ᐅ Mistakes When Installing Laminate Flooring

Three months ago, I installed click laminate flooring for the first time. The visual result turned out great, but I made a mistake by not paying attention to the subfloor. The laminate is laid over an old plank floor, which is uneven in two or three spots. I simply installed the laminate panels on top 🙁 (yes, I know, that was a foolish move). Now, the joints in those areas are starting to open up a bit. I’m considering removing the laminate and planing the old plank floor smooth. Then, I would close the gaps that have opened with some adhesive. That should work, right? Before I get started, I’d like to ask the experts here for their opinion. What do you think?

Oh dear, now you have double or even triple the work. The idea of smoothing and gluing is promising, but depending on the condition of the floor, I would recommend using a leveling compound to achieve a flat surface. Laminate simply does not tolerate any unevenness.

Hello Horsti,
it is hardly possible to sand the floorboards smooth because the unevenness does not come from variations in the thickness of the boards themselves, but from the subfloor. This means the ceiling joists are bending, or the floorboards themselves are bending due to an excessive spacing between supports.

The floor should have been leveled first with a filling layer before installing the laminate flooring.
If the floor is left as it is, the laminate will deteriorate over time. So you are facing, as Camper already mentioned, double or even triple the work.

That is unfortunate, and the click laminate must be installed on a solid and dust-free subfloor. This installation mistake not only costs more money but also requires additional work. I would have informed myself beforehand in the forum.

These laminate boards will not hold on a plank floor. What you did was unnecessary work. You need to remove everything again and then apply leveling compound to the plank floor. This is not an easy task, as the floor must be perfectly flat.

Life can sometimes be unpredictable. However, a major mistake was made by installing the laminate flooring directly over the floorboards. Since the wooden floor naturally expands and contracts, this leads to cracks forming in the laminate.