What? Sounds a bit strange if that's the only reason... The recommendation is a 10-15mm gap and there are certainly floors that are much thicker than that... I'm putting in underfloor heating myself, so it will be 22+14mm at least.
|plaster
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| movement allowance
|_-------floor------
You should have a movement allowance between the floor and the wall. If you haven't laid any flooring yet, you don't need to consider any gap when you screw plaster.
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| movement allowance
|_-------floor------
You should have a movement allowance between the floor and the wall. If you haven't laid any flooring yet, you don't need to consider any gap when you screw plaster.
Isn't it more about if you have a gap, it should be at the floor. That is, press the boards up against the ceiling when you screw them. This is so that the gap is more easily hidden at the floor.
I also thought so at first, but it says that you should have (or the recommendation is) a 10-15mm gap... With the logic that the gap should be at the bottom and not at the ceiling, it feels strange that they recommend a pretty specific measurement. But it seems like there are no problems if you don't have it anyway... As long as you are careful with the gap when you lay the floor... That is, the movement allowance.
It is really great to leave 3-4 cm between the drywall and the subfloor if you are going to install a parquet floor. This provides ample movement space for the floor and you can also use the space for cable routing. Since a molding is placed in front, it won't be visible.
If you're installing drywall anyway, the argument for running cables under the drywall is pretty weak. You have the opportunity to make a proper, hidden installation.
I've also heard there should be a gap at the bottom, but I haven't bothered with that. Ten years later, no problems have arisen. What can cause some issues is that chips of the drywall might crack when you screw it into the stud if the edge of the drywall catches something on the floor, often some debris you haven't swept away like a dropped drywall screw.
One of the arguments for having a gap is that you should be able to clean the floors with plenty of water without it being absorbed by the drywall, which is a reasonable argument for those who clean floors with a lot of water.
I've also heard there should be a gap at the bottom, but I haven't bothered with that. Ten years later, no problems have arisen. What can cause some issues is that chips of the drywall might crack when you screw it into the stud if the edge of the drywall catches something on the floor, often some debris you haven't swept away like a dropped drywall screw.
One of the arguments for having a gap is that you should be able to clean the floors with plenty of water without it being absorbed by the drywall, which is a reasonable argument for those who clean floors with a lot of water.
Partly, it's about making it easier to get the right connection to the ceiling by pressing the board upwards. Partly, it allows the floor some movement, but it's also about protecting the gypsum's bottom edge from moisture. The majority of drywall sold doesn't go to renovation or new construction of small houses but to multi-family buildings, etc., where moisture safety during construction isn't always the best. If the floor is a bit wet, the drywall doesn't have to be ruined because of this.
Yes, it's true. I realized that I have speaker cables embedded in the molding in the living room, but when it's renovated there, it should be recessed. One really should run a lot of empty conduits and junction boxes with covers around the rooms for future use.
I have actually installed a lot of extra conduit in the extension I’m working on now. Partly I’ve prepared for a planned 5.1-zone, and then I’ve run VP32 and VP40 conduit to a technical room. In the living areas, I will have regular pipe outlets which I will cover with a junction box lid. This way I can move a lot of unsightly electronics like TV boxes, computers, etc., down there and only run HDMI cables up. All the cable clutter can be hidden in the technical room, so I avoid tangles in the room. And I can cut holes in the junction box lids to make it look neat. If I want to remove the cable, I’ll just put on a full junction box lid again.
An advantage of wiring the network as a star is that it becomes very flexible. If I had only run conduit locally, it could be harder to get things where I want them, but with the technical room as the center of a star network, I can easily move data, images, and sound around the house and supply more electricity if needed. By having large conduits, I also don’t have to mess with converters to run things over Cat6.
I placed OSB + gypsum on a 28 x 70 mm thick batten, so with a 15 mm floor, I get a space to tuck in cables behind the moldings, if necessary. And in the worst-case scenario, I can take out the multi-cutter and carve away a bit more gypsum.
An advantage of wiring the network as a star is that it becomes very flexible. If I had only run conduit locally, it could be harder to get things where I want them, but with the technical room as the center of a star network, I can easily move data, images, and sound around the house and supply more electricity if needed. By having large conduits, I also don’t have to mess with converters to run things over Cat6.
I placed OSB + gypsum on a 28 x 70 mm thick batten, so with a 15 mm floor, I get a space to tuck in cables behind the moldings, if necessary. And in the worst-case scenario, I can take out the multi-cutter and carve away a bit more gypsum.
Member
· Korpilombolo
· 3 736 posts
Unfortunately, the gaps become hidden highways for, for example, black ants in the spring if you have such "spring signs" in the house. It's good to have some expansion joints; otherwise, I only see the reason being that it is easier to get the board in place if it is not exactly as high as the wall, so you don't have to press it into place, risking pieces breaking off the board where it meets resistance. Last time, I used masonite strips as spacers during board installation since the joint would be sealed afterward ("wet room"). With thicker baseboards, the parquet doesn't need to extend under the gypsum.
Old thread but... I have always placed gypsum directly against the floor when it fits to the millimeter against the ceiling. Then I finish the floor 10 mm from the gypsum wall, covered by a regular 12/15 mm skirting board. On the other hand, I don't have floors with a huge span, at most about 4x6 meters, so I don't think it requires the world's largest movement joint.