Laminate Flooring Shifting...

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AlmostAble

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Ok, so last summer I installed 8mm laminate flooring on a cement floor. I used a vapour barrier underlay. Floor is holding up well. I left a 1/4" gap around for expansion due to temperature.

The problem is, some of the slats are shifting. The flooring stated it did NOT need to be glued. But I'm thinking now that I should have.

Anyone have any ideas on how I can get the flooring to stay put?


Thanks in advance,
 
What laminate exactly?

Are the boards buckling (lying like this: /\/\/\ instead of _______)?

How did you fasten? Sleepers and staples?

Any discoloring?
 
Sounds to me like you are having contraction and expansion issues which is due to the fact that it was installed over concrete and maybe that concrete gets quite cold . Did you bring the flooring in and open up the boxes a week before you laid it to climatise the boards?
 
Unfortunately you will need to disassemble the floor (only three rows at a time and dont mix up the pieces) Reassemble using a good laminate glue on the T&G.
 
Where do you live? Is it somewhere with significant freeze/thaw? That gap may not have been enough, especially if it's an older home.
 
Sounds like the laminate wasn't 'climatized' for a week prior install or some of the locking tabs may have been broken during the installation. That could have happened as a result of 'hammering' the boards together rather than 'clicking' them together and then gently tapping them.

If the shifting parts are every 5 or so rows you may be able to take up the floor up to the shifting joints, run a line of wood glue in the joint, wipe excess glue off and tape the top of the joint with masking tape to hold it together until it dries.
 
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