Help! New flooring and large 1" gaps around trim

7 years ago

We had 3/8" engineered flooring installed over our original floor in the hallway and landing. I asked the contractor to install around the door trim instead of cutting them down but did not anticipate that he would leave gaps of approx. 1" between the new flooring and trim. Help! He has installed shoe moulding over some of the trim to cover the gap and wants to cut up smaller pieces to fill in the others and then caulk. Please advise on what the appropriate fix would be. Does this require ripping up the engineered planks around the trim and recutting?

What's currently there is unsightly. Please advise and thanks in advance.

Featured Answer

Lyndee Lee

7 years ago

At first glance, I saw an example of hiring a pro then telling them how to do the work. However, I quickly realized that was not done by a true flooring pro because a real pro would have either convinced you that the trim should be undercut or declined the job.

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Comments (6)

PRO
Johnson Flooring Co Inc
7 years ago
It will require removing pieces, undercutting the jambs and casings, and installing new pieces that extend under the jambs and casings.
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ljptwt7
7 years ago
What Johnson flooring said. This is unbelievable.
mainenell
7 years ago
You have to undercut door trim for laminate because laminate cannot be installed flush to the door trim edge. There must be a gap between the adjacent vertical surface and the laminate to allow for expansion and contraction.
iamtiramisu
7 years ago
What everyone else said. You kinda got what you asked for and directed him to do - the fact that it ain’t pretty and he wants to compound the problem with small pieces mishmashed together with caulk is - another matter. Follow Johnson Flooring’s advice and get it fixed the right way.
SJ McCarthy
7 years ago
I'm sorry but you have a 'guy' doing this and not a professional flooring installer. That is issue #1 but it is not THE issue. The single greatest issue is the complexity of your trim. As much as you wish to preserve the trim, it is not possible with this type of installation.

To preserve the trim, it should have been removed and reinstalled over top of the floor. This is normally not an option for most people because it involves repainting the trim...and often the walls.

So the next real life option would have been to undercut the trim. A wood floor requires an expansion gap regardless of how it is installed. That means the gap must be hidden by trim. Either you undercut the existing trim to hide the gap or you install shoe/quarter round once the floor has been installed. The 'guy' tried to do it your way. Sadly his skill (possibly the budget) didn't meet the level of expectation for the finishing.

As Johnson flooring suggests, the runs at the wall need to be removed, the trim undercut and then new planks installed. This is the only way to keep a clean look in your home. Or you can have all the trim removed, the last runs installed again, and the trim reinstalled. And then you will need to assess whether or not you need to paint....everything.