Has anyone else had to walk homeowners through why their floors are popping up after 6 months?

3 comments

3 Comments

laura_wilson7d ago

My buddy Dave in San Antonio had the same headache last year. He put click-lock vinyl in his own living room with a perfect 3/8 inch gap, but his neighbor across the street bragged about saving time by jamming the planks tight against the baseboard. Six months later that neighbor's floor was popping up by the back door and the joints were separating like a bad puzzle. Dave had to spend a Saturday helping him pull it all up and reinstall it with the right gap.

ross.kim7d ago

Pride cometh before the floor pops.

reese_lee7d ago

Wait, Dave actually gave up his whole Saturday to help a neighbor who skipped the gap? That's next level saint behavior considering the neighbor basically asked for it by cutting corners. @ross.kim called it right with that pride comment, but I guess sometimes pride comes with a free labor invoice attached.