I'm installing unfinished 3/4" by 3 1/4" red oak in a loft. I was thinking of starting and running parallel to the oak strip at the railling with no expansion gap. See the railing in the pictures below: [img]https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.doityourselft.com-vbulletin/2000x1504/20220326_090051_f85b6d1861664d298d166494bff4a78466cb02c0.jpg[/img] [img]https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.doityourselft.com-vbulletin/2000x1504/20220326_090041_51d452693a789fe96b7fc34bcbd53ab3ce3761ed.jpg[/img] [img]https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.doityourselft.com-vbulletin/2000x1504/20220326_090102_a154e0b40eca84bcd6b31f31bc8c1e148d3bf5b5.jpg[/img] It is a 21 feet to the back wall that would have the 3/4" expansion gap. Is it okay to have no expansion gap at the railling and only have the gap at the far end wall?

Hi, We have LVP waterproof flooring which we plan to install in the bathroom. I've learned the basics of installing but I still have a few questions. We currently have vinyl sheet flooring installed (it was there when we moved in). However, it has a sort of squishy/soft pad underneath it. I have a washer/dryer combo on wheels in there and it's ruined the floor because of the soft pad underneath (I've included photos so you can see). It's badly wrinkled and I think might also be cut. Here are some photos: [url]https://imgpile.com/album/U8vJi[/url] (tried to use Imgur but it hasn't been working all week). First, I'm assuming that we should pull up the current flooring and soft pad, correct? Or should one lay the new floor on top? I'm just concerned given the part that's wrinkled due to the washer/dryer unit, the flooring wouldn't sit flat. Secondly, I know that LVP needs to "float" and have approximately 1/4" on each side. We plan to replace the current commercial vinyl wall base/baseboard around most of the walls/edges that need it. However, the tricky part in my opinion is the tub area. I'm not sure how exactly to allow the flooring to "float" while making sure that the edging over top of the LVP is waterproof - for that water that will drain from the shower area. I've thought about a caulk tape (L-shaped), a sticky, waterproof "quarter round" type of finish, though I'm completely open to suggestions - that's why I'm posting. I did see one bathroom install where the person glued down the one line of flooring next to the tub and left all the other sides floating to be sure it didn't move or break waterproofness - which made some sense but I'm not sure if it's OK. Any info would help so much. Thanks so much in advance!! Links: This is the exact flooring we found (it was on a close out in our store for only $14/box): [url]https://www.homedepot.com/p/Home-Decorators-Collection-Woodland-Dove-Oak-7-in-x-48-in-Rigid-Core-Luxury-Vinyl-Plank-Flooring-23-77-sq-ft-Case-HD-LVR5012-0006/307423382[/url] This is the type of baseboard we're looking at (it's what's in there now - if this was our forever home we'd switch to proper baseboard but for an apt, this seems OK): [url]https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000R3X10G/[/url] This is one of the options we're looking at for the tub area: [url]https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B085D8CJSH[/url] And the others: [url]https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07VWS41YQ[/url] and [url]https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0876WHFN5[/url]