By Ray Darrah
Cali-Floor Technical Services
916-760-8030
About the author.

Laminate Flooring Defects resulting in complaints of buckling, scratching, pre-mature wear, fading, white edges and seam swelling are often ignored by retailers and manufacturers citing “site conditions”, “characteristic of laminate flooring” or “within industry tolerance” as reasons for disallowing warranty coverage.

The definitions concerning warranties and guarantees are important and often miss-understood or never read upon, or prior, to purchase. Purchasers of flooring materials often read the warranties, guarantees, installation and maintenance requirements after the floor fails.
Webster’s dictionary defines:
Guarantee:  an assurance for the fulfillment of a condition:
a: an agreement by which one person undertakes to secure another in the possession or enjoyment of something
b: an assurance of the quality of or of the length of use to be expected from a product offered for sale often with a promise of reimbursement.

Warranty:  a usually written guarantee of the integrity of a product and of the maker's responsibility for the repair or replacement of defective parts.

To avoid confusion after purchase read the manufacturer installation and maintenance literature to find cleaning and building environmental maintenance requirements. Manufacturers are clever in placing environmental requirements within the maintenance and warranty literature that we’re all guilty of not reading. We are all consumers with the same flaw of reading the basic warranty statement of “Guaranteed for 15 years” and assume we are purchasing material that is of quality and truly warranted for 15 years.

Laminate floorings come with either paper based or wood based cores ranging from 6mm up to 12mm. A thicker core is more stable, less vulnerable to buckling and will sound more like real hardwood when walked on. Quality cores (technically called substrates) are treated with water repellent chemicals, and resist swelling due to excessive moisture.
(NOTE: the keyword here is “resist”) This is very important especially when considering placing laminate wood flooring in bathrooms and kitchen. For these applications also consider a floor that has Paraffin wax impregnated joints. The Paraffin wax acts as a water repellent and will prevent topical water spills from penetrating down to the core. Also remember to scrutinize the warranty, as certain products are not covered for use in bathrooms, laundry rooms and kitchens considered “wet areas”.

Laminate is a great floor with lasting durability and easy maintenance, but it’s not bullet proof. The water “resistant” cores are just that; water resistant. Wood and paper cores are not water-proof and the edges will swell with damp mopping and/or excessively high humidity in the air. The paraffin wax is a temporary water repellent used on the locking mechanisms located on the sides and ends of laminate glueless flooring. With use, the laminate moves up and down causing friction and wear on the tongue and groove assembly. As the locking mechanisms move with use (if the joints did not move with use, the edges would break or crack) the result is abrasive wear on the tongue and groove removing the water repellent wax which is not replaceable. 
Laminate floors buckle, tent and lift off the sub-floor under numerous conditions. All laminate flooring products are installed as a floating floor system, not glued down, nailed or affixed to the sub-floor in any manner. Laminates are either glued together or locked together by their own tongue and groove locking mechanism and installed over a thin cushion to allow for seasonal movement with changes in temperature and relative humidity.
Buckling and tenting of laminate planks often occur in large rooms where the weight of the laminate itself overcomes the ability of the flooring to move freely. The definition of Large differs with the thickness and density of the products core materials. The thicker, denser core laminates can be installed in rooms up to 50’ square. Lighter weight and thinner core products may have limits of up to 26’ square.  The most common installation error is not allowing the expansion space at perimeter walls where an edge is tight to a fixed. Inspectors have also found cabinets installed on top of the flooring system with the weight of the cabinet pressing the floor tight to the sub-floor causing the same effects at the edges tight to a fixed object.  Laminate flooring requires the ability to shrink and swell with seasonal changes without obstructions or the result is buckling and tenting.

Another major installation error is not installing the planks until they “snap” together. The locking mechanisms require the “snap” or “click” to insure the locking mechanism is engaged. Failing to push, or tap, planks together until they engage and lock together leaves the joints between the planks moveable. Improperly engaged floors have the same appearance as floors without expansion gapping. The planks will be buckling, tenting and moving with each foot step. To insure against this error, listen for the “snap” or “click” sound when placing planks into place. Properly engaged planks don’t move with pressure placed on the joints.

Buyers of laminate flooring must accept the responsibility of their purchase if they are to be satisfied. The happiest consumer protect themselves by reading the available literature paying attention to the installation instructions, maintenance requirements, guarantees and warranties paying special attention to the fine print.

The experts at www.FloorTekTalk.com are here to help.