What to do if the laminate creaks?

To repair the floor, people most often use laminate. The material is very reliable and high quality, is in great demand. But despite the advantages, laminate has some drawbacks. Over time, the material loses its attractive appearance, and an unpleasant sound may appear.

Laminate - wear-resistant, reliable, durable flooring. It fits perfectly in any interior. Manufacturers guarantee the durability of flooring from 5 to 15 years. However, over time, this material wears out. When walking can be observed unpleasant noise. The emergence of laminate squeak gives a lot of inconvenience to tenants of apartments. They begin to think about what to do in this case, because of what the floor is creaking, they consider various options to eliminate extraneous sound.

First you need to find out why the laminate is creaking. And there can be many such reasons:

• Thick underlie. People acquire them to level the floor, and smooth out all the pits. But after laying the substrate, a high sag of the laminate is observed with time. This will lead to the emergence of squeak.

• Uneven base. Squeaking may occur due to uneven ground surface. Small pits and other defects become the main sources of unbearable sound that comes from the floor when walking. If the laminate panels were mounted on an uneven base, then the creak of the floor covering will definitely occur. Therefore, before you lay the laminate, you need a good handle base of the floor.

After installation, the laminate may diverge after some time. Residents of apartments the discrepancy of the seams gives a lot of inconvenience, and they think to remove the entire floor. But do not rush to completely remove the flooring.

First you need to figure out what could cause the seams to diverge, and then proceed to fix the problem:

• It may be enough to remove the baseboards, set the interval of indents, adjusting it, and everything will fall into place.
• Very dry air in the house can also cause, especially in winter. The fact is that people notice small gaps between the lamellas of the floor when they are actively drowned in houses.

• If seams arise between the flooring boards, and they are insignificant, they should be treated with sealant. To repair the flooring, craftsmen recommend gluing panels with epoxy glue. Thanks to this glue laminate quality fastened.

How to be in case a large amount of water got onto the laminate, for example, broke a pipe, or neighbors flooded. Well, if the laminate is high quality, nothing threatens it. But it will be bad that the substrate will get wet under it. Due to the wet substrate, mold may appear, which will be difficult to get rid of.

To save the floor, you need to urgently take action:

• laminate should be disassembled, since it is completely wet;
• wipe it dry, leaving it completely dry;
• It is not recommended to forcibly dry the floor by dramatically increasing the temperature. So the flooring will deteriorate even more;
• the room should be ventilated naturally.

So, after the flood, in 4-5 days the lamellae dried out. Now you can proceed to the restoration of the floor. Masters are not advised to reuse the substrate, as it deteriorated, it is better to immediately remove

After laying the substrate, you can assemble the floor. If you have a small damage to the surface of the floor, then it can be repaired and coated with a colorless varnish. If there are badly damaged slats, then you should think about replacing the boards with new ones.

Sometimes after repair and relocation of furniture, scratches may appear on the floor, gaps between the boards, and there is also an unpleasant noise that comes from the floor. When laminate creaks, scratches occur, the most important task becomes - to find a way to eliminate such defects.Wizards offer residents to purchase special tools, putty, wax crayons and varnishes for floor repair.

Here are some useful tips that you can use to restore the floor and eliminate unpleasant noise:

• You can pour hot wax and wipe the joints of the laminate panels in creaking places to eliminate local squeaking. In the process of finishing the seams it is important not to spoil the front part of the slats. Therefore, when removing excess wax composition, use special blade knives. They are sold with products for processing.

• Specialized building material stores offer putty for lamellae, for example, repair paste. This tool is very effective, struggling with various defects. Following the tips, you must first glue the masking tape around the damage, and then apply the paste of the desired color that matches the color of the board, and level the surface. Thanks to the application of repair paste, the protective layer of the flooring is restored and eliminates the creaking.

• For the restoration of parquet often masters use wax crayons (pencils). They are of two types: soft and hard.Using liquid crayons, you can wipe the damaged part with a special spatula. Such crayons do not contain oily substances, they are perfectly combined with different varnishes and other chemicals. Wax crayons should be heated to 95 C. These pencils can be combined with any paint and varnish products. Also solid chalk can be used outdoors. Chalk wax is available in various shades, they can mix with each other to get the desired shade.

For more information on the restoration of laminate by these methods, see the following video.

After the reasons for the squeak became known, an urgent need to start repairing the floor. It is quite difficult. But the unpleasant creak coming from the floor does not cause positive emotions in the household, and even more irritation. In this case, repair the floor covering can be indiscriminately lamellas. However, there are situations when you still have to disassemble the entire floor.

Manufacturers, although they guarantee the longevity durability, over time, the flooring loses its original appearance, and creaking occurs.Paul creaked as he walked: most likely, the base of the floor is uneven.

But this lack is corrected by the hands, without resorting to analysis of a floor. First you need to find out where the sound comes from, drill a small hole in the lamella, where the creaking was heard. Then PVC glue is poured into a medical syringe, which is injected into the drilled hole, and left for 3 hours. At this time, on this area of ​​the floor can not walk until the full setting of the glue. Then the hole can be sealed sealant desired color.

If there is a dent on the surface of the flooring, then it can also be restored. As you know, dents are formed when heavy objects are hit, damaged by furniture, or because of a nerve base where there are small pits. In this case, you should disassemble several boards, align the base and replace them with new slats.

Sometimes there are unpleasant situations when you have to completely disassemble the floor. For example, a burst pipe, or neighbors flooded the apartment. After flooding the room, the floor will fall down, of course, the floor covering needs to be removed.Disassembling laminate is not a difficult task. Today the laminate is equally easy to assemble and disassemble. But you need to understand what kind of lamella will have to be removed. There are 3 types of laminate locks:

• System with lock-lock. It is used a long time ago, has proven itself as a more economical option;
• Click-lock system. It is popular and modern, as it allows you to repeatedly disassemble and assemble the floor;
• Glue or lockless. It is dialed with the use of glue, that is, the lamellae are simply glued together. This laminate can not be restored: disassemble, and then lay it again can not.

To properly disassemble, and then collect the floor, you need to follow the rules:

• First you need to remove the baseboards. If the floor is with a klick-lock, then the boards can be kept in good condition. But if the slats with lock – lock or lockless, you can safely remove the panels from the floor, because they can not be kept intact. Disassembly is better to start from the wall, in which the master completed the installation of lamellae;
• then on the back of the boards you need to number them, so that later it was easier to assemble the floor;
• it is better to wipe the sipes dry and leave them for a week to dry;
• if several boards were damaged by the flood, then new lamellae should be bought;
• so that in the future the floor does not fail, then the residents should think about the foundation of the floor;
• if there was a substrate under the slats, and it was wet, then it should be replaced;
• if there was plywood under the boards, and it is rotten, it is also better to change it.

So, a week passed - the foundation was fully prepared, the slats dried out. Now you can begin to lay the boards. Carefully collect the floor in order. If cracks have occurred after the boards have been laid, then repair paste or sealants can be used. And then you need to apply colorless varnish on the laminate.

Laminate - the most common and durable material, well versed and assembled, fits well into any interior and decorate any room. However, over time, the floor loses its original attractive appearance, shine and durability. The disadvantage of the laminate is that this is an artificial surface, and in 5-10 years the floor will become old, and it cannot be chuckled. Cracks, scuffs, dullness and scratches appear on the floor covering. But these defects can be corrected and repaired the flooring.

Professionals offer special tools for the restoration of the old flooring.For example, if the laminate has lost its shine, then it can be polished. To do this, apply the mastic or liquid polish. But first, the floor should be well cleaned from dirt and dried. Then, using a spray, apply the product evenly over the entire floor surface.

If there are scratches on the laminate after rearranging the furniture, they should be removed. To do this, use wax pencils. However, with deep scratches for the restoration of the floor putty is best suited. Using a spatula, the product should be carefully applied to scratches.

Sometimes, in order to restore the floor, the tenants of apartments decide to paint the floor covering. This is a very good way. Painting will change the floor and return it to its original appearance. To get started, you need to follow some guidelines:

• For flooring it is best to choose alkyd or polyurethane paint.

• It is good to remove all dirt from the floor surface.
• Take a small skin and sand the floor, and then remove all the chips.
• Take a putty and remove large scratches.
• In order for the laminate to be free of defects, it is necessary to apply the putty with emery paper, remove the garbage with a vacuum cleaner.
• To remove grease stains, you can use a wet cloth soaked in solvent.
• To avoid damage to the walls, it is important to apply masking tape. And then start painting the floor.

The floor is painted in several stages:

• First, the paint should be diluted with a solvent and mixed to a uniform consistency. Also, the composition is recommended to stir occasionally during the painting of the floor. It is better to use brushes for work. Be sure to then close the doors and windows.

• Secondly, it is necessary to start painting from the farthest side of the door. The paint is applied with an effort by long strokes along the board. The first time the paint should be applied with a thin layer. Wait a few days to let the floor dry. And then you need to put a thick layer and leave the floor to dry completely. To make the floor look like new, it is covered with two layers of colorless varnish. In addition, the lacquer provides semi glossy shine.

Laminate - wear-resistant and durable flooring, qualitatively simulating wood, tile and stone floor. It is resistant to moisture and defects.However, the laminate also needs proper care.

Often, tenants of apartments think about what kind of cleaning for the floor is better: dry or wet. Masters recommend using the dry look most often. Laminate enough to sweep or vacuum. A wet cleaning can be done once a week. To do this, use soft cloths and brushes, as well as special cleaning products. It is better to wash the floor with clean and warm water (40-50 ° C).

When choosing special tools, you should consider what kind of coating you have: glossy or matte. For a glossy finish, you need to buy drugs in order to restore shine and eliminate dullness. It is known that a matte surface becomes dirty more quickly than a glossy one. Therefore, for a matte surface should pick up a special spray to remove dirt.

On furniture it is better to wear lining, so as not to scratch. Thanks to overlays on furniture, the floor will last a long time. If there are light scratches or small scuffs, use a cloth with a special tool, as well as small scratches can be painted over with a wax pencil. Deep scratches are removed with special pastes and putty.

If liquid gets onto the laminate, wipe the stain immediately. Be sure to keep the floor clean. After flooding the apartment, it is necessary to take care of the coating carefully. So, it became clear that the laminate is quite a capricious material, but, following the advice and recommendations, the floor can actually be preserved, it can last for a long time.