Laminate Flooring in the Basement

6/21/2009 at 8:02:42 PM

hi San i'm Phil from Tamburro Home Renovations and i myself have used laminate in my basement and its fine ... 1st the basement floor ( concrete) should be levelled unless u don't care but a laminate floor being buckled , i never heard of that happen unless ur flooring installer never used an underpadding b4 they applied the laminate ,,, i have had the laminate for 5 years now and nothing has happened yet .... it has nothing to do with the baseboards / quarterrounds , maybe whoever u had install it put the laminate right to the wall without leaving a gap cause flooring expands too but it shouldn't buckle up at all ... email me for more info at lptambur@sympatico.ca ....

6/22/2009 at 8:05:24 AM

Hi San- and Phil- you do have to remove the base in order to correct the floor- the laminate was probably installed tight and the last row will need to be trimmed. Also check to be sure a proper vapour barrier was used on the concrete floor- if there are buckles in the center area of the floor, this could be why. You may also want to check with the manufacturer to see what limitations the flooring has as to installation.

Don't forget also- with the warmer weather now (finally) here, basements tend to be damp- run a dehumidifier to keep the moisture levels in check.

6/22/2009 at 6:03:35 PM

Thanks to both Phil and Bill. Yes, it is just what Bill has said, buckling more to the center. I need to look for someone to correct this in the Mississauga, Mavis/Eglinton area.

10/30/2009 at 4:59:44 PM

Hello Buckleing Floor. yes the reason your floor is buckleing is because your floor is getting wet from the cement its self, Hense expantion, i have had this happen in the beginning when it first came to market. Answer is to but down a vapor barrier down first,then underlay,then flooring.

Any other questions just ask.

1/25/2011 at 3:03:12 AM

Hi there... alot of great responses, the major reason is expansion/contraction. If pieces are layed down too tight against the wall, when expansion happens there is nowhere to go but buckle upwards. Solution usually is to simply trim the edge of the piece allowing a 1/4 inch gap from the wall. You will notice on some laminate installations quarter round is used at the base of a narrow baseboard because the baseboard itself is not wide enough to cover the gap. Also as mentioned above already if no subfloor or vapor barrier is down this is an incorrect install and unfortunately will not last.

Good luck

if you have any specific questions dont hesitate to email me at jeff@oslodesign.ca

2/8/2011 at 7:30:19 AM

If you don't have any moisture damage, then yes, you just have to remove basboard and 1/4 round and adjust your flooring.

D&J Hardwood

416 873-6975

2/21/2011 at 10:02:56 PM

Hi nathan,Stewart here of Sct floorcoverings.Their are four probable causes for the buckle-Lack of expansion space round 100 percent of the perimeter of the laminate flooring-remedy-remove all the baseboards and t-moldings then cut along the bottom of the dywall where you see the flooring jamed up tight and chisle out an expansion space. It could also be buckling due to ground moisture-Make sure that you have a moisture barrier underlayment under your flooring another cause could be water seeping in from the exterior-make sure you have a dry space for laminate flooring. other causes are leaking humidifiers,fridges, or to much water used when moping the floor.

3/14/2011 at 1:34:30 PM

It sounds as though there was no or the wrong underlay used for the laminate flooring when being used on a concrete substrate and that more importantly there may not have been any gap left around the parimeter of the walls. There should be at least one quarter inch gap from all walls to allow for expansion and that can be covered by quarter round trim. Its a floating floor so assume they did not glue to substrate and therefore it is quite easy to lift and relay. Let me know if there are more details about glued or not, may be able to help.