Any tricks to extend laminate floor without having to re-lay the whole floor?

Question

Problem: I had some old french doors removed and some new upvc bifold doors fitted. The french doors had a brick stub wall either side of the doors. My laminate floor was fitted up to the brick walls. With the walls now gone I have an 8 inch gap where I need my flooring extending.(see pic) The floor in this pic was laid left to right and its click lock type. No Glue used . I have 2 spare packs of flooring ready to use.
The previous owner has laid the flooring throughout the ground floor with no breaks.

The floor extends to another 2 rooms to the right of the above pic and if I trace the boards back I think I'd need to pull the whole floor nearly plus the skirting boards,door frames etc.

Any ideas , tips ?

Update: Thanks for tile idea. Here is the finished job :)

Answer 1

Well you are lucky because of those patio doors. What do I expect to see by patio doors - TILE!

So:

1. Go out and find some faux travertine (or the real stuff) tile. It looks like you need some 12"x12"s.
2. Measure 24.5 inches from door all the way across.
3. Cut out laminate with circular saw. (several saw types will work here)
4. Glue a tile edging strip about 1/4" from laminate (this may be the bottom holder of a transition strip but that's another question)
5. Mix thinset.
6. Install tiles. You should only have to cut the two tiles on the far right.
7. Wait a day for thinset to cure a bit.
8. Grout. You should have a spacer by door, middle, and before transition holder.
9. Clean up area.
10. Glue down transition.

Pros:

1. It will look nice. You could even put a third row in here.
2. Depending on tile it could cost less than $150.
3. The tile will transition to the door much better than the laminate. There isn't really any kind of good trim to put by the door in your situation - it is a common question on this site.
4. Your laminate seems to have long runs. The transition should give it some play.
5. It is like 3-4 hours of total work.