Hardwood Floors December 2025/January 2026

TECH TALK

with

Cesar Cardona Cardona Flooring

Jason Carter Carter Quality Hardwood Flooring

Ben Totta Totta Hardwoods

“How do you handle projects where the required perimeter expansion space is unachievable?”

CESAR CARDONA

JASON CARTER

We’ve all been told by the architect, the designer, the general contractor, or the homeowner that you can’t have an expansion gap. Especially when we are butting up to tile and other permanent fixtures. Number one, we have to make sure everybody involved knows that this is against the rules, and if this is what they’re demanding, then we need to rely on educating them as to why wood moves. The whole reason we need an expansion gap is because of changes in humidity. As long as the homeowner is informed of where to keep the humidity levels and they’re able to keep the humidity in-check, the floor is not going to move. Any time we are forced to alleviate expansion space against tile, we back bevel any of those boards. Then, if we do have a failure because the wood expanded, at least now only that one board should be affected instead of the whole floor buckling. We would rather see that last turn board or that picture frame up against the fireplace react because that’s a somewhat easy fix versus the catastrophe of not leaving enough expansion and the floor buckled in the middle of the living room.

In situations where full expansion space cannot be achieved, the key is to find a balance between protecting the floor system and respecting the site’s restrictions. The first step is to determine why the space doesn’t allow expansion space, whether it is due to structural walls, stone, or cabinetry, etc. Once identified, I explain to the client that wood flooring is always moving with seasonal changes and eliminating expansion space increases the risk of buckling. If the expansion space truly cannot be created, there are some strategies we can use; for example: • Undercutting trim casing, drywall, or stone to gain expansion space. • Transition moldings at thresholds to add expansion space. • Make some change into the layout, like using internal expansion joints or borders that relieve pressure in large areas or choosing a more dimensionally stable product like engineered flooring. Moisture control and monitoring to ensure the subfloor, flooring, and environment are maintained within NWFA or the manufacturer’s recommended moisture conditions before installation gives the best chance for success. Document everything and explain it to the client in writing. This way they understand the risk and accept the responsibility if anything happens. As professionals, our role is to mitigate movement wherever possible, but we also have to educate the client when design conditions don’t allow for textbook installation. Finally, the most important thing is to follow manufacturers’ recommendations.

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