What to do if the laminate creaks

Recently, laminate is gaining popularity as a floor covering. He is considered a worthy alternative to wooden floors. At the same time, it outwardly differs strikingly from wood floors. It is the laminated floor that boasts beauty, elegance and a wide range of colors. It is easy to use, dirt stains are easily removed from it. Laminate perfectly withstands various loads and with quality care can serve for many years.

But what to do if the laminate creaks? Yes, unfortunately, this coating can also creak. Find out why laminate squeaks, we will help you. The causes of the squeak may be several:

• Laminate was laid on an uneven surface. This can occur if the material has been laid on a concrete floor, and the concrete floor initially implies unevenness. The creaking will occur after the substrate under the laminate is compressed.
• Before laying the base was poorly cleaned, and small particles of sand, stones or debris remained on it. As in the first case, the creaking will occur at the stage of loss of elasticity of the step. A common sign of the presence of an uneven surface and small particles under the laminate is that the coating squeaks even when walking barefoot on it.

• When laying, the basic rule was not observed: there was no gap between the laminate and baseboard, and now the moving material rubs against the edge of the baseboard; there was no clearance of 10 mm between the plane of the material and the plinth.
• Subject to the observance of all the above reasons, the floor still squeaks. The answer is simple - low-quality laminate was chosen. When buying this flooring you should not try to save, otherwise the result will be creaking, cracks and cracks in the floor.

Note! Try not to delay solving the problem, delay may lead to the need for a complete replacement of the coating.

Defect correction

• If the cause of the squeak is debris under the laminate, you can, of course, wait until the grains are crushed completely, but this is how you risk finally wearing the inner surface of the laminate. If the creak is observed in a certain place, then there is nothing easier than fixing the lack of locally removing the laminate. Clean the surface with a vacuum cleaner and a damp cloth. The substrate under the laminate is also recommended to be replaced. If the creak is distributed near the wall, you can first try, without removing the cover, push the sheet of cardboard, so the creak will disappear and you will not have to dismantle anything.
• Worse, if the cause of the squeak was the uneven surface of the floor. Laminate is dismantled throughout the room, the substrate is removed. On the surface itself is laid cement screed, which is recommended to cover self-leveling mixture. If the coating is wooden, then plywood or chipboard is applied. The surface is cleaned with a powerful vacuum cleaner and only then the substrate is applied.

• In the absence of a gap between the laminate and the wall or plinth, the easiest way to solve the problem of squeak. The plinth is removed, the panels adjacent to the wall are removed, and neatly adjusted to the desired size by cutting the material. The cut is made by the Bulgarian or the special machine for sawing a laminate. Do not forget that the gap should be exactly 10 mm from the wall.

Note! It would not be superfluous to check the gap between the coating and the baseboard. If the material strap is as close as possible to the baseboard, it is recommended to fix the baseboard itself slightly higher.

A few more reasons for the squeak

We will list a few more reasons why laminate can creak.

Creaking at the joints of the coating

The reason may be a loose snap lock or the ingress of dirt and dust in the lock connection. Remedy: disassemble the floor covering and latch it tightly, then assemble the structure back.

Crumbling screed

The surface is dismantled, the entire formed crumb is carefully removed from the base and the surface is primed. For reinsurance can be covered with base film.

The voltage in the joints of laminate strips

In this case, nothing needs to be done. During subsequent operation, the laminate "gets used" to its basic position, as if it were ground, and the creaking disappears by itself. The only thing that can be done to avoid this temporary effect is to lubricate the locking joints themselves with a specially designed sealant, which prevents not only creaking, but also dirt and dust from entering them.

Thick backing

Such a substrate sags with time, and all sorts of irregularities and pits begin to manifest themselves in the form of a creaking during walking. The principle of struggle in this situation is similar to the others - you need to dismantle the coating, level the surface, thoroughly clean it and put a better substrate.

Note! Do not panic and resort to the dismantling of the laminate at the first sign of squeak. This effect may occur when the temperature and humidity in the room are different, if the material was not for long in the conditions of this room and has not yet had time to adapt. After a while, this sound should disappear by itself. This period can take from several days to several weeks, taking into account the beginning or end of the heating season.

If you are confident in the quality of the material and work on the laying of the laminate, then you should not panic ahead of time, because the squeak itself does not have any global consequences, except for a little annoying sound. If you did not save when buying and when laying, you followed all the rules, then there is nothing to worry about.