Asked on Jan 29, 2015

Wood laminate floor repair

Flip
by Flip
Hi, I have a place in our wooden floors that has buckled at the seems where some water spilled. Pictures are attached. My plan is to drill a hole in the center of each buckle and inject some gorilla glue with a syringe under the floor board and then put some heavy weights on top of it until it dries. I will then repair the hole I drilled with a wooden dowel and similar stain.
My questions are:
1. Can anyone provide a better solution to repair?
2. What should I use after I put the glue in to put between the heavy weights and the hole I put the glue in? I don't want the gorilla glue to stick to the weights.
Thanks,
Wood Buckle at the seams of each wood panel.
  9 answers
  • Sue Collins Sue Collins on Jan 30, 2015
    I would use a syringe to apply glue through drilled holes. Then use Freezer paper to cover hole. Place weights on top of paper (shiney side down). Any paper that sticks can be easily removed with soapy sponge.
    • Gail Salminen Gail Salminen on Apr 22, 2015
      @Sue Collins Lee Valley Tools have a set of syringes for this purpose. They work great and can be ordered on-line.
  • Wendy Vasion Wendy Vasion on Jan 31, 2015
    @Flip , did this work? I am excited to see how this turned out :)
  • Flip Flip on Jan 31, 2015
    Thanks Sue, exactly what I was looking for. I ordered the syringe, so waiting for it to arrive. I will let you all know how the repair goes after I get to it. Thanks
  • This will not work. For several reasons. These laminate floors are floating. Meaning they move as the moisture, heat and cold come into contact with them. Securing them to the floor will cause buckling up in other areas. The other reason why this will not work is because there is an underlayment material under the floor itself. This can be something as simple as a plastic sheet or complex as a foam pad coated in plastic. In any case, the glue will not adhere to the sub floor and the bottom of the laminate. All your going to end up doing is make it worse by drilling holes and filling the space with glue. Depending upon the type of flooring it is that you have and the ability to purchase some replacement boards, If that is possible, a professional flooring company may be able to remove the faulty sections and replace with new using a glue to connect the edges. In any case, do not waste your time or effort. It is not going to work. The last thing I would suggest is check with your home owners insurance. They may pay for a new floor if the deductible is not to high this may be the best way to go.
  • Doris knepper Doris knepper on Feb 01, 2015
    you get the panels like that by to much water on the floor when you wash your floor I stopped using to much wet on them I spray bottle mr. clean n 1/2 water on my hands n knees I wish I could tell you how to fix the panels I do not know how
  • D & K D & K on Feb 01, 2015
    Woodbridge Enviromental is correct. Gluing the area is a waste of time of effort. The problem is the substrate material directly beneath the high pressure laminate, (i.e. hard board (masonite) a MDF like material, the flooring is made of has swollen. No amount of glue is going to reverse this.
  • Flip Flip on Feb 01, 2015
    Good deal, Then can one of you explain how I can fix this (in detail)? I'm renting the place so I want to return it in good shape. I don't have replacement boards.
  • There is nothing you can do other than pull up the bad stuff and replace. If the floor swells from the water applied, your landlord in my opinion has no one to blame but themselves. Being a rental, I doubt very much this was a very good quality floor anyway as landlords tend not to spend a lot of money on quality items and flooring is one of them. Being a laminate such as this, its very nature is horrible to maintain. While there have been all sorts of raves on how easy it is to maintain, to much water of any kind on these flooring systems does exactly what happened to you. Your landlord should have instructed you on its care and not to expose the floor to water. Its more their fault than yours. It is very common to see the edges swell. IF you read more about this flooring on other posts on HT you will find that the common element is keep the floor dry and do not use steam mops, or lots of water on them. Sorry I have no advice other then get insurance on the rental in case something else happens so your covered.
  • Sue Collins Sue Collins on Apr 22, 2015
    Thanks to ALL of you! My problem is that we have a poured concrete slab instead of wood subflooring ( manufactured home) which is not level. ANY and ALL suggestions will be greatly appreciated!