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My dad told me to always glue the first plank of laminate to the subfloor, and I finally saw why
He said it would stop the whole floor from shifting when you tap the rows together, and I argued it was a waste of time. Last month, I skipped it on a big living room job in Springfield and ended up with a 1/4 inch gap at the far wall after the install. Had to pull up three rows to fix it. Anyone else glue that first piece, or is there a better trick to lock everything in place?
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riley_schmidt6d ago
Learned that lesson the hard way too. A dab of glue on that first row saves so much headache later.
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lewis.troy6d ago
Watched my buddy make the exact same mistake in his own kitchen reno last year. He was so sure the wall trim would hold everything tight, but nope. By the time he got to the fridge, the whole floor had crept a good half inch. We spent a whole Saturday pulling up the first few rows to glue that starter plank down. It was a brutal lesson, but now he swears by it. That little bit of glue makes the whole floor behave.
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hollyc923d ago
Half an inch of creep is just wild to picture. That's a huge gap by the time you reach the fridge. Riley_schmidt is totally right about that dab of glue saving a headache, but man, pulling up a whole Saturday's worth of work sounds like actual torture. Your buddy must have been so mad at himself for skipping that one step. It's crazy how the smallest thing can wreck a whole project like that.
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