How To Eliminate The Creak Of The Laminate Without Disassembly, The Causes Of Sounds

2023 Author: Philip Bishop | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-08-25 07:54

• Why do the floors in the apartment creak
• Substrate irregularities
• Invalid gap between walls and laminate
• Humidity changes
• Sand and dust ingress

• Poor board quality

  

• Tension in locks

  

• Tips for eliminating squeaky floors
• How to replace a separate laminate board

Almost everyone in their life has come across squeaky laminate floors, and knows how annoying it is. Especially the creak of the laminate is terrible when there are small children or a sick person in the house.

Any, even careful movement on the floor involuntarily leads to a squeak that interrupts the child's restful sleep, irritates a sick or elderly person.

Meanwhile, there are ways to lay the laminate so that it does not creak.

Well, if the floor has already been laid and started to creak, then our recommendations will help you eliminate the creak of the floors.

Why do the floors in the apartment creak

This article discusses all cases of creaky laminate floors, methods of installation that prevent the appearance of a creak during operation, tips for eliminating creak in already installed floors.

When the laminate creaks, the most demanded task becomes how to fix such a defect.

Let us consider in detail all the options for the appearance of a creak and establish the cause of the creak of the floors in the apartment.

Substrate irregularities

The main reason why laminate flooring creaks is the irregularity of the base on which the floor covering was laid or laid.

The most common causes of a squeak are depressions or pits, over which the laid laminate sags. And if you step on this place, then the material sags, which causes an annoying creak.

It is possible to eliminate the appearance of a squeak only by carefully leveling the surface of the base.

There are times when laminate flooring creaks after installation.

In an already installed laminate floor, creaking spots are eliminated by partially disassembling the laminate above the recess. The alignment of the groove is done with a mortar and checking the flatness of the area.

Mandatory check of the floor evenness is a great rule and elimination of the main cause of the squeak.

After the surface is completely dry, the laminate can be laid on the floor.

If the entire floor creaks, you will have to remove the entire laminate.

Attention! Before disassembling a laminate floor, be sure to number all the dies. This will greatly simplify the subsequent assembly process.

The base, freed from the laminate, is leveled by pouring the floor. After complete drying, the surface is primed, a substrate is laid on it. The thickness of the backing cannot be more than 3 mm.

Wrong substrate thickness

This is a common mistake for inexperienced flooring workers. To smooth out surface irregularities, a thick substrate is often used. And this is the reason why the floor creaks. The reason is trivial, with a large thickness of the substrate, the laminate sags in the grooves, which causes a squeak. The recommended thickness of the backing material is up to 3 mm. Learn more about the substrate and the installation method.

By the way, when choosing a substrate, give preference to substrates that provide sound insulation, smoothing irregularities, and moisture resistance.

Invalid gap between walls and laminate

To prevent the floor creak from the laminate, a gap is maintained between the laid out surface and the walls, the size of which should not be less than 7 mm.

The gap is regulated by the area of the laid out surface. The larger the area, the greater the gap must be maintained when laying.

To avoid squeaking laminate flooring, be sure to maintain a gap when laying around the perimeter. The presence of a gap allows the laminate to take a comfortable position, does not allow stresses in the lock joints.

Since the laminate expands with increasing temperature, with a small gap, the board rests against the walls. And when walking, the coating rubs, causing a creak.

And how to get rid of the creak of the laminate if the gap is not maintained?

It is necessary to remove the skirting boards. If the laminate located against the walls rests against it or the substrates are not pulled out, then it is necessary to remove the stops and establish a gap. To form the desired gap, you will need to remove the board and cut out those places that abut against the wall. If for technological reasons it is not possible to do this, then you can do this, you can either cut the laminate with a drimer or deepen the wall with a puncher.

After revision, we vacuum and install the skirting board.

Humidity changes

The reason for the squeakiness of the laminate may be increased room humidity.

Attention! When humidity returns to its original state, as a rule, the floor stops creaking.

When laying your laminate, try to measure the humidity in the room and keep it constant throughout the year.

But how to eliminate the creak of the laminate if the humidity in the room is constantly changing?

In this case, you just need to withstand the time for the laminate to get used to the differences, to remember them. Over time, creaks and crunches will go away.

Sand and dust ingress

The floors must be laid on a clean surface. The substrate, laminate boards, and the base are thoroughly vacuumed and wiped. They must be free of dirt and dust.

Attention! It is not recommended to lay the laminate without a vacuum cleaner.

All work on the processing of laminate is recommended to be done in another room.

If dust gets into the locks, over time, it will certainly lead to a squeak and the destruction of the locks.

By the way, a poorly made surface screed may crumble over time, causing a creak. Under load, the laminate touches the base, frays the screed components.

Attention! The top layer of the screed must be primed in several layers.

Such a technological technique will reliably protect the base from destruction.

If the laminate squeaks after laying, and the reason is in sand and dust, then you cannot do without disassembly.

Each plate is numbered, the floors are disassembled, dust is removed with a vacuum cleaner.

The surface is carefully primed in several layers. The next layer of primer is applied only after the previous layer has completely dried.

A new substrate of the required thickness is laid on the base; on top, according to the numbering, the laminate is laid.

Poor board quality

One of the reasons for the squeakiness of laminate floors may be the poor quality of the material. Even a high-quality substrate, cleanliness during assembly, the correct gap, the right underlay will cause squeaks if you are installing low quality laminate. Low-quality laminate flooring has a weak point in locks that are not kept in size. This is what causes the squeak.

The squeak is eliminated only by a complete change of the coating. Councils for the repair of laminate.

Tension in locks

This reason is the most common. Moreover, such a defect can also be observed in a high-quality laminate, but only in the first weeks or months. Professional laminate flooring has one quality, it can adapt to the geometry of the room, taking the optimal position.

It is only necessary to provide the laminate with gaps so that it can take a comfortable position. The squeaks will disappear by themselves after a few weeks.

Tips for eliminating squeaky floors

And how to eliminate the creak of the laminate without disassembling?

Here are some helpful tips that can save you the day by eliminating the squeakiness of your parquet or laminate floor.

1. Elimination of local squeak. To eliminate the local creak, it is necessary to warm up a paraffin candle. It is necessary to pour hot wax and wipe the seams of the laminate boards in the places of squeak. Grouting is best done with a thin plastic trowel. Good results are obtained by grouting with an old plastic card that has already been out of circulation.
2. If your laminate creaks, what to do indiscriminately? The floor creaks against the walls, then, after removing the skirting boards, foam the joints with polyurethane foam or fill them with PVA glue.
3. In the middle of the room, the problem is solved by drilling holes with a diameter of 0.6 mm and pumping PVA glue with a syringe and not stepping for 48 hours.
4. If the thresholds are walking, then they can be glued to transparent silicone.
5. Fill with oil as a means to eliminate squeak.
6. Use polyurethane foam in the floor hollows.

Conclusion:

1. The reason for the squeakiness of laminate floors affects the difficulty of fixing the problem.
2. To avoid squeaking, you need to make an even base, choose a substrate of the required thickness, work in a clean room with clean materials, use a high-quality laminate.
3. To permanently eliminate the creak of the laminate flooring, it is recommended to make the perfect floor screed.
4. Monitor the humidity of the room.

But the decision is always yours and the Renovated website will help you.

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How to replace a separate laminate board