How To Flatten Laminate Flooring

Buckling laminate flooring is easy to fix if you know how to do it.

How to flatten laminate flooring.

Laminate flooring provides an affordable and eco friendly alternative to standard hardwood. Use a wooden block to tap the next row of boards into the first. If it s uneven it may be because the. Therefore it is crucial to take precautions to prevent buckling.

Is your laminate floor rising up. The boards fit together like pieces in a puzzle and when the entire floor is assembled it floats over the subfloor like a film coating. Don t panic we ll show you how to fix it. If the floor was installed properly there is an expansion gap around the perimeter than can absorb some of the movement but if the gap isn t there or if the baseboards are nailed to the floor instead of the wall the floor can t expand and swollen edges have no place to go but up.

Laminate floors aren t the same as nail down hardwood floors. Installation of a wood floor over the subfloor insinuates acceptance by the flooring installer. Since it is a floating floor the planks tend to contract when it is cool and expand when it is warm. When nailing down a wood floor the subfloor should be flat to within 1 4 in 10 or 3 16 in 6.

Shorten the first piece of laminate flooring so the joints in this row will be offset staggered in relationship to the first row. It is the responsibility of the flooring installer to assess and address substrate flatness before installation. Buckling occurs when laminate flooring does not have enough space to contract and expand with temperature changes. My laminate floor is not laying flat by chris deziel the subfloor under a laminate floor has to be level.

Because fiberboard swells when it gets wet a wet laminate board pushes against the one next to it. Hold the block securely with your left hand and hit the block with a hammer in you right hand.