How do you fix a laminate floor that has swelled after a fridge leak?

Brenda
by Brenda
  7 answers
  • Replace the boards, hopefully you kept spares for repairs.

  • William William on Oct 04, 2017

    Yep, I agree with Naomie! All you can do is replaced the damaged boards.

  • Sharon Sharon on Oct 04, 2017

    I would replace the board, can't fix it once its wet.

  • Jan Jan on Oct 04, 2017

    Happened to me as well, losing power during hurricanes. As other Hometalkers previously stated, replace, no way to repair  Or, you can do what I did, cover with a pretty, coordinating rug.

  • Tcs Tcs on Oct 04, 2017

    Since you may have to replace it anyway, why not give this a try. Get a damp dish cloth and lay on top of damaged area. Get your iron hot. Iron over the area hold it down for a few seconds all over damage. You will need to keep the cloth damp during the process. Since the laminate is basically melted together with glue you may be able to "reactivate" it.. if it doesn't work, wedge a putty knife under the end of the board to be replaced. That should give you working room to try to detach laminate from glue. When you get that board detached use maybe a Dremmel and cut out any remaining flooring. Hope you could understand all that. Good luck!

  • William William on Oct 04, 2017

    Best way is to use a circular saw, set the blade depth to the thickness of the spare board. Place the front of the saw against the center of the board with the blade raised above the board. Hold the blade guard up, lower the saw down in the center of the board and cut. Use a chisel or screwdriver to pry the two halves of the board out. On the replacement board, cut off any of the tongues. Apply wood glue to the subfloor where the board was removed and insert the new board. You can also use a Dremel or an Oscillating tool for cutting.

    • Brenda Brenda on Oct 09, 2017

      Thanks for the help! We replaced the bad boards just the way you said . Thanks so much!