Flooring installer here! Nice fixes. Before you tighten up those ends hit them with a little wood glue, and dont get any on the long side(it needs to float). Many times those end locks degrade and will never truly lock again after they gap. You can also take off the trim and shim that row tight, but Ive had excellent luck with glue :)

@zwojek

Ай бұрын

Mine gap appeared again 24 h after fixing. Thanks for the advice!!

Every season change I'm dealing with this. I ended up buying a cheap floor tile suction cup for suspended flooring for about 20 bucks. You just press it down, flip the suction cup levers to grip the section you want to adjust and then I tap the edge of the suction cups with a rubber mallet. Good to go.

@kathleenrutherford733

Жыл бұрын

Excellent idea

@sruhaana5096

Жыл бұрын

I did the same thing. But i added super glue between the boards, so hoping I don’t have to deal when climate changes. Not sure if it works or not. First time did

@312cycles

Жыл бұрын

That works. You could also use a shoe. Just set the shoe on the ground put some weight on it and tap the back of the shoe. You could also just kick it with your foot

You can also kick the gap closed with the heal of your shoe. I've been doing that for years, with the same floor board ;D

@jrenee1040

Жыл бұрын

LOL

@JackJohnson-wg1ye

Жыл бұрын

Thank you. I do this all the time. I was beginning to think it was just me lol.

@jameshaines604

Жыл бұрын

As a 20 yr floor installer that's how I usually fix em kick em over lol 😆 or you could lift up the quarter round and Tapp them over from the wall if they don't move when kicked

@chrisclark4197

Жыл бұрын

Thank buddy help tremendously 😎

@JulianRamirezChannel

11 ай бұрын

Real pro tip in the comments

When you are too close to a wall to swing a hammer, screw a small offcut from another 2x4 on the top of the first 2x4 on the end that is furthest from the wall. You can then hammer on the small 2x4 piece to move the board.

@billydemulder8413

2 жыл бұрын

Exactly was I was thinking. Was going to comment this

@LRN2DIY

2 жыл бұрын

Excellent idea!

@TCGBROWNSCARDS95

2 жыл бұрын

lol I was about to type this too

@patriot1303

2 жыл бұрын

That’s genius

@danocallaghan6875

2 жыл бұрын

Or get a plank puller from Depot. (I understand this is DIY stuff but a puller makes it easier if you have one.)

Great videos! Just a little addition that you may know already, or not. When you make your 20” block, glue on a 10” on top of it, flush to one end of the 20” one, this way you have something to hit with your hammer even on tight spots. Hope it helps.

@wyattfamily8997

2 жыл бұрын

Great point.

I’m glad I found you. I have a electrical project coming up and a bath kroon floor that has some gaps that need closed! Thank you for your no nonsense, clear tips!

Great! Nicely demonstrated and clear, to the point speaking. I'm excited about approaching my own floating floor gap project soon. And I thought I'd have nothing to do until next spring when I start mowing again! Thanks!

One of the best easy fix’s I’ve ever seen! Closed up 5 floor spaces. A favorite DYI process, thank you!

Fantastic technique. Especially the tape+superglue for those close to wall/edges. I do the same but with my sneaker on and kick the floor into place 🤣

@majusavel

2 жыл бұрын

That's what I do too 😂. The power of sneakers 😄

@aaqilian5.085

2 жыл бұрын

You’re so clever

@richardedwards5970

2 жыл бұрын

I do too, take two seconds 😅

@demarcmj

2 жыл бұрын

Seems like this would be a good idea even when you're *not* right up against the wall. That way you eliminate any risk of accidentally hitting the floor with your hammer.

@rtel123

Жыл бұрын

done many on the same floor the last few years. It was high friction shoe soles and body weight that pulled them apart over time, so just put on a pair and jumped in that direction. When I landed, the board slid shut.

Thanks for the new tips. As a painter, now retired, I started using blue tape when it came out. I still use it almost exclusively.

Wow! This is so cool! I have vinyl plank on my kitchen floor with several gaps. I thought I would have to disassemble the entire floor and reassemble it again. This is a great technique. Thanks for sharing.

I like the first method better I think. Its good to know this and I'll keep it in mind if my floor ever develops gaps. I have a flooring installation kit- including the bar you can grab an end with and tap when close to walls. I imagine that would work on the 2x4.

Super helpful video! Clear instructions. We just fixed a couple of gaps we had in our floating floor. Looks like new! Thank you so much! We used the blue tape method. Tom and Sue

@LRN2DIY

2 жыл бұрын

That’s awesome! You guys are fast!

For tapping planks together, using a rubber mallet to tap the plank at an angle will work in many situations and only takes seconds to do. And won’t damage the flooring if used carefully.

@d1ja6

9 ай бұрын

Thanks. I combined your method and one in the video. I put down masking tape to prevent marring and hit with a rubber mallet. Worked like a charm

I can't thank you enough. I have many of these gaps on my laminate floor & it drives me nuts. This is perfect!

Great ideas! You might want to test whichever tape is being used in an inconspicuous area of the floor first though, just to be sure it doesn't pull off the finish. Also, I'll bet a few drops of superglue in the side-gaps, but away from the ends of the boards on either side (to avoid restricting the movement of the ends), would keep these end-gaps from opening up again.

Wow, THANK YOU. It works nicely, Although I modified your technique. Instead of using tape and/or glue I just used a bit of anti-skid rug backing. I placed it on the offending plank, then put a piece of 2x4 on top of the anti-skid material, and knelt on the 2x4 and whacked the 2x4 with a hammer. The gaps closed up nicely. THANKS again.

Good tips. Word of caution when using the chisel or any sharp edge to pry up the stud or the left over tape. Depending on the type of floating floor you have, quality of the material and/or finish can vary making it very easy to mark up or damage.

@davidhiggins4997

Жыл бұрын

Marking the floor was a concern of mine. My solution was a length of fishing line with a dowel at each end. I passed the fishing line behind the bit being removed & by pulling back & forth, like a cheese cutter, broke the seal enough to lift & get fingers underneath to lift free. I used a nylon line so it didn't bite into the block. Maybe a steel leader line would.

Amazing, I have tons of these gaps 4 years after moving into our remodeled home. Can't wait to do this!

What a great idea to close up the gaps. Thank you!!

Thank you - great tip. Two LVPs in my home office had 1/8 - 1/4" gaps. I used method #1 - I used 1' 2x4 sanded it w/ 220 grit on one side, Gorilla Mounting Tape (15lb test), hand vac to make sure nothing in the gap, and rubber mallet - worked like a charm! Removing the 2x4 was no issue with 1/2" chisel and a little popsicle stick to lever and protect the LVP. Thanks again for the tip!

I was doubtful, but thought I would give it a try. YES, it worked, just like he showed us. Thank you for providing this tip.

We were skeptical but tried the Double-Sided Tape and well it worked perfectly. Thank you a bunch.

There is a Laminate floor installation tool that is essentially a piece of flat steel with an L shape or "leg" on each end. The leg grabs the end of the flooring . On the other end is an L or leg going the opposite direction which you hit with a hammer. This way you can go from the end of the run, and tap in three or four boards all at once. This happens a lot in my rentals. Sometimes you have to remove a quarter round piece of molding at the wall, but If you've got a bunch of gaps, it's ultimately much faster.

3rd method, put your Crocs on and kick the floor plank the direction you want it to move, it actually works. Can't wait for the Festool Crocs

From watching this video it took me just about 10 minutes to finally fix the gaps that were in my floor for years! I didnt even think about how to fix them previously. Just made it easier to myself by sticking duct tape on the floor and then regular double sided tape on top since my piece of wood was too rough and didnt hold on the double sided tape i stuck another duct tape on it and stuck the wood to the duct tape. worked flawlessly

I just tried this tip and it worked incredibly well!!!!

Like the double-side tape idea. Clever and like many of the best ideas, simple.

I can't thank you enough. I have an issue in my kitchen and have been wracking my brain on how to fix it without pulling it all up! Again Thank you!

I have been needing to see this for a while. I now know how to fix the gap in the floor of my daughter's kitchen. Thanks so much!

@ThereIsNoOtherHandleLikeMine

2 жыл бұрын

See a gap? Kick it closed. Done.

Thank you for providing such a wonderful idea for fixing the floor. I have been worried about my gap floor for a long time. appreciated.

Nice! Simple and smart. Loved it!

Somehow these videos are always relevant to something going on around my house. Thanks!

@LRN2DIY

2 жыл бұрын

Nice! Seems like we're all going through the same things as homeowners :)

We had the exact same problem in my son's condo. Over the years we've tried our sneakers & rubber mallet. Each provided marginal improvement. Both left rubber marks on the flooring. Amazon had a marvelous 2-suction cup tool (they call it a "Two Jaw Chuck") used for lifting glass. Its rated at 90KG for Vertical Suction and 70KG for vertical suction.) The suction cups provide great strength, when attached to the flooring. Using a rubber mallet, we tapped on the strong aluminum frame of the tool. The gaps in some places were so large, we actually ran a small bead of silicon ahead of the board we were going to move. This doing this, non of the boards have moved. Instead of messing around with applying/removing double sided tape, this tool is quickly applied, and quickly removed with NO cleanup afterwards. My neighbor also borrowed it, to perform the same repairs in his son's condo.

Thanks for the idea. I used double-sided tape and it worked great. SO FAST AND EASY. Thank you!

just done this to my floor, works a treat!! 👍👍

Worked so well. I had other plans until watching this video and I’m so glad I tried this instead! Thank you!

Thanks for filling in the gaps to my knowledge of filling in gaps.

A good kick with sneakers works just as well. By the way the gap will return in a few weeks unless you glue the ends together allowing the expansion and contractions to occur only under the baseboard.

@afmorris5939

2 жыл бұрын

Phil, I was considering with a light smear of wood in gap to seal. The major problems come in a high traffic area in only.

@afmorris5939

2 жыл бұрын

Ps the vacuum & sneaker approach works but the separates at weather changes. Any warnings here I should consider?

Thank you! This fix is something on my "to do" list now, instead of being a mystery.

@ThereIsNoOtherHandleLikeMine

2 жыл бұрын

See a gap? Kick it closed. Done. Not even worth writing it down.

You just taught me something useful, sir! I'm glad to be subscribed on your channel.

@LRN2DIY

2 жыл бұрын

Awesome, thank you!

Thanks for the video. Remarkable work. You deserve all encouragement! I really liked your tips!

So, happy I came across your KZread channel. I have a gap in my floor and don’t want to have a constructor repair it. Thank you!

I usually kick those boards forward with a clean pair of tennis shoes (white soled). But, then again, my flooring probably isn't a snug as it should be. The 2x4 method may come in handy if the quick fix fails.

You could also use suction cups (normaly used to me glass) and they work great. Quick and simple.

@danle2884

2 жыл бұрын

Kudo the El Mero Mero. I think the suction cup is cleaner and easier to handle. You can pick up 1 at Harbour Freight for less than 10 bucks.

Wow great tips you gave us thanks. I have exactly the same problem with my laminate floor. I will do that. 🙂

Awesome video. Going to try the first method since I have some 3M double sided tape.

I love the video! But I was waiting for the part where you teach us how to fix the last gap, by the baseboard. Thanks and Kudos to you!

@emilychambers252

Жыл бұрын

Ditto!

@4:30…aaaaaaannnnd now we got a gap at the baseboard….dangit! Awesome methods love the video.

This roll you used is perfect.

Great idea. I've used the suction cup handles from my father in law's shower also. I don't think it worked as well as this though.

Absolutely brilliant I'll be doing it next week whilst I'm on holiday from work first method

Thanks for the tip about rinsing the double sided tape. I just bought a different brand, (Gorilla), but it looks like the stuff you're using so I'm going to try rinsing and find out.

I use a sneaker that I’m wearing on my foot to move my floating floor and it works perfectly! No fuss no muss!

Get a suction cup tile lifter,. use that to adhere to the tile and tap to shift. Very quick to go through a run or section.

Best technique I have ever seen… thanks!

I'm going to try the first method, thanks!

That's a great idea. Another way to do it is to wear skater shoes and kick them over with your foot flattened. That's the way I've done it for years as a flooring guy. If you use the skater shoe trick it's best to get the shoes with the orange yellowish rubber. The white and black rubber leaves marks.

@Losbass

2 жыл бұрын

Great tip, worked very well with my pumas. Thank you!

@malinwj1167

2 жыл бұрын

Been doing that very thing, at my Dad's laminate flooring, for years haha

@cameronstolhand7149

2 жыл бұрын

@@malinwj1167 if it keeps happening you can put a small amount of wood glue in the tongue and groove before you kick them over. If any comes out wiped the excess off with a damp towel.

@SmithsCustomBuilders

2 жыл бұрын

It works I have done it.

Great tips, thank you!

Great tip, very helpful. Thanks. 👍👍👍

You can also use a tounge and groove adhesive before sliding them. If you have some spaces around your baseboards just add backer rod or fill it with flexible caulk.

@jianshenli5643

2 жыл бұрын

地板两端与墙壁是应该留有缝隙的。有些材料会发胀延长，如果两端顶得太紧会鼓起来的。

Great idea, thank you.

Great ideas, I use the double sided tape but never knew you could rinse it 👏👏

If you have a big gap that’s always moving add some strong adhesive in the gap and then slowly move it back into place this should help keep it in place. When I installed the floor it was all tight with a small gap to the wall so the floor could breath but over time the plank has shrunk a little and now it moves around a lot when you walk on the floor little adhesive helped me.

I have been living with a gap in my laminate board for three years, this video is great apart from the fact i moved out a couple of weeks ago

Very informative. thank you very much!

What do you do about the final gap that gets created between the last piece and the wall?

3:43 "Sh** I forgot the vacuum again" I can't wait to try this at home. Thanks mate!

Thank you for sharing, I like first method.

very cool!!! I drill a 1/8" hole in the center of the floor panel, then use a nail or other some pin insert. I put my hammer on a cloth and tap away. I fill the hole with like colored caulking, if it needs it. most of the time they will work their way open again and I can just reinsert a pin and repeat.

I have several on the long and short sides. Closing them was easy. High friction shoe soles, a short run and jump to land on the plank that needs to move. 200 lb of meat impact does the trick. The short side gaps stay shut, but the long gaps seem to be a bowing defect in the plank, so slowly creep open over the next week.

100% this works. I had this issue and followed these directions. Done.

This was SO helpful!!!

The tape was the most impressive thing for me!

Awesome tips. Perfect for thosec gaps. 🙏

Thanks so much for the gap closing trick. The gym I go to has done his floors in that type of board and has gaps appearing everywhere so I've been wondering of the best way for him to fix it. I even have 2 rolls of that same clear double sided tape and 2 by 4 to get it done today.

So I didn't have a piece of board to do this. I asked an associate at my local Lowes if there was some way I could have about a foot or so cut off of a scrap piece of boards in their discard bin. He smiled, cut it for me and sent me on the way to the double-stick tape aisle. I used 3M mounting tape. I am so shocked this actually worked on my 1/4 in gap LVP. I didn't even have to move my electric range off of the board and it still worked!! I tapped 4 other boards closed (teeny gaps) with this method. (Not a great DIY-er) I almost called the floor guy to come fix it, so glad I found this video and Lowes gave me the board for free!.

I have the Glue, Tape and 2x4 all i need is the Gap 🤗 Kool stuff, thanks for sharing.

Thanks, I'm going to give these a try soon.

Great Video I will use your method thanks

Thanks that was very helpful. I have a small gap in my LVT floor that annoys me.

Sometimes you can move them with rubber soled shoes by skidding on the plank in the direction required

This was an extremely timely video. We recently bought a house with floating floors in the finished basement which have quite a few rather unsightly gaps in them and was wondering just what could be done to eliminate them. Initially I thought of trying to use a table saw to cut thin pieces of flooring and gluing them in, but this seems like the perfect thing to try. Thanks for the video!

@LRN2DIY

2 жыл бұрын

That's awesome! So glad it's helpful :)

@cameronstolhand7149

2 жыл бұрын

I've been installing flooring for over 20 years. I never had any call backs for gaps on my floors. I suspect the gaps are usually due to laying over a subfloor with humps or low spots so if you ever have the floor replaced find someone who knows how to properly float and level a floor to the manufacturer's specs. If the gaps continue to come apart you can use a little wood glue to keep them together. Make sure there's no dust or grime in the gap before clicking it back together. I usually use a sheetrock knife to scrape and clean any grime and then I vacuum before clicking them together.

@sandysterling9583

2 жыл бұрын

Extremely timely? I thought he did an excellent job of showing a very helpful trick in as few words as possible.

@dexterdog62

2 жыл бұрын

@@sandysterling9583 I think you misunderstood. I wasn’t referring to the length of the video, I was commenting on just how appropriate it was to my situation.

@sandysterling9583

2 жыл бұрын

@@dexterdog62 @dexterdog62 oh, sorry! Yea I did misunderstand. When you wrote "this was an extremely timely video" I assumed that's what you meant - it was a timely video.

I'd have never thought of that. Great idea

Hello, Thank you so much for the tricks, the ideas to fix these floating floor issues lol, I am going to use the painters tape way to fix it with the super glue / water. Thanks again from your new friends here in Lima, Peru. I just Subscribed to your channel thank you for your help. George & Carmen

I’ve just subscribed and used 3 or so of your videos already. Great !!!

@LRN2DIY

2 жыл бұрын

Sweet! Thanks for subscribing!

Great technique

Great video for the future, as of right now I only have tile. Any tips on how to fix cracks on tile? Thanks a lot!

Thanks so much for sharing! I was able to close a gap in the floor (while my husband was yapping on the phone, no less!).

Very good!!

Fantastic ... your creativity

Perhaps if you tape down a strip of beveled molding along the edge of the rooms' floor it would stop the spread, forever! Also, if you fold your tape ends over they will make great handles to pull from!

I have bamboo flooring and when it does that gap thing. in summer here, I just put on a pair of sneakers and use my foot to move it, works every time, in winter it swells up, no gap. Cheers from australia

Thank you great help

Great advices. Thanks Sir. Blessings.

I was very wary of this technique until I was forced to try it on a 5 year old install. Worked like a charm!

Great video. Thanks !

Try reusable velcro tape ,works great and use it on the whole project .

Great tip!

wow, I'm going to try it right away, thank you!💪💪💪👍😘🤩