Flooring Advice

Expert Tips & Knowledge Base

Water Damaged 15 mm Engineered Floors, Bouncing Effect

Hello,

An area of my laminate floorboards and skirting boards has become water damaged. I live in a new building where the floor beneath is uneven concrete, and 95% of the apartment flooring is wood.

The initial flooring installation was done incorrectly - it was laid too tightly and began to buckle. Walking on it felt like a bouncy castle.
These same boards were relaid and clipped back together.

I would appreciate some advice on how the floor can be repaired or if they should be replaced altogether. Would someone be available next week?

Many Thanks

Laminates & thinner engineered floors (most of 14 or 15 mm planks) offer a click system and in case of a leak, partial replacement or local repairs is not an option. Floors should be replaced up to a door or another area where a threshold divider can be placed to separate the affected area with the rest of the floors.

In your case, it sounds like we talk about engineered wood flooring, not laminate and the entire floors would need replacing. It is quite likely, that if you get in a flooring company to quote, that they will simply quote for replacement of entire area.

In addition, I would like to say that the "bouncing effect" which has appeared after a leak on engineered wood flooring, is an indicator that significant amount of moisture is trapped under the floors and replacement may have to go with dehumidification the subfloor as well. This type of flooring is resilient to some moisture, but up to a certain level.