Lifting & re-laying laminate flooring

[Onetap]

Can laminate flooring be lifted and relaid starting from the corner where the first bits of laminate were laid? I haven't done any laminate laying, so don't have a clue.

The problem has arisen due to a fairly major leak in a central heating pipe. The flooring is newish and was laid starting from one corner, as one does. Ideally it should all be lifted in reverse order, from the corner diagonally opposite to this. The leak is near the corner where the laminate laying was started.

The leak is an old joint (I think) which has started leaking after power flushing, prior to a new boiler. I can just see it with a mirror and torch, I can't reach it without lifting the laminate and floorboards.

So, is it practical to just lift the planks in this corner, or am I going to bugger up the locking bits?

[Tim W]

Onetap wibbled on Monday 19 October 2009 19:45

If it's click-lok (unglued) then it can, starting from where the *last* bit was laid. If a plank at one edge can be lifted and turned through 45 degrees (whatever) then it should cleanly disengage.

If it's glued, then not really, though it may be possible to cut out a section and repair it with new material (if available)

I see. It is almost certainly best to unclick the whole floor. I had to when I laid click-lok wood flooring in a 10m2 room and discovered I needed some car packing near the start (bah). It only took 20 minutes to declick and stack in little piles *in order* in the same room. Probably 30 minutes to relay (most of the effort is in the cutting).

I think you'll bugger it up.

[TheScullster]

"Onetap" wrote

snip........

Yes, as Tim says, but either stack it very neatly in order, or label (the back of) each piece for re-laying. I did a similar exercise with click-loc stuff. It was taken up for about a year and left in the garage under where the car was parked each night. Had to replace one or two bits from a spare box, but the rest went down pretty well

Phil