Laminate flooring is definitely a lot more durable than most other types flooring; laminate really could be considered the toughest of floors. Of course, there are still some issues with even laminate floors, and warping is the main one. So, let’s look at warping as it pertains to laminate. A laminated floor that develops a look of something coming from under the house are being affected by peaking. The effect is a bit disturbing. Many people assume that water has somehow gotten under their laminate floor, or that their foundation is cracked, but this is very rarely the case.
What Causes This To Happen?
There’s a couple of reasons why your laminated floor could be peaking. You should make it a priority to know exactly why it is happening if you want to fix things correctly. Some make the mistake of assuming that something that caused a friend’s laminate floors to begin peaking is the same reason theirs is. This sort of assumption will cost a lot of time and money.
Lack Of Expansion Space Causes Peaking
Everything around us expands and shrinks, and your laminate flooring is no exception. For this reason, laminated floors should always have the appropriate amount of space at their edges, before the molding. If there is no space, the planks will instead push up against one another. Once there is enough pressure, the planks will begin to rise. Although often minor at first, if this is ignored for a long enough time, a floor can develop a hump or hill.
Fixed Moldings Can Cause Peaking
Even if there is room to expand, your laminated flooring cannot take advantage of it if the moldings cannot move. This can sometimes be a nightmare to track down if the original installer was not consistent. Since laminate flooring is intended to be floating, which means not attached to either the moldings or the sub-floor, any solid point can cause an issue. Amateur installers will occasionally attach the laminate floor to molding to keep it from moving during install, or simply because they don’t know any better.
The Length Of The Boards Can Cause Peaking
This is usually the least likely issue, and does not pertain to all laminate flooring manufacturers. Having one board that’s too long will net you the same result as not having enough expansion room. If there is no single plank that’s longer than recommended by the manufacturer, then this issue is easily avoided. However, if you didn’t do the install, you may not know who the manufacturer is. For the most part, unless your issue is in a long hallway or you have an exceptionally large home with runs of longer than 40 feet, you can probably ignore this possibility. That is, however, unless you can’t find any other places, in which case you might get stuck pulling planks and looking for manufacturer markings.