Solid Hardwood, Engineered and Laminate Flooring - Laminate Floor

I have had a leak and there are 4 boards on my laminate floor that have buckled up. Is there any way of replacing them without starting back at the wall and working up to it to replace them?? Please say there is!

Hi Myra

Sorry to hear about your leak. Yes, there is a way to replace the boards without starting back at the wall. You can replace boards in the middle of a room - but deciding if this is the best way to go about it depends on a few things.

1) Is the laminate a glued or click product?
2) What brand is it?
3) Are all of the damaged boards linked to each other and in what pattern?
4) If it is a click product, how far from the wall is the damage?
5) How much expertise you have and do you have the tools to replace planks in the middle of the room? (If it's a glued product you will need a router and a special bit, a circular saw and the right sized splines)

Also, where did the water penetrate? From the surface of the boards or did it get underneath the planks?

If you post these answers Myra, then we will be able to help you much more.

By the way, which part of Canada are you from?

Cheers - Glenn

Glen: Thank you so much for your quick response. The boards are buckled at the end and splitting along the long side edge a bit. It is Lux click flooring, and I know my fault, I used the glue like they told me in front of stove, and sink area and the boards that I forgot were right in front of the dishwasher. I guess when someone unloaded it water spilled out from a full cup etc and was not wiped up right away. The boards are the 3rd and 4th. from the cupboard side, but how do I lift them out without breaking the end lips? There is no pattern it is just the cherry wood color. I was just sick to see it when I got home from holidays. I am on Vancouver Island. Again thank you.

Hi Myra

I'm just across the water from you :)

I guess you have learnt a big lesson about laminate floors - if you install them in a kitchen always seal the entire perimiter with silicone, especially around the dishwasher.

Anyway the good news is that it shouldn't be too hard for you to fix this. You will need to have a new box of laminate aclimated to the room for at least 48 hours, longer is better.

Take off all of the mouldings around the edges of the floor and start pulling up the first row of planks. It should be quite easy to get the first row up in one piece, depending on the layout of your kitchen of course. Keep pulling them up until you come to the damaged planks.

At this point you should make sure that the underlayment and subfloor are dry. If the water has reached the subfloor, you must wait until it is totally dry.

From your description it sounds like the water was only from the top so you might be ok here. (I've never personally installed Lux laminate so I don't know the quality of the joints)

When you are positive everything is dry, start installing the planks again, replacing the damaged ones with new. When you have finished, make sure you fill every gap with silicone :)
Then put back the mouldings and you are done!

Good luck - If you have any other questions feel free to ask.

Glenn

Thank you I will try it, if all else fails guess will just have to replace a few more till it works.