The first step in fixing your lifting laminate flooring is to find out the cause. For water damaged laminate, you'll want to remove the affected planks entirely. Using some towels and or a fan, dry the area of any water or moisture. Once the area is dry, use replacement planks and reinstall them in place.
You can fix a floor that rises up in a few easy steps. The only things you'll need are: a chisel, a hammer and a multi-tool. Some surplus laminate board comes in handy too. Take the extra board or a straight slat and put it over your floorboards.
If your laminate flooring has taken on too much moisture and is warping out of shape, the first step is to address the cause of the damage – fixing any leaking pipes or other sources of damp. Unfortunately, the affected laminate boards will need to be replaced.
But if your floor is submerged or stays in contact with water long enough, it can swell and break down. Water damaged boards can't be fixed, but they can be replaced. If you have leftover laminate flooring boards from your original installation, use those. If not, match the damaged boards with new ones.
Using a knife, you may then make a slight incision in the affected area. Grab some wood glue, squeeze it into your incision, and then attempt to stick the laminate back down flat. You'll need to keep constant pressure on the area for the glue to hold, so find a heavy object that you can leave on it to weigh it down.
If you have started to notice bubbles and swelling in your laminate, don't worry you don't have to replace the whole floor in most cases. This can be caused by water spills, high moisture, too much tension between each plank, lack of expansive joints, and lack of a strong moisture barrier.
Can you fix water-damaged laminate flooring? Sadly not. Once laminate flooring has been significantly damaged by water, it's done. This is because water makes the wood materials in the laminate expand, contract and go all misshapen.
A lack of an adequate expansion gap will mean that moisture or temperate changes could cause the floor to swell beyond the expansion room you've left for it. That'll lead to lift off before long.
Humidity can make your laminate floor boards shrink or expand a bit. This fluctuation in humidity levels can cause them to click loose and move, resulting in openings between the boards. Fortunately, you don't have to remove the entire floor to close these open joints.
Step 3: Liquid contact cement is the best adhesive for bonding plastic laminate. Apply a thin, even coating of cement to both the substrate and the laminate using a foam paint roller. Allow the adhesive surfaces to dry to the touch.
Use a flashlight, shining the beam at an angle to the planks, to be able to see color changes better. Aside from discoloration in the flooring installation, damage from water can cause planks to become loose. Over time, warping and buckling is an issue as well, due to excess moisture.
Laminate flooring with open edges will maintain its original dimensions for a few hours after submerged water exposure. After a few hours, the flooring begins to soak up water. Higher temperatures will increase the rate of absorption. Boards will begin to swell.
Water damages laminate planks by soaking into the layers. Once inside the boards, it causes them to swell and warp. It also weakens the glue that holds them together and they can eventually fall apart.
Using regular house fans, It could take up to a week to dry laminate floors, especially if the relative humidity level in your house is above 40% . You should never dry wet laminate flooring in place as this could take weeks and creates a big opportunity for mold or bacteria to grow on the underside of the flooring.
A buckled floor with only minor damage can sometimes be repaired simply by removing the excess moisture, but serious buckling will necessitate replacing the hardwood boards.
If the floors are glue down, gently peel back the area buckling. Scrape away any existing adhesive that has failed, softening it with a hairdryer if necessary. Apply new adhesive and work the vinyl tile back into place. Roll over the area to smooth out the buckled area and ensure proper adhesion of the adhesive.
You can also use a dehumidifier for at least 24 hours in places where the damage is minor, and often you will find that boards go back to their normal position, and you will see no signs of buckling or warping. Major damage to a floor, that has buckled in many places may require replacing the badly damaged boards.
Laminate flooring is very thin, so any unevenness on the subfloor will eventually begin to show as the floor settles into position – you can find out more about this in our 'What is laminate flooring' guide. The spongy effect can be caused by a dip in the subfloor causing an air gap underneath the laminate flooring.