Laminate floorboard popping up

[Lisaw]

We installed laminate flooring in our home in March. Just last week I noticed that it has started to pop up right outside our bedroom door. It is one continuous floor from the living room through our bedroom. When I step on it it flattens, then pops up again when I step off. My feeling is that it has expanded and we didn't leave enough room on the edges (we did use spacers). Any thoughts on this? I really don't want to rip the whole thing up but don't want it to get worse either.

[Art]

What brand? Is is glued to click?

[Art]

If you remove the moldings on 2 sides , hopefully you can fix it. Make sure the nails holding the moldings aren't preventing the floor from moving.

[RicodJour]

It is one continuous floor with a narrower section where it crosses the doorway. The gaps are supposed to be around the entire perimeter of the room. I'd hazard a guess that you didn't leave a gap at the doorway. In other words, there is no expansion space right at the doorway.

The only way to make a lasting repair is to cut the flooring at the doorway and install a threshhold/saddle strip to cover the gap at the door. You need expansion space on both sides for both rooms, so the saddle should not be nailed to either floor. Typically a narrow strip of flooring/blocking is in the center of the gap at the doorway leaving expansion space on both sides of the blocking - the saddle is only nailed to the blocking.

R

[Jesse]

When you say that you used spacers---- I hope you didn't leave them in???? jesse

[Lisaw]

Nope, we took the spacers out. It's a tongue-and-groove "click" style glueless floor.

You're right - we didn't leave a gap at the doorway - the floor continues from one room into the other. Is there a way to cut the flooring at the doorway without ripping the whole thing up?

Right now I have a 40-lb dumbbell sitting on the floor to hold it in place. Obviously that can't stay there - but I thought I'd leave it there for a day or two to see if things adjust themselves. Probably not, though.

Lisa

Jesse wrote:

[Jesse]

If you have a biscuit slot cutter (the dedicated one not the tool you can use in a router) it will make a decent cut using a straight guide. That is what I use for undercutting casing, etc. jesse

[RicodJour]

Wish it was that simple.

You can cut the flooring with any of a number of tools. A dremel tool with a cut off blade, a rotozip, a flooring saw, an azebiki (Japanese curved saw used for plunge cutting), chisels, etc. A chisel will be necessary to complete the cut in any event.

R

[46erjoe]

Dremel tools have an optional add-on. It attaches to the drive shaft and houses a blade about 1.5" in diameter that looks like a miniature circular toothed saw blade. It sits at an angle of about 20 degrees from shaft centerline, so you can get it into tight spaces.

On 31 May 2006 20:01:13 -0700, "RicodJour" wrotF:

[Lisaw]

Wow - thanks so much! I didn't think I could cut it there, but I'll definitely check this out. The Dremel add-on sounds PERFECT! Which tool would you recommend that goes with that blade?

Lisa

46erjoe wrote:

[Art]

I would go online and download the installation instructions and review them and figure out what you screwed up. By the way, some click flooring has to be glued if there is something extremely heavy like a piano in the room.

[Lisaw]

We fixed it - I got a dremel with the circular saw attachment, cut and removed a 1.25" strip across the doorway and put in a t-molding. Flattened right out and is as good as new!

Thanks

Lisa

Art wrote:

[Edwin Pawlowski]

Good for you! Nice to hear a happy ending.