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I understand that when you install floating floorboards, you need to be careful around the edge, with skirting boards, etc, to allow for the floorboards to expand, shrink and shift, or else they might buckle.

My floorboards have been in place for 10-14 years. Can I expect that they have now settled, and I do not need to take such precautions, or do they continue to shift throughout their lifetime?

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    They'll shrink and swell with every change in temperature and/or humidity. – Tester101 May 12 '15 at 2:04
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How much does the humidity in your house vary over the course of a year? If it's a constant humidity and temperature all year round, no movement should take place. If, as is more normal, it's dry in the winter and wet in the summer, the floor will move "forever." Depends on your HVAC approach, and how much it is or is not like a museum's. No open windows, constant heat or A/C and humidification/dehumidification, no movement. If you like to open the windows from time to time, movement...

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  • We have a different definition of normal! In Sydney, the lowest humidity is in late spring and the highest is late autumn. But, thanks, that's very useful to understand. – Oddthinking May 12 '15 at 2:12
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    In large wooden type at carpenter school: "Wood Never Sleeps". – Aloysius Defenestrate May 12 '15 at 3:22

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