Potential Problems With A Laminate Floor
There are a number of ways in which laminate floors may become damaged and a lot of them have to do with the moisture content that may have gotten into the wood. This is not always the case with a few installation errors also capable of causing problems further down the track.
As mentioned, laminate flooring water damage is a relatively common occurrence and is the reason the laminate might suffer buckling or warping along the boards. The laminate boards can buckle as a result of high moisture content in the air or water can get through the moisture barrier to the subfloor underneath. When this happens the wood swells underneath the laminate pulling it away from the flooring underneath.
Another problem that might be experienced with your laminate floor is a phenomenon known as peaking. Peaking occurs due to the laminate boards pushing strongly against each other forcing one or both of the boards to raise themselves off the subfloor. This may occur due to a lack of expansion space that was allowed for when the floor was laid. This expansion space is created around the perimeter of the floor with a gap left between the laminate floor and the walls. The expansion gap is covered by the room’s skirting boards.
Peaking is a problem that can be remedied relatively easily. It should simply involve taking off the skirting boards around the room to reveal the laminate floor underneath and then trimming the laminate to give it more expansion room. The peaks can then be pushed down so that the laminate is flush with the subfloor.
It should be remembered that a laminate floor is a floating floor and must be given enough room for it to expand and contract. It should not be fixed to the subfloor or to the perimeter of the room. Laminate floor water damage is part of the expansion/contraction process and the water-affected laminate must be dried out above and below the surface to ensure that the floor contracts back into it’s original state.