| Concern | Identifying Characteristics | Possible Causes | Recommended Actions | Responsibility |
| Indentation Damage | Dent in floor with fracture marks in the plastic. | Impact to surface or dropped object | Repair with the approved filler or replace board | Consumer or installer |
| Indentation Manufacturing Voids | Dent in floor without fracture marks in plastic. | Missing paper, damaged core, will show as irregular shape depression. | Repair with the approved filler or replace board | Manufacturer or installer if a highly visible defect. |
| Scratches, Cuts | Scratches showed up after installation or cross between boards | Plastic toys, improper furniture protectors, dragging furniture, abrasive soil. | Replacement of scratched boards | Consumer, or installer if occurred during installation |
| Scratches Manufacturing | Scratches seen at time or following installation. Do not cross boards, generally in straight line. May repeat on multiple boards. | Scratching during manufacturing. | Replacement of scratched boards | Manufacturer, or installer if highly visible and installed anyway. |
| Scuffing | Dull, wide marks or scratch like areas. | Chairs with plastic castors, hard plastic toys | Take preventative action, replace scuffed boards | Consumer |
| Water Damage Bottom up | Warped floor, swelling at multiple seams in localized or large area | Water leaks, no vapor barrier on concrete | Replace | Consumer if leak
Installer if no vapor barrier |
| Water Damage Top down | Swelling at both sides of seams, gaps in seams, voids in glue | Improper joining and/or gluing | Replace | Installer |
| Out of Rack | Boards not aligned parallel on both sides and ends, seen on floor from point on where misalignment started. | Failure to align and tightly join starter row. | Replace as needed | Installer |
| Out of Square | A floor that is out of square will affect alignment on out of square planks only and not entire area. | Milling | Replace as needed | Manufacturer |
| No Underlay Foam | Buckling | No foam results in gluing to the underlayment and floor is no longer floating | Replace | Installer |
| Concave Bowing | Center of the plank is lower in elevation than the edges in length or width. | Installed on wet subfloor. No moisture barrier. Improper acclimation. Water damage. Manufacturing defect | Wait 6 weeks after installation to inspect. If in excess of tolerance, replace. | Installer if installed over wet floor, improper acclimation or no vapor barrier. Consumer if water damage. Manufacturer |
| Convex Bowing | Center of the plank is higher in elevation than the edges in length and width. | Manufacturing related condition | Wait 6 weeks after installation to inspect. If in excess of tolerance replace. | Manufacturer |
| Delamination | Laminate not adhering to core. May appear as a bubble on plank surface, delamination on edge about width of tapping block. | Laminate moves, hollow sound, improperly used tapping block, swelling due to improper gluing | Plank or section replacement | Installer if not properly glued or installation damage. Manufacturer if laminate not attached. |
| Proud Edges | Height difference between planks when installed | Milling | Assess on basis of size and number and if outside of acceptable range, replace as required. | Manufacturer, Installer if highly visible and floor should not have been installed. |
| Pattern Misaligned | Pattern no aligned on the core | Improper manufacturing alignment | Plank or section replacement | Manufacturer, installer if highly visible and should not have been installed. |
| Foggy Laminate | Milky appearance throughout plank | Manufacturing | Replace section or as needed. | Manufacturer |
| Sheen Variation | Sheen varies between planks with some dull and others shiny. Usually light dependant | Manufacturing | Replace section or as needed. | Manufacturer |
| Color Variation | Plank varies in color from the true color or design | Manufacturing or mixed pattern | Plank or section replacement | Installer if wrong color or highly visible, otherwise manufacturer |
| Foreign matter under laminate | Particles under laminate that show up either as marks, spots or lumps. | Dust or debris during manufacturing. Generally light dependent and not seen until after installation. | Replace as needed | Manufacturer, installer if highly visible as it should have been seen and not installed. |
| Improper Milling | Floor unlevel or not square in areas | Product out of square, defective tongue or groove. | Replace as needed | Manufacturer, installer if highly visible as it should have been seen and not installed. |
| Chattermarks (Cuttermarks) | Widthwise, wavy or rippled bands. Not seen in all lighting. | Skips during sanding | Replace | Manufacturer, installer if highly visible as it should have been seen and not installed. |
About Terry Weinheimer | Kevin Weinheimer
I am trying to find some information on laminate flooring that after a year of being down is now peaking.. i was wondering if it is possible that the heat produced by a wood burning kanara could cause this as the floor that is the futherest away from this heat source is fine and has no peaking.
While a problem such as this can not be diagnosed without an inspection it does sound like the area near the heating source is a lot drier than the areas of the floor that are further away. With a floating floor if there is a moisture imbalance the resulting stress in placed in one area of the floor can result in the problem showing in another. I would suggest that you try to determine if the floor is locked in at any walls or fixed objects and if it is correct that concern. Also keep your humidity controlled at the levels recommended by the manufacturer of your floor.
My house in located in New Jersey. The summers are humid and the winters are very dry. My house is extremely dry in the winter. I installed my last laminate flloring in the summer after letting the laminate acclimate to my home for 3 days. The installation was easy and I had no real problems. I did notice that when the weather turned cold and my heat (very dry) was on, that some of the boards seperated on the long side of the boards. I suspect this is due to the extremely dry heat causing the boards to shrink. My question is, should I wait until the winter months to install a new laminate floor since the boards will acclimate to the dry heat and then in the summer they can expand due to leaving expansion room ? I’m installing the fllor on a concrete slab.
You can install the floor any time of year. Make sure you acclimate the floor for several days. Since the summer is very humid make sure you leave plenty of expansion space. Test the concrete to make sure you it is dry enough and be sure to use whatever vapor barrier is asked for by the manufacturer of your floor.
We have a laminate floor that after 9 months of feeling very solid to walk on, is now peaking and dipping. How much give should a floating floor have when stepped on, and should it have peaks and valleys? We live in North East PA.
We have had a 12mm laminate floor in our home for four years. The company that sold us this tile has come and examined it and here is the problem.
We have a skylight and lots of sunny windows. The edge of the laminate does not have the UV protection on it. Now all the boards are wearing away on the beveled edge and green is showing on all the seams. The company says that the manufacturer they bought it from is now bankrupt. Is there a solution to this problem?
Thank you.
Mary
Mary
Even though the manufacturer is bankrupt there is a slim chance that you may be able to find some of the matching laminate product through an internet search as long as you know what the product is. The tongue and groove locking mechanism is not the same with all laminate manufactures so if you were to find a matching color from a different manufacturer it is unlikely the different laminates would click together. If you have this laminate in more than one room and the floor is a click together and not a glue together you may be able to remove the laminate from one room and use it to replace the damaged laminate in another room. If one room or lets say part of a room is replaced with a different laminate that will not click together you would have to separate the different laminates by using a T-molding.
These are a couple of ideas and perhaps others will have a suggestion for you and post it here.
Terry
My son has bought a house that has laminate in the kitchen. It has a coating of grease, dirt and grime on top of the laminate in front of the stove, sink and refrig. Have tried different laminate cleaners and even a putty knife. Also tried a steamer cleaner. It is working some but have to work inch by inch and is very frustrating. I would think you wouldn’t be able to very lightly sand it off so am looking for a miracle cleaner.
My son has bought a house that has laminate in the kitchen. It has a coating of grease, dirt and grime on top of the laminate in front of the stove, sink and refrig. Have tried different laminate cleaners and even a putty knife. Also tried a steamer cleaner. It is working some but have to work inch by inch and is very frustrating. I would think you wouldn’t be able to very lightly sand it off so am looking for a miracle cleaner.
Joan
Unfortunately the floor may be beyond saving. Steaming of laminate floor is not recommended even though there are companies advertising their steamers for use on laminate. Sanding is out as the pattern on laminate is a printed paper and not a natural grain. Scraping can damage the plastic that is over the paper if you are not careful. You might want to try putting a 1-10 mixture of Simple Green in a spray bottle, spraying it on the soil allowing it to dwell for a few minutes and wiping off. Be sure not to over wet the floor as over wetting can cause problems of their own when it comes to laminate. If the Simple Green doesn’t work try acetone. Put the acetone on a cloth and wipe. I would suggest wearing a respirator and having good ventilation when using the acetone.
Good luck, Terry