Re: Heavy objects on laminate floors.

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: : I tend to agree with Stephen and also Ray on this subject. Most common household furniture and appliances will not stop a laminate floor from moving, which is why laminate floors are recommended for kitchen areas. At the same time, Ray is right that it is essential with a laminate floor not to "lock it in" or in order words it must be allowed to expand and contract which is so important with wood products. While some may want to argue with me that "laminates are not really wood, only hardwood floors are", the fact is even a hardwood floor is not made up of 100% wood components (if you count urethane or other coatings) but I will agree that hardwood floors typically have a higher percentage of wood than a typical laminate floor. : : My point to all of this is while laminates and engineered woods have there differences they are still wood products. Therefore they must be treated accordingly which includes allowing for expanison and contraction. Is this movement noticeable? I would equate it to us spinning around on this Earth, the earth is constantly moving but we do not feel it and rarely notice it other than the fact the day turns to night, and the night turns to day. : : It is the same with any flooring product, it will expand and contract in a very slow and by the millimeter fashion so it is not noticed, but it does occur. Will a heavy appliance placed on top of a floating floor "lock in" the flooring to the point that it could buckle, the answer is not likely (but it can happen,keep reading). Why? Because the movement takes place within the floor not the floor and appliance. Now if the appliance were screwed in through the floor into the subfloor, then expansion and contraction of the floor AND the appliance AND the subfloor will take place. Now you might be saying, is this guy crazy what do you mean expansion and contraction of the appliance, its a refer not a floor! Well fact is that almost anything you buy, the t.v., the washing machine, the ceiling tiles, the hardwood floor deck outside, the ceramic tile in the bath rooms, all expand and contract depending upon conditions. Noticeable? Hardly ever, but it does occur. : : So where I am going with this is you can apply a certain amount of static load pressure to a floating floor and it will still allow a certain amount of expansion and contraction, but once you cross the floors point load threshold the floor may become locked in because the point loading may be so great that the floor acts as if it were attached to the furniture and subfloor underneath. In my estimation it would take a force that is so great that it would not only cause the floor to be locked in but also crack or damage the face and structural integrity of the core as well. : : As to how powerful the movement of a hardwood floor can be, let me put it this way. Bore a hole in the center of a huge boulder and then shove into the hole a round piece of oak wood that fits snugly into the hole. Let it rain a few times and then come back after all the storms have passed. What you will most likely see is a boulder split literally in half! Why because the force of expansion within wood is greater than the strength of rock holding together! So with that in mind it is important to keep a wood or laminate floor maintained with as little water as possible, as well as avoiding floods and water leaks. : : With regards to the car showroom, Stephen is right, the static load pressure (measured in PSI) for cars or trucks that are not moving is very low compared with that of a 120 lb woman wearing a 1/4" high heeled shoe. I say not moving because tires traveling at high rates of speed are barely touching the road because of the way they flex. In fact in one study years ago it is estimated that in some cases the amount of tire touching the road at some points could be as little as the size of a silver dollar (hence the term stopping on a dime is not too far off from reality). Thus road damage by heavy trucks is increased at higher percentages when trucks are allowed to travel faster over the roads (one of those laws of physics things). : : As for using proper furniture rests on the footings of appliances and furniture, it is a good idea because you are spanding the load over a greater area thus reducing risk of damaging a floor. As for the comment as to why buy laminates if they can't handle the load, fact is all flooring materials have their limitations and that includes ceramic tile, steel and bare concrete as well. All floors not matter how well constructed can be damaged by pivoting loads, but obviously some are more resistant or noticeable than others. : : Evan : : : That is reassuring. : : : I have placed large felt pads under most of the furniture, and objects that were previously immoveable on a carpet now move with ease on the laminate. : : : I suspect if the floor needs to move, it will just slide under them. : : : I was also wondering how comes Ikea demo rooms do not seem affected. (Although their bookshelves are not really full). : : : Thanks Scott! :-) : : : Jean-Claude : : : : Heavy objects normally found in homes (piano's, refrigerators, funiture) will have NO EFFECT on a properly installed laminate floor. Even a car or light truck probably wouldn't hurt it because the psi under each tire is not that high. If the floor needs to expand/contract there aren't many things you can get into your house that will stop it. : : : : Scott Stephens : : : : www.stephensfloor.com : well here is my question to all of you ,if any? I have a 55 gallon aquarium,filled with water is this too heavy for laminate flooring?

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