How To Fix Long Gaps In Flooring! (Laminate, Vinyl LVP & Engineered Wood Floors) | DIY TIP & TRICK 

I literally just did my daughter's room and have these issues. You're a super hero!! Thanks for always coming through with home fixes! Love your channel!

I have the same problem with the vinyl planks. If I knew this was a common problem, I would never have bothered with them. Good video for us that are stuck with this garbage.

This video showed up randomly and I am very glad it did - I fixed the gaps in my laminate on all three storeys of my house! Thank you @Fix This House for the excellent video, I have subscribed and I also look forward to watching the rest of them!

I’m so glad I found you video, I was ready to remove four rows. This has been a challenge to do, especially when I never thought I’d do it, but three handymen backed out of doing job at the last minute. One room almost done and it looks good other than going very slow. Thank you for your tips.

I applaud you for asking the you tube community for suggestions. This was a great presentation. Thank you.

I love your practical solutions to these problems! Thank you for sharing! Your amazing

I can't thank you enough for this clear instruction. Your demonstration is awesome and humble. You have made a difference! Thank you.

Thank you from Canada! Just laminated my whole basement+bathroom...It looks good but now I even feel better about the future of the job I've done. I installed the laminate on top of DriCore Insul-Armor w/o any kind of sound barrier. So...one week all looks good. TY!!!

I just want to say THANK YOU! My little Granddaughter loves to dance in front of the living room television, well needless to say I noticed 3 planks on the floating hardwood floor I put down with gaps....now I am a big time panicker, but thanks to your video(I do believe yours is the ONLY video addressing lengthwise gaps) I was able to fix it today and it looks good to me! So again thank you for your helpful video!

Thank you - very informative and creative ways to move the planks and close the gaps! I am working with Eng. Hardwood - floating it, and struggling in my 1965 uneven subfloor pier/beam house - Ugh! Pulling my hair out now - but God is helping me through it - many prayers. I plan to 'nail down' several boards to keep it from shifting - After I get it all in place - then I will counter sink the 'finishing nail' with wood putty match. I just need it finished ASAP! Thanks again for your humble spirit.

Thanks so much! Very helpful. Can’t wait to try this out

Very informative and easy to follow video. Thanks for sharing your skills.

I watched your other vid on fixing the short gaps. I'm glad you made this one. I have a couple of these type of gaps on my floor. Thanks for the good tips! I'll sub your channel

Been looking for something like this for a couple of years!!! Thank you soooo much!!!!

Thank you for all you do on YT! Your videos are awesome and I always look forward to what you do next!

Thanks for sharing the solution, it’s so informative and helpful as always. I’ve been following you since very early in the days, so happy to see what you’ve achieved! Anyway, I wonder is it possible to have another video on fixing LVP? In my case I have a few planks in one area that I had to replace, since they are in different rows, seems like I need to take off quite a few planks!! No idea how I could get that done…

Outstanding technique. Thank you!!

I really needed to know this. Thanks so much for sharing.

This little trick was super helpful when i was removing a large number of broken planks.

Awesome info bro.. I have one line that I over looked.. this is a brilliant idea…. Im convinced this is the solution.. Thanks again The bushmen

I have this issue in my kitchen and it's super annoying! 😑 I see that debri has gotten in between my boards so I will clean it out with a carpet knife & vacuum, then I'll implement your fix technique. And I LOVE the idea of using the suction cup handle!! 😃❤️🤓👍💯 A BIG THANK YOU!

Awesome job! Yet another use for double sided tape!

Awesome! I have a gap in my kitchen floor and will definitely try this fix. Thank you

Nice job very simple solution

It took all of 5 seconds to subscribe to your channel. Plowing through the posts at the rate of a mules day of work, but it is worth it!

Good technique; will add to my repertoire. "You can never have too many clamps" says the Master Woodworker.

Great instructional video!

Great tip, will try it, Thank you!

Great tips on fixing these floors, vinyl floors, you've helped me as a handyman tremendously... your videos are amazing... my clients ask me how do I know this stuff .....

Great tips thanks

Thanks for the information, now to repair, my brother's vinyl flooring.

thank you so much. super smart

Incredible I’m a sub excellent with u had closer ups on gap for those very small gaps use a wood filler like timber wood to make ur floor

This was great, tnx

Brilliant! 👏

I encountered a gap after removing a built-in TV Stand (built into sub-floor) that my vinyl plank flooring was originally installed around, and putting in vinyl plank flooring in that space after nailing down quarter-inch board as prep. I didn't use the cheapest planks you could find for the initial install, but certainly not the most expensive and the flooring install I was working with and trying to line-in with was about 2 years old. My understanding is most floors should last about 10 years (although mine supposedly has a lifetime warranty). I see the comments in here about stressing joints and general concerns about the floor in general with this clamp method and I have to agree - this flooring is heavy and making the directly adjacent joints of the planks near the gap responsible for the strain is probably not the best. So we wanted to pull more of the floor together to fill the gap (remember - if installed correctly you should have about of a quarter inch space on the entire border of the floor, which is hidden by your toe-kick trim and/or your quarter round at the base). What we did was put double-sided carpet tape (the tape was noted as "permanent" and no I don't have the name of it, but if it helps I got a 75' roll for about 15 bucks at Home Depot) on an 18" 2x4 as shown on another video by Fix this House on a "test piece" of our vinyl plank floor. For the test piece, we just used some left over planks from the initial floor install. I placed the 2x4 on the test plank, stood on it and pounded the 2x4 with a 4-lb sledge hammer several times, and ripped it off. The finish was not removed and the tape lost some adhesiveness. Then starting at the farthest wall approximately 1-plank away from the wall, I did exactly what I did with the test plank. I put the 2x4 in the middle of my plank, stood on it, and started hammering the entirety of the floor down towards the gap. The 2x4 slid across planks despite the tape, so if that happens don't be discouraged. I weigh about 225lbs and I estimate the floor to weigh about 10 times that. Anyway, once I neared the gap (2 planks above it), I carefully, with careful foot placement to prevent the flooring from coming up, peeled the 2x4 up. I then, after repeating the same procedure on the test piece to ensure the adhesiveness of the carpet tape was the same, started from the other side of the room again about 1 plank off the wall, and started hammering on my 2x4 while standing on it, again pulling the whole floor towards the gap. I then did it again from the other side of the room. That was all it took and it closed the huge horizontal gap that I had that was actually bigger than the one shown in this video. I did not use clamps, and I ensured I had someone watching the gap so I didn't overswing either, which I think is very important. Last step was a hard scrub with a swiffer wet jet to ensure all the adhesiveness was removed. It took about 30 minutes and 20 bucks in tape and 2x4s. Your mileage may vary. Thank you for all the commenters and of course Fix this House for the informative videos. I felt obligated to share this procedure in case it helps anyone in a similar situation.

So helpful!!

now i know how to fix mine...thank you!!

Thank you for the video it's very helpful!. I do not see the link for the suction cup tool

great video!!

What I did at my house and it was more because I didn't research anything but I found it to be is I got a coordinating grout and I just grounded the whole floor because the previous owner left the hugest gaps and my OCD could not handle sweeping the floors all of the debris going in the gap

great technique. here is something even cooler versus a suction cup tool you already have one just hit the end up that 2x4 with a hamer and it will move that piece over.

Do you think if I don’t take care of this will the floor eventually pop out? Feel like this is always going to happen not sure if there are alternatives for this

Excellent job. What kind of double sided tape?

Nice!

I greatly appreciate your suggestions here. I have a large flooring area in a house we just moved into, all a beautiful locking plank system, and there are huge gaps both ways everywhere. Unfortunately for me, I'm very disappointed with the floor as gaps are in the middle and I'll have to slide a bunch of boards back from the ends to fix it. Honestly it makes me wonder why people use these floating floors in the first place. I might have mine completely replaced.

Another idea could be using a heavy duty suction cup or handle style for windows. Seems like it would do the same job without using the double sided tape. Thanks for the video

I want to get that flooring. It will be good to know these problems. Ty

Nice job! However, each time you move 1 board, are you not making another gap on next board?

This is really great information. Exactly what I was looking for. Thanks for sharing.

Would you ever apply wood glue between the boards? I’ve got some gaps that are 1/8”.

Slick, Yo. Thank you

I’m planning to install a screen door for the front main entrance. Any videos coming up about that? Love ur channel

Thank you for tip, and please show us how to remove 2x4 sticked with double side glue.

Only extra thing I would do is a little clear gorilla glue in those seams, in case it doesn't close 100%, it will forever be fused at that spot. Doesn't take much. Also, dampen the tongue first with water as that helps gorilla glue set up properly.

I was looking into vinyl to change my 13 year old laminate floor that still looks brand new. So far i've only seen horror storys with the vinyl. Entire floors warping like a piece of bacon, joints separating etc. Sticking to laminate i guess.

Some floors will work better than others. My hybrid engineer floor system was not that good. During installation, it says you can close gaps with block of wood and hammer. No amount of bashing with a block of wood and nylon hammer would close the gap. I went into the flooring section of my hardware and bought coloured floor silicon. (((Pick a light colour if light flooring and dark colour if dark flooring))). I then carefully taped the crack exactly with masking tape, smeared silicon with pure dish liquid detergent, the pulled up the tape, then went over lengthwise gently. I love it as its not easy to see but gives real wood floor look.

You don't want to stand on both sides. Just the side with the bottom grove. Maybe just a little on the other side so it doesn't go over but if you put your full weight on both then it won't move as much.. wish I could afford a suction cup but the same trick works for the other smaller side too.

Might be a little bit stupid here but if you close one gap in he way you show you will surely open up another gap on the adjoining board!

Thanks for the video, I have a wood floor glued to the concrete, very hard to move. I have lot's of horrible gaps. Any suggestions that might help to get rid of those gaps, without replace the whole wood floor. Love your work! Thank you!

What double sided tape are you using!?! I do not know of any that handle the weight of the floor. Suction Cups are a great idead!

I’m interested how often this flooring shows gaps? I’m trending some type of caulk that is exact color?

I had a treadmill that pulled the long side of the plank out of the seam because the rubber on the bottom of the treadmill stuck when I raised the back of the treadmill. Can I still do this?

I have this problem on long and short sides. Closing the gaps is easy. It is making them stay closed for more than a week on the long side. First, my easy fix was to put on high friction sole shoes, run and jump and land on the plank that needs to move. A couple hundred pounds landing sideways quickly puts them back. The short side gaps stay good, but the long side gaps slowly crawl apart after a week. I think they are built defective with a bow bend.

I don't understand what I did wrong with my tape. It feels like it was WAY more sticky than yours and I nearly ruined a piece of my floor because it wouldn't come off (it actually won't lock on the short side now, but neither piece broke. Don't know why, I'll probably just glue it down since its not very long). I want to fix more of the long gaps I have, but I'm afraid of using this method. Do you have any advice about prepping the tape better? (I should add, I bought the tape you had linked, specifically.)

If you have multiple gaps in the rooms. You can remove baseboards on opposite sides of the wall get a floor installation bar(s) and Use a come along

What if only half of the tongue and grove is out of place. One side has over lapped the other side and if I push them into each other it will break the lock

If I have a long Crack in the middle of the house. Would closing up one gap will pull out gap on other side?

Does the double sided tape ever take the veneer off the vinyl plank? Really asking about laminate because I know it is less durable. But curious if the tape will hurt the either.

May have worked but when I went to remove the 2x4's it pulled the laminate up with it. Is there a way for this NOT to happen?

If you need to RIP it back up to fix, make sure you take it up in opposite way you installed them or you will break the edge tongue and groove and/or chip it.

Just wondering...should we be only leaving like a1/16th of an inch around the outside instead of a 1/4"?

U can butt the walls with this lvp plastic, it doesn't contract or expand. I commend your repair, problem it will return most likely. Long gaps only happen if it wasn't locked in at insulation or a large low spot or a crown in the sub floor. Improper pep or lack of.

I don’t have a gap- the vinyl top layer is delaminating from the base- is there a way to fix this without replacing the plank?

what kind of double sided tape did you use? Mine is moving. Probably too old.

Can I add some sort of glue to permanently fix this issue? Thank you for the video, very helpful, was starting to stress over newly installed flooring.

Wondering how you removed the two by fours that were fasten to the floor with double sided sticky tape?

Where can I go to buy an special hand tools use to work.

I used your technique and worked perfectly until I tried to remove the boards because the tape actually made them ruin several other seams by pulling them up. Any remedy for this mishap

I would think of using vacuum cleaner first to make sure there are no dust, dirt of anything left inside the gaps.

So if you open that...you open another gap somewhere else right? So why not wood putty it

WOW

Thanks for sharing

Can you use three clamps? Instead of having to take one off to do the middle?

Did you ever use this method for fixing at creaky laminate floor? I've watched a few videos about fixing creaky floors, lots of suggestions like using baby powder, lubricants, nails and screws. The boards that's creaking in my house seem to be too tight at two points and this seems like it might actually help...

Do the suction cups work in this application?

I just had a customer that had this same problem, installed by a different contractor 2 years ago,and the whole job was separating. the only real solution is to take it apart and put it back together correctly. if the locks break glue the boards together

Hey, very smart!

How about having 3 of them 1 at each end and one in the middle

How do I prevent this from happening again?

Have you ever thought about using 3 bar clamps?

Tape you ducked work to the floor or the heat comes on it will lift and come apart

I renovated a double wide 2 years ago and the LVP is separated so many places. This product is really not great.

What kind of double sided tape is this

why not buy three clamps?

I did not see if you put glue before you close the gap , if you put glue it may prevent for happening again, it may happen on another places so you can close the also with glue, this may had happened because the subfloor is uneven

The tongue and groove won’t “click” with most floating floors with this method, as least not 100%. They normally need installed at an angle, but the whole point is to NOT redo the whole room to fix a gap. Test on a scrap that mineral spirits doesn’t affect the finish on the lvp. If it’s good, than use pl premium to glue the separated pieces together. Once it’s as tight as you can get it, wipe the PL away with mineral spirits, followed up by soap and water. Otherwise, your cap could come back, because you can’t be sure you’re getting the correct “click” since your hammering it in flat and possibly breaking the locking ridge off the tongue.

How do you keep gaps from returning?

I don't understand. Won't you create new gaps on the pieces next to it and so on?

I used a thin bead of 5 minute epoxy on my seam so it doesn't happen again.