I think I have my understanding of tongue/groove backward - Where should I start – Post drawings and questions

Where should I start – Post drawings and questions

I think I have my understanding of tongue/groove backward

Posted by wcurtispreston on July 25, 2022 at 2:15 pm

Maybe I’ve missed it, but I can’t find any video of yours (including your blueprint for me) where you show us how to identify the tongue and groove on the panel. And as a result, I think I’ve been working backward. 🙁

Is the groove the part where (when I’m looking down on the panel) I see exposed dark plastic? Or is that the tongue? In the attached photos, I believe I’m looking down at a stack of planks with the groove exposed, and then looking at the tongue on the one panel that is flipped over. Is that correct?

The problem for me, is that when I’m looking down at that stack, it looks like the panels are sticking their tongues out. So I thought these were the tongues. But now I think I’m wrong.

Joe replied 1 year, 9 months ago 2 Members · 8 Replies
8 Replies

Joe

Administrator
July 25, 2022 at 4:14 pm

https://somup.com/c3iTrIuvZo
- wcurtispreston
  
  Member
  July 25, 2022 at 4:24 pm
  
  Not sure how I missed that video. Yea… I had it backward. 🙂
  
  Good news is I figured it out 3 rows in. Bad news is the last of those three rows included a fireplace cutout that I’ll have to redo. Good news is I now have a template.
  
  Thanks!
Joe

Administrator
July 26, 2022 at 8:56 am

It could have been worse! Nice catch!!
- wcurtispreston
  
  Member
  July 28, 2022 at 12:33 pm
  
  I hope your daughter’s surgery went well. Give her a hug. 🙂
  
  It got worse. It turns out I misunderstood both which was the tongue and groove were AND what “working away from the groove” meant.
  
  I rewatched videos where you talked about that, and you clearly show that “working away from the groove” means. But, again, my brain heard something else.
  
  So that means that the first three rows that I laid down “incorrectly” were actually correct. Then I ripped them up and laid down five rows actually incorrectly, because I now understand which are the tongue and the groove, but I misunderstood the phrase “away from the groove.” To me, that meant the groove goes in the opposite direction that I’m laying plank. Now, after watching your videos closer, I realize what you mean is that the groove should be pointing in the direction that you will be laying the next panel. Both at the butt joint and the side joint.
  
  So now I’m super upset. I had it right the first time and ripped it up. Now I’ve laid down 5 rows backward and have to rip them up so that I can go back and do what I did the first time. (And those five rows were a lot harder because I was working backward.)
  
  I love your videos and I LOVE your service. I also think that you may be using terms that make sense to you and other pros, but not to those of us that are just starting. My advice is (take it for what it’s worth) there should be a video in the beginning of the course that covers in detail how to identify the tongue and groove, and another one that shows closeup images of what you mean when you said “working away from the groove.” (The video “locking system on your plank” covers neither. It talks about the different kinds of locking systems but actually doesn’t cover these important topics. )
  
  So I’m just uggh. Oh, and I have COVID. So can’t work on it right now.
Joe

Administrator
July 28, 2022 at 3:17 pm

Sorry to hear that my friend.
Joe

Administrator
July 28, 2022 at 3:18 pm

I hope you get better and thanks for the feedback, I always want to make things simple but well explained. I will take this into consideration.
- wcurtispreston
  
  Member
  July 29, 2022 at 7:06 pm
  
  Well.. I got over it. (My disappointment, not COVID.) :). It was just disheartening to start over … twice.
  I’m about 60% done with the room now. Looking pretty good.
  
  You DO actually explain things really well. If you didn’t, i wouldn’t have paid for the service.
  
  I just got double unlucky by misunderstanding both things. 🙂
Joe

Administrator
July 30, 2022 at 6:53 am

I am happy to hear that it is going good for you now! I had a job i was working on about 4 years ago and it was around 600 Sq ft

We installed through a kitchen first and then went into the main entrance and down a hall. The hall was wider than usual and at the end it had an arch way with a sitting area.

It was a main focus of the house and I mis measured by an inch and that made the pieces on the sides be different. Now I could have just left it, but this was not just an ordinary hall so I had to do something.

We took the entire floor apart and moved it over the inch and reinstalled.

My point is, you are not alone in having to redo something! It happens my friend!!