Laminate diverges: why it happens and how to fix it
Laminate, in principle, is a very interesting and affordable flooring. But sometimes it happens that cracks appear in it. As a result, the appearance of the entire floor deteriorates. Yes, walking on this floor is uncomfortable. And sometimes even dangerous. Why does the laminate diverge? Is there any way to fix this situation.
Laminate disperses: why does this happen
In the laminate, sometimes not only cracks appear. It sometimes comes to the point that its elements become a "house". Blame it, of course, not evil fate. This phenomenon has its reasons. And the reasons for these are, as a rule, five. They consist of the following:
uneven base
If you carefully read the instructions for any laminate, you can almost always see a warning that the material should only be laid on a perfectly flat base.
"Perfect" is not "almost" even. Some home masters neglect this requirement. And they mount the laminate if the concrete base is more or less even. That is, they try not to notice small, in their opinion, flaws. The result in this case is guaranteed: cracks in the flooring will certainly occur.
thermal effect
In winter, when the heating is turned on, the air in the apartment, as a rule, is very dry. Laminate boards shrink, and as a result, the laminate diverges. But the trouble does not go away with the onset of summer: the cracks in the floor do not disappear.
Breaking locks
For this reason, the laminate diverges, usually because it is laid incorrectly. Although sometimes the reason for the breakdown of the locks can again be the unevenness of the base.
No gap between wall and laminate
This mounting error is the most common. To avoid any trouble, there must be a gap between the extreme boards of the laminate and the wall. Moreover, it should be at least 8-12 mm. And it's on every wall. If necessary, the laminate is cut for this.
If this requirement is met, the laminate has the ability to slightly "walk". And there are no ill effects.
water ingress
This reason should be known, but you should not go to extremes. Because if you "ride" on the laminate flooring with a wet rag or accidentally spill a glass of water, as a rule, no troubles happen. Moreover, moisture resistance of the laminate can be improved.
Trouble is possible if you suddenly come up with the idea of pouring water on the laminate in buckets. Or if suddenly you had a flood.
So, the reasons why the laminate diverges are now known to us. Now I will tell you whether it is possible to cope with this misfortune and what needs to be done for this.
What can be done if the laminate diverges
If you notice that the laminate diverges in many places or even formed a “house” somewhere, then, unfortunately, you can no longer do without its complete re-laying. If there are only single slots, then, in principle, it is possible to cope with the problem.
To eliminate single cracks, several different techniques are used. But I will only talk about one. Which, in my opinion, is the simplest.
To eliminate the gaps, you will need double-sided tape and a hammer. And also a wooden block, which is needed only in order not to strike directly on the laminate.
Having prepared everything you need, you need to do the following:
- Thoroughly clean the cracks with a vacuum cleaner so that no debris remains in them. This is necessary so that nothing prevents the locks from closing tightly.
- Glue the prepared piece of double-sided tape to the wooden block. And then fix it on the desired lath of the laminate. Moreover, it is better that the bar is at a small distance from the gap. But five centimeters will be quite enough so as not to damage the bar.
- Holding the bar with your hand, hit it with a hammer several times in such a direction as to force the gap to “collapse”.
That's all. The problem has been eliminated. However, to prevent this from happening, during the laying of the laminate, you should be aware of the reasons for the deformation of the coating. And do whatever it takes to eliminate them.