The choice of product will determine if and how many joins there might be in your new flooring. Where the product comes in a single length (carpet or vinyl) joins are less common, but are still needed if the area is larger than the width of the product, or if thresholds are not desired. Some floors, such as wood or LVT, are designed to be joined almost endlessly. Here we look at what a join means in different materials and the advantages and disadvantages.
Vinyl
Today most sheet vinyl products come as either 2, 3 or 4 meter wide pieces allowing for a minimal amount of joining. When required, vinyl can be joined up, but care should be taken to ensure any pattern is correctly matched so that the flooring appears seamless.
There are two common methods of joining vinyl and for domestic work the most common is to use an adhesive to stick the two pieces together. Cold welding is also viable but found more often in commercial areas.
Carpet
With the large majority of carpet manufacturers now producing 4 and 5 meter carpets seaming carpets is no longer as common as it was a few years ago. That being said, joins are still needed for a variety of reasons.
A carpet is joined using a fibreglass reinforced tape to bond the two (or more) pieces together with a high temperature adhesive. Ideally this will follow the pile direction as this minimises the appearance of the join, whereas running across the pile (known as a cross join) will always be more visible.
Advantages of a join
- Joins allow flooring to flow from one area to another without threshold bars.
- Joins are hard wearing.
- Joins enable flooring to cover larger areas than their maximum width would otherwise allow.
- Potentially reduces waste and therefore cost.
Disadvantages of a join
- Not all products join as well as others.
- Whilst a good join is hard to see, there is always a visible line.
- Joins need to be located carefully to avoid high traffic areas because excessive traffic can make it more visible.
At Grimley Flooring we can help select the right flooring and advise on the placement of any required joins to minimise their visibility and your cost. Our professional fitting means you will always be left satisfied with the finish.