Generally, these problems are associated with the floor’s installation or adverse conditions. i too have this problem in some area. Dog boots are designed to help your dog gain traction when hiking across all types of terrain, including loose rocks and boulders. No one likes the feel of a supposedly solid floor bouncing or sagging underfoot. I'm noticing more problems with their work and I don't feel I can trust them to fix the job when they did such a bad job in the first place. Even leveling the subfloor can still result in a bouncy floating floor. You should feel almost no bounce here. In almost all cases, the floor can be fixed so that it is solid and does not bounce. Now I'm afraid the whole floor might start to buckle if the depression is because there is not enough space around the edges. Random Acts of Kindness and All things Positive! The floor joists permitted by code allow safe floors to be built that are soft and spongy. It seemed to be a problem in just one area, but as we are looking at the floor more closely, there are a few areas that when you step on it, you can actually see that the laminate depresses down a bit (only slightly) but enough that it is a concern. Now on part of the floor its starting to move, as in when you walk on it, it moves up and down. With Laminate flooring came a floating floor with a pad underneath it. Removing Bounce. I like it, but in certain areas I can feel it to be a bit bouncy when I walk on it. However, that is why I hired professionals. From time to time laminate flooring problems do pop up. JavaScript is disabled. Painting laminate flooring is a great way to refresh and update the look of your home! Two of them said that is one of the most important aspects of installing laminate and they would have checked the floor and used some type of levelling compound BEFORE the installation if the floor wasn't level. My in law put the floor down, he is a retired joiner, so as it was free, its a bit of a sticky situation to complain, he now knows about it and thinks 'it will settle' A forum community dedicated to Do it yourself-ers and home improvement enthusiasts. I have talked to the contractor and he says he will do nothing about it. If a product is not selling well, manufacturers will discontinue the flooring or collection of flooring completely. Laminate flooring simulates stone, wood or other natural material with a photographic applique layer. I called three other installation companies and none of them said I would have had to make sure the floor was level. FYI flooring was DIY click-together engineered hardwood, but contractor doing the install ended up gluing the tongue and groove together. Ever since it has felt bouncy & spoungey. For floating hardwood flooring, underlayment is the most effective floor soundproofing material. If I knew the floor had to be level and I could do the installation myself, I wouldn't have hired them. could this be the reason why it is bouncing? Plus, the contractor isn't treating me too well now. However, your new flooring will raise the level of your floor slightly — about 3/8 inch — so you need to be mindful of transitions to other rooms. I have also learned that they are supposed to let the laminate sit in our house 48 hours before installation to acclimate or there could be problems. Air pockets are common laminate flooring problems. I'm not going to pay for a mistake he made or did not even tell me could be an issue. It also makes a squeak/creak sound in those areas. VerticalScope Inc., 111 Peter, Suite 901, Toronto, Ontario, M5V 2H1, Canada. I wasn't aware that there were different kinds until after the installation and just went with what they told me to use. Finally, if you use cork under a laminate floor, it can help to give the laminate a feeling similar to hardwood. A certain type is required apparently for noise control in my building and that is the one that they used. Laminate, especially cheaper ranges don't cope too well with any noticeable lumps and bumps in the sub floor, this could cause excessive bounce and this would probably eventually break the joint between adjoining boards. Most flooring manufacturers have transition thresholds that take into account varying floor … A 2x8 made from dense select Douglas fir-larch will perform quite differently than say an identical sized piece of #2 Ponderosa pine. Since laminate flooring based on a photo design layer, it's very easy to find the perfect color, such as white, grey or black, as … Read below to discover everything you need to know about painting laminate flooring. This info does not constitute financial advice, always do your own research on top to ensure it's right for your specific circumstances and remember we focus on rates not service. Tom's house was built in 1765, but bouncy floors aren't just an old-house problem. Once a flooring is discontinued, you will not see it again in most stores. I am beginning to think I may have to hire someone else to fix this and go to court with the original contractor. :furious::furious: Acclimation helps reduce the amount of shrinking or expanding of the laminate or wood flooring, so depending on the condition of the laminate, it may not make too big a difference, but never the less, most (if not all) manufacturers recommend this. Floating floors are not a floor covering itself, but rather a method of installing planks, boards and sometimes tile flooring. our contractor just finished installing laminated floor in my basement. I guess after I've paid him, he doesn't want to be worried about it anymore. For the most natural-looking laminate floor, the embossed in register surface texture is the move for 2021 laminate flooring trends. But most people want solid and safe floors. Soft and spongy spots in laminate flooring can be caused by the uneven sub-floor or an improper installation of the flooring underlayment. Next, stand about halfway between the exterior wall and the beam. But your flooring looks like a vinyl or platstic laminate flooring product. Although laminate flooring lacks the natural look and feel of hardwood flooring, it is tougher, making it a good option for homeowners with young children and pets. Flooring floats on 1/8" floor muffler underlayment on top of Delta-Fl (no OSB). If you have a laminate floor that is feeling a bit out of date you may ask yourself, ‘Can you paint laminate flooring?’ The good news is, you can! A few mm is enough to cause your laminate to bounce. Find out the facts about wiggly, jiggly flooring. I've now been doing research and am concerned the concrete might. Editor, Marcus Herbert. Floor coverings like laminate, luxury vinyl or engineered wood flooring may be snapped together to create a one-piece uniform surface, rather like a jigsaw puzzle. Additionally, cork is naturally good at resisting moisture and excellent at muffling sounds. These soft spots in the laminate floor can be fixed using an air inflation needle or a syringe that is used to blow up sports balls on a can of spray foam. He claims that I should rip the floor up myself, level the floor and then have them come back to fix it. Taking the bounce out of the floors will not be easy. Bouncy floors are one of the most vexing problems faced in houses, both new and old. That means you don’t have to tear out old surfaces before you begin. Six months ago a leading hardware store laid laminate flooring throughout my flat. Ideally, homeowners should lay quality underlayment or plywood onto the subfloor prior to locking the floor into place. On another board, they told me to make sure there was a 1/4" around the wall. Stand on your tiptoes, then drop hard onto your heels. Delta-Fl is unsecured due to intervening layer of asbestos vinyl tiles (hence the need for a floating floor). It also makes a squeak/creak sound in those areas. The tiptoe-drop should cause the biggest bounce here. Hi half finished fitting laminate floor kronofix in our living room and noticed it feels sort of springybouncy when walking on it. When we started to have problems, I started researching and found out that this is usually caused by an unlevel floor. Laminate was not the first attempt of a floating floor. when i walked on that area, i noticed the floor feels quite bouncing and i can see the up and down movement of the laminated floor. Thanks for the response. We often link to other websites, but we can't be responsible for their content. Even structurally sound, code-compliant new floors can deflect, or flex, more than feels comfortable. I can't believe my contractor thinks I should have known this and fixed it for him before he started. From spilled water on the laminate floor to underlying moisture issues, resolving the issue quickly can save the entire expanse of flooring. AsktheBuilder.com: Floors that bounce up and down when you walk across them are annoying. As already mentioned the other thing could be a lack of expansion gap, and the floors expanded and started bucking. They did use an underlay. There are a variety of ways to stiffen a floor; the method (or methods) Tom chooses depend as … Other Reclaiming: Mortgage Fees, Council Tax etc, Pensions, Annuities & Retirement Planning, Report Holiday Deals, Bargains & Special Offers, Martin's Blogs & Appearances & MoneySavingExpert in the News. Steve Bliss of BuildingAdvisor.com responds: If the floor is sagging visibly in the middle or is very bouncy, you may want to reinforce the floor to eliminate the sag and reduce the bounciness (for example, dishes rattling in a cabinet when you walk by). When a Bouncy Floor is Normal. Thank you for your responses. We don't as a general policy investigate the solvency of companies mentioned (how likely they are to go bust), but there is a risk any company can struggle and it's rarely made public until it's too late (see the. About 6-8 weeks ago we got a new laminate floor put down, was quite an expensive one. A few mm is enough to cause your laminate to bounce. Also what petest67 mentions about a peak being there sorta proves the point !! Laminate flooring that feels bouncy or is lifting in areas is not only ugly, it can be a safety issue. When Laminate Flooring first hit the United States in 1994 under the brand name Pergo, flooring installation began to change. In comparison, gripping your slippery floor isn’t even a challenge for a good pair of dog boots. I didn't even know about the importance of the floor being level until AFTER the installation. They brought the laminate in and started installing it right out of the box, so it hadn't sat in our house for anytime at all. Pendant Zothex Flooring About two weeks ago contractors came to my apartment and installed new laminate flooring. A springy or spongy feeling could indicate a minor issue, a major problem or no problem at all. I think big-all's coment about the use of a straight edge might show you your subflloor is probably uneven, you can't tell if a floor is flat by looking at it, you have to check !! I'm getting more and more concerned about this problem. In addition to the floor being bouncy or spongy, you may see cracks in the tile or grout, if it’s a tile floor or hear a snapping or creaking sound if its a laminated type of floor. I don't know if I should rip up the sides of the wall in one area to make sure they left space or not. Floor Sound Insulation. UNDER-18s TO BE BANNED FROM BUYING LOTTERY TICKETS, PAYPAL TO INTRODUCE £9/YR FEE FOR 'INACTIVE' ACCOUNTS – ACT NOW TO DODGE IT, SCOTTISH POWER TO TAKE ON YORKSHIRE ENERGY'S 74,000 CUSTOMERS. the contractor installed soft padding underneath the laminated flooring. This is tricky as "reverse" indicated, you'll likely have to rip it up to fix it. In the last month a number of the floorboards have risen up as if major air bubbles underneath & shifted. If I'm right that this is a plastic or thin-wood laminate flooring product, the bad news is that a damaged thin-surfaced wood or plastic surfaced laminate floor is difficult or almost impossible to repair while left in place. Bouncy laminate floor. It's not like he said your floor might not be level and I told him to go ahead and put the floor down. About two weeks ago, contractors came to my apartment and installed new laminate flooring. About two weeks ago, contractors came to my apartment and installed new laminate flooring. Finally, stand near the beam. Any bounce you can cause here should be small, similar to what you felt along the exterior wall. So depending on what was agreed to, they may or may not come back to rectify... or do it at additional cost. For instance, a hardwood floor installation, if it’s done right, will tend to offer a comfortable amount of give, yet still feel … Your subfloor is uneven. The floor may be structurally sound and built within code limits. Do note, while we always aim to give you accurate product info at the point of publication, unfortunately price and terms of products and deals can always be changed by the provider afterwards, so double check first. An embossed in register surface provides beautiful realistic wood textures by creating indentations to mimic real wood grains that exactly match the image layer of the laminate plank. Sometimes a little bit of bounce – what flooring professionals refer to as “deflection” -- is just fine in a floor. familiarise yourself with the latest version. Come join the discussion about tools, projects, builds, styles, scales, reviews, accessories, classifieds, and more! He says if the floor wasn't level I should have fixed it myself before asking them to come and put down laminate floor. It’s also less expensive. He said that the customer is responsible for making sure the floor is level and they only do the installation. This is common in old houses and is usually more of a nuisance than a safety issue. It has been installed over concrete. Finding discontinued laminate flooring to finish a project, a repair, or complete a home can be difficult. Laminate flooring is a popular choice today due to its durability and range of pattern designs compared to other types of flooring. Always remember anyone can post on the MSE forums, so it can be very different from our opinion. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. At times there may be spongy floors that appear to slope or sag, as well as, being spongy. Helping You to Do It Yourself! The bouncy layer may appear on the laminate flooring because of the damaged subflooring and may need to replace the laminate flooring. Vinyl manufacturers tried several times with floating sheet products. Contributing editor Mike Guertin teams up with structural engineer David Grandpré to detail six common, and not-so-common, ways to stiffen up the joists and keep the china cabinet from wobbling. I like it, but in certain areas I can feel it to be a bit bouncy when I walk on it. 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