Laminate floor question

[BThomas]

I have a customer that wants a laminate dance floor installed in the middle of an already finished ceramic floor. The new laminate area will be as close to an 18 foot diameter circle as 32 ( my idea ) equally cut edge pieces will allow.
My question is how & do I need to - secure the flooring? I am thinking that I will need to glue each interlocking board than cut the perimeter after mapping it out with the pre-cut edge pieces. Than glue the edging to the flooring. This will leave the floor separate from tile floor below it. Will there be any problems with the floor not being secured to the floor under it? Will the reducing edge be a trip hazard?
Anyone ever done anything like this?
He also would like an inset ( he suggests a star ) design set into the center of this dance floor.
Any suggestions and help would be appreciated.
Thanks
Bill T

[MarkMc]

Were it me, I'd be pushing to cut/pull the tile and set the new floor as flush as possible since you're not gonna get away with less than 1/2" added thickness and that's a stretch, but either way you'll want suitably transitioned edges.

From here [not knowing exactly what you mean by laminate and inset] I'd be looking at a panelized system [3' - 4.5'] that works out with chosen material and design. You could use a trammeled router setup to shape the curves and use a camlock/T&G system to lock it together. Would consider a glue up of 1/8" min. cork + 1/4" min. 5ply + lam flooring, letting the latter two aid in forming the int T&G. Flatness [or lack of] of existing tile would push the cork thickness.

Consider too that the area may well get taxed in terms of loading - 18' could easily carry 5-8 couples, and if they're cloggers...

[tjbnwi]

Depending on your elevation change I would use Ditra of Ditra XL, below this floor. You made need a layer of cork, or membrane also.

fill the balance of the recess with cardboard. Build the floor larger than the opening, glueing interlocks. Find the center. Bolt 9' trammel (I use my guide rails as trammels) through "sandwich" into sub floor, 1/8" up cut bit, cut through laminate floor, Do not remove trammel, remove 1/8' bit, install 1/4" Rotozip diamond tile bit, trim laminate floor and through tile. Index mark floor for reference, slide floor to remove cardboard. Relocate floor to your reference marks. Backer rod and caulk, this gives you the expansion space.

Medallion (what the thing in the middle is called). Build medallion, make template by using rabbeting bit make a template. Note the offset of the rabbet bearing. Find center of template, using hole from previous step and a few pieces of 2 sided tape, install and adjust template. With the proper bushing and bit combination in the router (verify the collet is centered in the bushing), route through laminate. Remove spoilage, glue in medallion.

The above will give you a circle. You could still do the 32 sides. To do the 32 sided floor, I would have a diamond blade punched to fit my TS 55 and cut right through floor and tile, stopping short at the long points. I would clean those intersections up with a Dremel or die grinder with a diamond burr.

Tom

[BThomas]

Thanks Mark and Tom
The customer does not want to remove the tile flooring below the new laminate, 8MM thick. He is adamant about the laminate being on top of the ceramic. He feels that he may want to remove it at some point. That is why I wasn't going with the circle. I could not think of any way to trim the edges??
The thing that worries me is , as Mark stated, the 1/2" thick difference between the two floor heights. That and the fact that the new flooring, although glued together, is still just floating on top of the ceramic. I am not worried because it is floating but because it is not adhered to the ceramic it can possibly be more than 1/2" higher than the ceramic as the concrete floor ( this is a 3000 sf. basement party room with a 9' ceiling ) is not perfectly flat and the new floor will float over the low spots and be more than the 1/2".
Is there any "code" that relates to differing floor heights in the same room?
Thanks
Bill T

[tjbnwi]

No code that I know of. Think about how many floors in a home don't line up.

Seeing as you have to stay on top of the floor;

Assemble the floor on cardboard. I hope you have a rail saw, set the saw to just cut through the floor. Slide the floor/cardboard out. Hold the floor in place with 3M heavy duty mounting tape. I would make the transsions out of oak with a steep tapper. Tape that in place also.

The 3M heavy duty tape is tenacious.

Fab the medallion, install as above.

Tom

[newman]

can't they laminate floor the entire room?

[LIHR50]

Get the cheap laminate flooring with the underlayment incorporated into the flooring, it's about 3/8" total thickness.

Keep the transition as low as possible and forget about all the underlayments. Party room = alcohol and you know what that means.

Use small bead of silicone around edge to keep edge down.

Use LED flexible rope lighting for edge, serve drinks and enjoy.