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JRS:
Most laminate manufacturers make a specialized router bit that matches their tongue and groove systems for cleaning out the residue that’s needed for a proper repair. I don’t know if Bruce does as I have never seen it installed…it doesn’t sell at all here in south Florida. Check out floorsearch.com(message board) for much more info.
Who said indestructable? Laminated flooring can be destroyed rather easily and the biggest issue today is water damage.
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Is there a 6mil plastic sheet with taped and overlaping joints under the flooring ? the foam layer is not enought.
if not pull the whole floor and do it right. http://WWW.pergo.com have full instructions and I would think most laminate flooring would follow similar methods.
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I have to make a repair on a Bruce Traffic Zone laminate floor(similar to Pergo flooring) about 2ft.x10ft. against a wall, and perpendicular to the floorboards. Anyone out there ever do a repair on one of these floors?
John
*Hi John,Unfortunately, because of the materials used in manufacturing these products, you will have to cut out the area and patch in a replacement.Redardless of the area involved the repairs are the same.Picture 1 section only for this explanation.Cut out the complete panel area, less 3/8" around the entire perimeter.Use a router with a bearing guide and remove the top half of the 3/8" to form a lip.Using the same router tip, remove the bottom 3/8" of the replacement panel section around the entire perimeter.Use a dremel tool to clean the corners of the floor section for a clean fit.Apply glue to the lip section only and insert your replacement section.If your area is larger than 1 panel, assemble and glue together the section required first in to one panel and cut out the area required. Follow the steps outlined above as if it were one panel.Good luck with your project.GabePS, what about their warrantee?
*Another poster here claimed to have a faster method -- he plunge-cut the offending plank, inset as Gabe says, then punched out the section. He next worked the remaining bits out manually. Because the glue remains water-soluble, I imagine this could be done. Then glue in a new panel, removing half of the groove so it drops in. I've done kind of what Gabe is talking about, making my own tongues and grooves on scraps of the stuff, but it is hard to get the really tight fit needed. At least you'll have the baseboard there to help keep the repair from lifting?Bruce should have specific instructions on this -- Pergo says "get a professional," so I'm not sure what their approved method is. One nice thing about it being "fake" flooring is that the new stuff will match the old.
*Andrew, Gabe, thank you for the info. This is definitly a non-warranty issue. I guess I knew there wouldn't be an easy soluton, its a matter of being able to pull off "toothing in" the repair along the 10 ft. dimension. I really don't want to do this, but he's one of my most loyal customers( since 1984) hardly a year goes by that he doesn't have something for me. I've done probably $125,000 in remodeling for him in that time period. Oh well, you take the good with the bad.Thanks, John-If anyone has any other ideas, don't be shy about posting!
*Maybe it's time to "update" the whole floor?!?I haven't done it, but it really didn't sound that painful. The laminate is so strong that you know it will come apart only at the seams. Lots of luck!!
*I thought the stuff was (supposed to be) indestructable.
*No, Mike, neither laminate flooring nor PEX is indestructible. And there's no Santa Claus. Happy?
*JRS:Most laminate manufacturers make a specialized router bit that matches their tongue and groove systems for cleaning out the residue that's needed for a proper repair. I don't know if Bruce does as I have never seen it installed...it doesn't sell at all here in south Florida. Check out floorsearch.com(message board) for much more info.Who said indestructable? Laminated flooring can be destroyed rather easily and the biggest issue today is water damage.
*Ken, Thanks for the info on the bit. My salesman is checking to see if Bruce has one available. I looked at the job this last week-end. The floor is laid over a concrete slab(it's less than 2 yrs. old) and the damage was due to water getting under the floor and on top of the slab. When they talked to me, the damage looked like it was confined to the end wall where the water got in, but by the time I saw it, the damage extended all the way across the room(a total area 12x23)The good news is, that someone else is correcting the water source problem; and that I can remove the bad section along the 23' dimension, which runs parallel to the planks(I'll have no end joints to contend with).It seems to me that this type flooring could be made so it wouldn't be so susceptible to this kind of damage, although I,m sure that any type of wood floor, would have suffered a similar fate. When I find out about the bit, I'll post the info on this.Thanks, John
*Was the damage fast or unnoticed until too late ... or did "someone" not do anything while it was spreading? That stuff isn't cheap, nor is the labor (are you quoting a sf price? I've heard as much as $6!).The laminate i used, Pergo, recommended caulking the edges in wet locations such as kitchens/baths. The joints in general are not waterproof though and won't tolerate standing water. And because the planks are wood-based they will fail. (One of the selling points of Pergo is no offgassing.) Maybe soon we'll have cement-fiber flooring? Best of luck.
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Andrew, Nigel,
There was some minor flooding, the water spread under the floor and was not visible until it was too late. They are excavating to correct the problem. I won't be replacing the flooring until this work is complete.
John