Solid Hardwood, Engineered and Laminate Flooring - New Pergo Floor Buckling. HEEELLLPPP!

I installed about 200sf of Pergo Glueless floor in the kitchen of our new home before we moved in. I gave the floor about 2 weeks to acclimate, and used a good grade of pad underneath it.

I spent about a week putting it in and made darn good and sure that I had a 1/4" gap on all surfaces. The install went really good and the floor looked great!

After I installed the dishwasher, I noticed a slight crown on the floor. Double check and sure enough, the floor is buckling up. I'm devastated and angry. I spent so much time being deathly careful - making the proper gaps and all, and the floor buckles anyhow!!! :madhell:

So, I suspect there could be one or several causes for my problem.

1. is it possible that putting caulk is the 1/4" gap around the sink caused the bind? The Pergo instructions said to caulk around the sink dishwasher, etc.

2. is it possible that the dishwasher caused the problem? I suspect this may be it. I ran the floor under the dishwasher - should I have not done this? Also, I had to jack up the back feet on the dishwasher to level it. It's possible that the outside of the DW is bound up on the underneath side of the countertop. I wonder if it could be jammed hard enough to stop the floor from moving?

3. Or, is it possible that a concentration of heavy appliances would stop the floor from moving? The range, DW and fridge are all pretty close together.

All that said the biggest question is: Is it even possible to fix it? Once a floor buckles, are you just hosed, or will it go back down once the problem has been corrected? It would not be too much trouble to remove the floor from underneath the DW, so I'll try that first. Anyone have any experience to share?

TIA,
Joe Michel

usually if that happens it's because there was not a suffcient space around the perimeter of the floor not allowing for expansion. If it was just in one little area around appliances then it doesn't seem likely. I have done many of those floors (even the original glued Pergo you had to clamp as you went, yuk!) and haven't had that problem. Be it as it is, it may settle over time or maybe you can help that process by placing temporary weight in the problem areas. If you did get it tight to the walls around the parimeter you might have to get in there and cut some back. I like to leave as much as 1/2" base will cover.

You may have acclimated the flooring, but to what ambient conditions?

The laminate has gained moisture content since it was installed.

Had the home being not occupied for those two weeks prior to move in, was the HVAC unit set and running at normal living conditions? The conditions you acclimated the flooring to?

You would be real surprised how much laminate swells and shrinks with a gain or loss of moisture content. Well, your not surprised anymore.

Thanks for the reply. The HVAC system was fully functional for a week or two before the 2 week acclimcation period. The house was kept at about 67 degrees. The area that buckled up is crowned maybe 3/16 or 1/4" You can't see it but you can feel it slightly when you walk over it.

Last night I when I bounced up and down on top of the crowned spot, I heard a noise right by the dishwasher. So this weekend, I'm going to pull out the dishwasher and remove the flooring underneath it. I'm hoping that this will cure the problem!
Thanks,

Joe Michel

That's what i would be doing too. :)

Just thought I'd update. While I didn't get around to pulling the dishwasher, I did remove the molding in front of the sink to see what was going on. Turns out that the problem was the @!#%$ caulk that the Pergo instructions said I was suppose to put in.

I had my doubts about filling the expansion gap with caulk, as I was afraid that it would cause a problem. But I thought the instructions would not tell you to do it if it wasn't OK. I should have trusted my instinct.

I removed the caulk, and to my relief, the floor laid back down. Case closed!

Joe Michel

that probably wasn't the cause of the problem, but it probably solved it because the gap was too small somewhere else. The caulk works fine if you leave a large enough gap.

Glad to hear it worked out. I put in about 700 sq. ft. total of pergo last year, and fortunately I haven't had a problem.