Dark Laminate Gaps at Planks Edges or Not?
Dark laminate gaps are not necessarily a gap even though they appear as a dark laminate gap when viewed from a standing position. In this photo, the consumer was convinced that dark laminate gaps were starting to develop. The floor had been installed for a few years before these dark lines along the joined edge of the planks has shown up.
Upon inspection the dark laminate gaps were actually dark lines of built up dirt along the edge of the planks.. This variation does not mean there is a defect as manufacturers set tolerances for height variations between the joined edges of their products. If the floor is not adequately maintained you can develop a build up of dirt that will result in a condition such as the dark laminate gaps you see here.
If the laminate is cleaned by running a floor mop across the seams instead of along the seams, dirt will be pulled into the high edges and build up over time. The manufacturer may consider this a maintenance concern if the height variation is within their manufacturing tolerance.
The allowable height variation is often dependent upon what the manufacturer wants to say is allowable. Other manufacturers adhere to the NALFA/ANSI LF-01-2011 Thickness variations of 0.50 mm (0.20 in). NALFA – The North America Laminate Floor Association
Terry Weinheimer | Kevin Weinheimer
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Dan Rohr says
December 14, 2010 at 7:55 pmWe have DuPont Real Touch on our 1st floor, put in about 2 years ago. This [cold] week, we discovered that 20-30% of the planks appear to have cracked – perfectly – at the seams of the adjacent planks. So, you effectively have a seam (or butt joint) spanning 2 rows of planks.
DuPont couldn’t explain this – from my brief email. They said to file a claim w/ HD.
These are hairline fractures. They are all over throughout the 1st floor. They seem to be mostly on the side of the planks closer to the starting walls. Needless to say, we’re seriously bummed out; this was a major step for us to put this in.
Yes, we had plenty of gapping between the walls and floor. I haven’t peeked in there yet.
F M Ward says
April 14, 2011 at 12:59 pmI have spots where there is gaps, caused by high spots in concrete? very dry country? we have moisture below 10%. Floor is 1 year old. Could be maintenance? I also have an area where
my dog likes better than cold. Help!!
Terry Weinheimer | Kevin Weinheimer says
April 14, 2011 at 1:27 pmIf your floor is not flat this can certainly result in gaps. I would need a lot more information from you to give you an idea what is going on. Feel free to post a more in depth explanation of what you see.
Richard says
December 26, 2011 at 4:00 pmWe have had Dupont Real Touch Elite in our kitchen and living room for about 6 years. We have had issues including chipping, buckling of seams at sides and ends in our living room. Some of this occurred near the front entry where water may have been tracked in but it also occurred in very dry areas with a low level of traffic. There was no warping or buckling in the kitchen or in the hall outside the bathroom. The floor was correctly installed by us with proper expansion areas at the perimeter. In 2011 we needed to add some flooring due to a room reconfiguration in a remodel and, yet, although only 5-6 years old we found out the pattern we used, Maple is licensed to Home Depot, and was discontinued in 2009. No wonder we had a warranty claim rejected by Dupont based solely on pictures we supplied and that were taken with a cell phone camera. They had no flooring in stock any place in the country and thus could not fix the problem even though the flooring has a 30 year warranty. We had no on site inspection and are back to trying to work this out with Home Depot. We are starting our third month at trying to achieve a satisfactory resolution.
Terry Weinheimer | Kevin Weinheimer says
January 1, 2012 at 11:06 amRichard
It is unfortunate that neither Home Depot or DuPont provided you with an independent inspection prior to declining this claim. The fact that the floor was discontinued likely had little to do with the decline as styles are discontinued on a regular basis and warranties are still honored by replacing the entire installation if necessary. If any of this floor is still installed you may want to consider engaging an Independent Flooring Inspector to visit your installation and provide testing to determine if this is a product failure. Keep in mind that topical moisture is often an exclusion in laminate warranties so the inspector may or may not find in your favor. You can find independent flooring inspectors such as The Weinheimer Group listed at nicfi.org/
Terry
John Hughes says
August 13, 2014 at 5:08 pmwe just had the Mannington cherry 26540 installed in our house 600 sq. ft.
on final inspection we have identified 28 gaps which a credit card can stand up in and 37 smaller gaps a paint sample card can stand up.
we are told that these gaps are normal [tolerance level}. it is a brand new floor and we have not moved in yet are these gaps ok?
I thought there should be no gaps.
thanks for your comments
Terry Weinheimer | Kevin Weinheimer says
September 1, 2014 at 8:18 pmOn a new installation there should be no gaps with most products. Check with the Mannington technical department for the product you have.