Even though floating floors are simple to install, it's essential to prepare your subfloor so it's clean, flat, and dry. We also recommend adding underlayment to help your floor feel solid, and to boost its sound insulation, thermal properties, and comfort underfoot.
Yes, floating floors will settle in time. Don't worry about it. If they don't, it means they haven't been laid out correctly, and you should re-do it.
Squishy or spongy flooring can sometimes be a sign of water damage, either to the boards themselves or the subfloor. This is often caused by using too much water on the laminate to clean it, such as using a sopping wet mop or steam mop, which damages the wooden core of the laminate boards.
Because the materials simply lay on the subfloor and are rather thin, floating floors typically feel somewhat hollow and are sometimes loud underfoot—especially laminates. This problem can be minimized by installation of a good-quality foam underlayment.
Because the flooring isn't attached to the sub-floor, it can move slightly when walking over it. However this is often tiny movements, caused by the underlay compressing underfoot. A hollow or echoed sound can sometimes occur when walking over a floating floor.
The feeling of bounce is caused by the flooring moving downward when weight is applied (stepped on). The flooring moves or bounces as it is not properly supported from underneath which puts added pressure on the flooring joints, in most cases causing them to separate, break or squeak.
A floating floor can have a slight bounce or give underfoot, but it should not feel excessively bouncy or unstable. A small amount of deflection is normal and can be caused by a number of factors, such as the type of subfloor, the thickness and quality of the underlayment, and the installation method.
Floating floors are not designed to hold the extra weight of cabinets, and over time they can damage the floor and cause more issues in the long run. Therefore, we recommend that you install the cabinets before the floating floor.
At the very minimum, your new laminate flooring should last eight years. However, most laminate can last well over a decade, especially if you take good care of it and keep it protected. The lifespan of your laminate floors may also depend on how much foot traffic is in a particular room.
If there's excess moisture within the subfloor or the concrete slab on which you're laying the flooring, the laminate may not lay as flat as you'd like. If it's more than 6-9% damp, you may need to use a dehumidifier or try to dry out the area before the floor can be laid.
If no gap was included, then there's nowhere for any expansion in the boards to go but up, causing the bouncing sensation when you walk on the floor. The good news is that this issue can be fixed by trimming away a narrow strip of laminate at the very edges of the floor to create an expansion gap.
What are the problems with floating floors? Floating floors can be susceptible to moisture and humidity, which can cause warping or buckling. They also tend to be more prone to gaps between planks due to their lack of attachment.
Beneath your floating floor, then, is a perfect environment for mold to grow, as all the things it needs to grow and flourish exist there.
One of the most common reasons why laminate flooring develops space between floorboards is temperature. A rise in temperature leads to expansion, while a decrease in temperature leads to contraction.
Tiles or planks that are glued down, however, need time to set. This process takes at least 48 hours. Like luxury vinyl, carpet and laminate that is not glued to the subfloor can be walked on immediately. Brands that must be glued down are not ready for furniture for at least 24 hours.
Yes, you can put heavy furniture on laminate flooring, but it's important to take certain precautions to prevent damage to the flooring.
Floating Floor
NO. Never install cabinets on top of floating flooring. Based on seasonal changes in humidity, the flooring material needs to expand and contract. If that can't happen, the weight of the cabinets can cause the flooring to buckle and damage the flooring's locking systems.
Weight is the biggest concern for floating floors and the appliances you can put on them. With direct pressure on the flooring joints, buckling may occur due to blocking of the expansion and contraction spaces. Hence, it is advisable to stick to items below 500 pounds for your flooring.
The quickest way to get new wood underfoot is to install a floating floor. Unlike traditional solid-wood strips, a floating floor isn't nailed down. Instead, the planks are either glued or snapped together. The planks go down fast, over virtually any material—concrete, plywood, sheet vinyl, even ceramic tile.
Doubling the thickness of joists by adding material to their sides increases strength and stiffness. For joists made of sawn lumber, shown here, Tom attaches a 2x of the same length and width; if the bounce is severe enough, he may use an engineered or laminated veneer lumber (LVL) beam.
You cannot walk on laminate flooring immediately after it's installed. The planks need time to settle and adhere to the subfloor before any weight is put on them. This takes about 24 hours. Once the flooring is dry and set, you can enjoy your new beautiful laminate floor.
A: Sagging floors are more common than you might think. In my opinion, the most common causes are wood-eating insects, wood rot caused by water leaks, undersized beams and soil settlement. There are other possible causes, but in my experience the ones I just mentioned account for much of the misery.
Floating systems are a flooring type that clicks together and doesn't require adhesive. Fortunately, with this type of flooring, there's no waiting period. Once the floors are installed, you can place your furniture immediately.
The final touch your room needs is to install your transition that fits into the metal channel you installed earlier. Score your transition or use a jigsaw to cut it to fit within the doorway. Place the transition in the metal channel and press the transition into place.