Fixing laminate floor gapping

[icedoverfire]

Hello gentlemen,

I have laminate floors in the basement of my house. Due to lots of water problems and high moisture, the floors have warped and gapped. Mom and Dad fixed the water and humidity problem by having a company come in and install drains under the floor and dehumidifiers in the basement, so that's not an issue any more. What I want to know is if there's any way I can glue the flooring back down into place? Dad suggested using some kind of floor glue and a "heavy roller", in his words.

EDIT: The floor is not laminate, as I thought. It is vinyl flooring. Brand: konecto vinyl plank flooring


**I will post a picture as soon as my camera charges so people can get a better idea of the problem.

Thanks,

- ice

 

[Greybeard]

Laminate flooring is designed to be floating. The boards are interlocking and not nailed or glued. The floor is held in place by the wall trim.
You can't fix warped laminate, you have to replace the warped boards. It's fairly easy compared to hardwood flooring.

 

[icedoverfire]

Hi graybeard,

The floor isn't laminate, as I thought. It's vinyl. Is there any way to fix it?

Pictures of gapping:

Thanks,

- ice

 

[Greybeard]

I've not used the product before. A quick search of the konecto site indicates that this is also a floating floor and should not be glued to the sub-floor. The planks attach to each other with an adhesive strip. The planks are moisture resistant but not water proof. It's probably the adhesive that has broken down and is causing the planks to separate from each other
There are 3 methods to repair the floor. For these to work long term the sub-floor underneath has to be completely dry.
1. Try using a heat gun to re-activate the glue. Pull them apart, then re-align and press together as shown in the manual linked below. Put a heavy weight on the planks or roll the seams with a 100 lb. roller.
2. If the heat gun doesn't work, and it probably won't if there was a lot of moisture, then buy some konecto adhesive and apply it to the planks as per the instructions in the manual linked below and roll the seams.
3. If any planks are noticeably warped or swollen they should be replaced as per the instructions...etc., etc.

http://www.konectousa.com/files/installation_plank.pdf

 

[DavyRay]

I suggest a careful read of the installation guide, as the previous post says.

With a carefully warmed room and a roller, you may make the floor look better.

Time is also a factor. The moisture may be (mostly) removed, but may have been absorbed by the vinyl. It may take a long time for it to fully dry out. Yes, plastic can absorb moisture.

The gaps may possibly be filled using adhesive, but until the vinyl pieces 'want to' lay flat, adhesive is a bad idea. Perhaps if you can keep this space warm and dry, and can use a 100 lb roller periodically, you can flatten out the kinks a bit.

The procedure shown to replace a bad "plank" looks very time-consuming. It would not work for a large area.

 

[Y2K]

My suggestion is to rip it out and replace. I know it is a pain, but if it got really wet sooner or later you will have mold growing there (if not already) and you DON'T want it. Vinyl flooring is cheap and installation is easy - grab a 12-pack, pizza, and a couple of friends and you'll be done in a few hours with a new (dry) flooring.

 

[Jim]

You added a french drain? did they have to remove the flooring to do that?

Plan B- rip and replace is my suggestion.

 

[icedoverfire]

@ Jim: We used to have laminate flooring. When that was damaged by water, we ripped that up and in the process we had contractors come in and install the drains and piping around the edges of the rooms under the concrete. We had the vinyl flooring installed after that.

@ Y2K: No mold, thankfully. Our basement is dry now.

@ DavyRay, Graybeard: Thanks for the suggestions and links!

I think my parents are looking into getting stamped concrete for the basement (although that's just in the realm of speculation right now). They're not too concerned about the vinyl floor's current appearance (the picture is just one example of the gapping... it's gapped in several places), and we've been getting on with it just fine. I may try the heat gun and roller as per suggestions.

Oh, just so I have my terms correct:

Layout is concrete (at the base) - padding - vinyl, so would the concrete be what is called the "sub-floor"?

Thanks,

- ice

 

[Greybeard]

Oh, just so I have my terms correct:

Layout is concrete (at the base) - padding - vinyl, so would the concrete be what is called the "sub-floor"?

Thanks,

- ice

Sub-floor is whatever material is directly below the floor. In this case the padding (also called the membrane).