What is scribing in flooring?
Scribes fit laminate flooring by cutting pieces to size. They make trim pieces to fit flooring around door jambs and walls. Proper tool use achieves tight seams between boards.
Scribing transfers the contour of a wall to a piece of flooring. If done correctly, the floor and wall match perfectly. This not only hides wall imperfections, it ensures that floating floors have the correct gap to expand with temperature changes.
Scribing flooring fits the first and final rows of the flooring project. You may also need to scribe for floor registers or walls in the middle of the project room or hallway. Scribing is not that hard to do. You don’t need special tools or skills to scribe the wall.
Tools for Scribing in Flooring:
- Pencil or marker
- Short flooring piece for scribing
- Pull bar for last row
- Hammer or mallet
How do you scribe a line for flooring?
To start the first row of flooring, you will need to use a straight edge. Once you have found the center, you can start laying your flooring from that point. The easiest way is to use a chalk line. A chalk line is a cord coated in chalk. You first stretch the cord out along the floor. Once in place, you snap the chalk line to release chalk and create a straight line.
After adding rows, you can use a string line to verify the scribe row is straight. Place the string line at the corner of the scribe row, pull it taut, and align it with the row. Mark the floor along the edge to help verify the row stays lined up while scribing.