Laminate flooring disaster!!!

avenida

About 6-8 weeks ago we got a new laminate floor put down, was quite an expensive one.

Now on part of the floor its starting to move, as in when you walk on it, it moves up and down.

My in law put the floor down, he is a retired joiner, so as it was free, its a bit of a sticky situation to complain, he now knows about it and thinks 'it will settle'

Before he put the skirting board on I noticed that in some parts he did not leave much of a gap around the floor.

there was about half a bucket of water spilt on that area too a few weeks ago

Anyone help? If I put something heavy on that are will that help?

Help am going mad!!!!!

nalyo

1) what underlay did he put? did he put any?

reasons for this happening??? MY THOUGHTS........
not enough gap round sides - not too likely.

wrong underlay - quite likely,

water spoiling floor- doubt it - although may have warped something underneath?? but again if the floor was laid properly then it wouldnt have soaked through.

Hope that helps?

nalyo

OH and I wouldnt advise putting a heavy object as you may cause the joints to crack.

avenida

THe underlay put down was expensive stuff and was the type recommended in the store where I put the laminate flooring. It was like thick green stuff it came in like bit squares

Have you any other ideas?

I had a laminate floor put down in a bedroom and it went the same only a lot worse and after about 6-8 months settled down and is now fine.

Just so annoying as this is in my living room and am walking on it constantly

avenida

Can anyone help me, seems to be getting worse

Stevie1

Is there a gap between boards or does it just move when walked on?

Laminate is a floating floor, it's not nailed or glued to the house's floor, so some movement can be expected (especially if the bords/floor underneath isn't perfectly level).

woodbutcher_2

Sounds to me like you have some hollows in the floor underneath.If so,the only way forward is to take it up and address the issue.It could be swelling and not have enough expansion gap but that is unlikely.

weekendwarrior

If the correct expansion gap has not been left it can cause lots of problems. I fitted some a few months back the recommended gap was 15mm, the beading only just covered this gap and left about a 2mm cover.

I have seen floors with too small an expansion gap lift at least 20mm either when the floor has expanded in warm weather or when the floor has been wet.

A friend once had a small flood in the kitchen and it ruined the laminate, it took her 5-6 weeks before she got the insurance money but in this time it dried out and went back to normal and it was impossible to tell there had been a flood.

Trimmer_2

Sounds like its expanded and is pinched on the walls. Then if it tries to expand anymore its got nowhere to go apart from upwards.
What type of sub-floor was it laid over?
If wood block and an underlay witha built-in DPM was used this can cause the wood block to sweat and then expand, resulting in the wood block lifting and causing the laminate to raise.
If concrete floor and no DPM was used, the residual moisture can be absorbed into the underside of the laminate again causing it to expand and swell.
Was the flooring acclimatised?
If you can get hold of a damp meter (preferably a non invasive type} you can test the flooring for moisture and that will give you a bit more of an idea to the cause (if not any excess moisture then its got to be to tight around the perimeter).
The water that was spilt on it is probably the cause - try a de-humidifier.

gardnt1

As previous posts suggest, definately sounds like expansion gap around floor is not enough. Have fittd many types of floors, and some definately better than others when it comes to expansion.........best to remove skirting/beading at edge of area that has bowed upwards and chisel either the plaster back further or chisel some of the floor away....floor will then settle back, but check to see if water has damaged the joints as it may well have to have bits replaced? With a floor on ground level, a damp proof membrane or foil underlay should really have been used aswell.

ajtrader100

Hi there,

The problem you have is defiantely down to expansion. A floor will expand and contract in all directions at a rate of 1mm per linear metre, so the average expansion required is 5-8mm around the entire floor, including any fixed objects such as pipes and door frames.

The floor will change sze in changes of temperature and relative humidity. The floor would need to stand for 48 hours in location before fitting should commence to allow the floor to acclimatise. This is because the floor has been made using temperature and pressure, then stored into a cold warehouse, then transported on a wagon, then into a warm shop or another cold warehouse, then delivered in a cold truck/van/car, then into a warm house - so its had a rough ride and needs time to adjust to its final surroundings.

Also make sure you have expansion profiles in doorways as different rooms expand at different rates at different times. This can cause the floor to raise, or twist causing a whole range of problems.

I doubt its down to the water damage, as most laminates are relatively stable, and only affected by a very damp subfloor.

Hope this helps.