How to Repair Laminate Flooring Damaged by Water

LESLIE: Now we’ve got Bob from Arkansas on the line with a question about how to repair laminate flooring. What’s going on at your house?

BOB: I was out of town overnight and our house flooded inside from a broken pipe. And it flooded the whole house. So, the company came in and tore out all my flooring and subflooring. And when they came back in, the contractor is about Pergo – or not Pergo – stick-together tiles that are like Pergo. Anyway, when they put them together or put them in, did not lock them together. They laid them on the floor and knocked them together and broke all my locks. Now they’re coming apart.

TOM: Oh, we see – a lot of those laminate floor tiles, they’re not designed to be glued together. They’re sort of a locking joint.

Now, if they did not install laminate flooring correctly, if they tried to bang them together instead of – so you have to sort of like rotate them to click together. Then there’s going to be nothing you can do about that. They have essentially damaged the floor.

BOB: OK. My question is – they’re going to replace it but should I have them tear out this whole flooring and put the new one in or just put this over that?

TOM: Yeah, definitely get rid of the old stuff before you repair laminate flooring because it’s not going to be secure. There could be movement under that. No, I would go back to the way it was. Get rid of that old flooring and start again from scratch.

Good luck with that project.