Laminate Floor Problems - Solutions - Care - Repair
"Your How to Laminate Flooring Source."
While a laminate floor may look very much like a solid wood floor or engineered wood floor there really is a difference. Perhaps the biggest difference is that what you are actually seeing with a laminate floor is not the natural wood grain it is a photograph. A Laminate Floor consists of: Top or Wear Layer - The surface of the floor is a thin film that is usually made form melamine plastic … [Read more...]
The manufacturers of most laminate floors require the cartons of flooring to be acclimated for 48 to 72 hours prior to installation. Acclimation requires conditioning of the flooring material at or near occupancy level. Check the installation instructions to see how they want the material stacked for installation and if the cartons are to be opened or left unopened. The flooring material … [Read more...]
For the contact information, installation and care instructions of a laminate manufacturer click on a link below. If you need the installation or care instructions of a manufacturer that is not listed, contact Laminate Floor Problems and we will add that manufacturer if available. Abet Laminati Flooring Alloc Laminate Flooring Armstrong Laminate Flooring Balterio Laminate … [Read more...]
Laminate Floor Problems Delamination When the laminate releases from the core material this results in delamination. Delamination may be seen in the field of the blank as a bubble. Delamination may also be found along an edge. When an area of delamination continues across the seam of the planks this is almost always a site related condition. Core Voids in surface of Laminate … [Read more...]
Water Damage to Laminate Flooring Plumbing and Appliance Leaks Water damage from plumbing and appliance leaks such as dishwashers, water heaters, washing machines and ice makers can result in buckling of a laminate floor. Often these leaks are very slow and go unnoticed. Slow leaks are often difficult to identify as they are below the laminate where they penetrate into the laminates … [Read more...]
Staggering of Laminate Floor Laminate flooring manufacturers require their floors to be staggered anywhere from 8 to 12 inches or more. (See manufacturers installation instructions.) A floating floor that is not staggered will look odd. A floating floor not staggered properly will compromise its strength and structural stability. The planks in the photo above have not been staggered. … [Read more...]
Expansion Space Walls and Fixed Objects During laminate floor installation the proper expansion space must be left around all walls and vertical surfaces. Without the proper expansion space a floor may buckle and gap due to the normal expansion and contraction of the laminate floating floor. Expansion space must be left around fixed objects such as pipes, cabinets, fireplace hearths, … [Read more...]
Unlevel Subfloor Below Laminate Flooring Most laminate floor manufacturers require a subfloor to be flat within 3/16" over a 10 foot radius. Since not all laminate manufacturers have the same standard you need to check the installation instructions for the manufacturer of the floor being installed. Some manufacturers instructions will use the word level instead of flat while they are … [Read more...]
