How to repair laminate do it yourself

Laminate is one of the best flooring. It is durable and strong. In addition, it perfectly imitates costly original wooden coatings and has a wide selection of colors. However, even with the best incidents can happen. So the laminate, though not often, but still breaks. But usually they can be completely eliminated independently, while not having professional skills. This will be discussed further.

What are the damage

The first step is to figure out what mechanical damage to the laminate can handle each. So, in total there are 4 damage options:

• The gap between the lamellae;
• Chipped;
• Cracked and scratched;
• Swell slats.

Next, we look at how to fix each of the problems.

Gap between the lamellae

It would seem that a small gap between the laminate panels does not carry any danger, but only creates a cosmetic negative effect. In fact, their appearance can lead to the deformation of the entire coverage of the room, so it is important to nip it in the bud.

If you are faced with the problem of the appearance of gaps between the lamellae, you should initially understand the reasons, otherwise the problem will definitely arise again.

The most common cause of this problem is laying on an uneven floor. In the repair of housing all stages should be carried out responsibly. Omission of even a minor aspect can lead to serious problems. Laying the flooring, and laminate in particular, also requires immaculately performed all phases of work.

Why the first months the laminate keeps normally? It's all about the substrate. At first, it aligns the floor, but over time it sags, and irregularities make themselves felt.

However, this is not the only cause of cracks. Acquisition of low-quality goods may also affect. As they say, the miser pays twice. Therefore, when choosing cheap models, it should be understoodthat in the near future there may be various breakdowns.

Also, do not buy laminate from different manufacturers, even if their color is the same. The thing is that the device locks may differ.

Solution to the problem
So, if a similar problem arose due to irregularities, there are several solutions. First of all, you should remove the area where the cracks appeared. If the irregularities of the floor are minor, then the substrate is simply changing. With more significant deviations from the ideal horizontal, you also need to change the substrate, but the floor must be pre-aligned.

If, for any reason, the above procedures are not possible, you can simply fill up the gaps to prevent the ingress of moisture. To do this, initially the hole between the slats should be cleaned of debris. After this, the edges of the laminate are glued with adhesive tape, and putty is poured inward to the color of the coating, which should be leveled with a spatula and left to dry. At the end of the tape is removed and all wiped with a damp cloth.

Chip removal

Chips can often occur in the kitchen, as in this room often something falls.Namely, strikes of heavy objects are the main cause of chipping. Solving a similar problem is somewhat easier than removing gaps. To do this, you need a special acrylic sealant, which can be purchased at a hardware store. By the way, in order not to suffer with the selection of the perfect shade, you can choose a white sealant and select a dye for it separately. However, tinting it, do not forget that when it dries it darkens.

Sealant is easy to use. It is enough to cover them with chips and smooth them with a rubber spatula. The procedure is carried out at least 3-4 times, as the sealant settles when it dries.

In the absence of a sealant, it can be replaced with a mixture of gypsum and sawdust (1: 1 ratio), which is diluted with a small amount of water. The resulting paste can also successfully be chipped, even large sizes.

Cracks and scratches

Small cracks and scratches do not deserve a separate section in this article, as in fact the solution to the problem is quite simple. However, we will be generous and devote some time to solving this trouble.

So, to remove minor cracks and scratches, you will need a special pencil, which you can easily find in the windows of construction shops.How to use it is clear on an intuitive level. It should just cover them with a problem place.

Bloating slats

In this case there are also several reasons. The first is the improper installation of the flooring. It is known that there should be a small gap between the extreme part of the laminate and the wall, as the material expands slightly over time. Accordingly, if he cannot disperse to the sides, he will begin to rise. The only correct solution in this case would be to dismantle the extreme parts of the floor construction and further trim them a couple of centimeters.

Also, laminate can swell due to moisture. When the coating is new, it has an additional protective layer. But after several months or years (depending on quality), it is erased, which makes the laminate vulnerable to moisture.

Of course, once a spilled glass of water is unlikely to make the laminate swell, but if you or your neighbors have managed to fill the floor, the risk of this problem increases significantly.

In this case, there are two choices.However, no matter which one you use, you should first remove the deformed parts. After that it is necessary to decide on further actions. Either you go to the store and pick up the new laminate of the most similar color, or you put the swollen parts onto a solid, even surface, put a heavy press on top and wait at least 6-7 days. During this time, the boards must return to their original state. It will also be a plus if the room in which the boards swelled by moisture are stored will be with low humidity.

If the laminate is not fixed

If not enough skilled workers were hired to lay the laminate, then after laying the flooring you may be faced with the fact that the floor will “walk”. In this case, you should not pay for the work of these "masters", because to fix the problem, you will have to re-shift the entire floor. Ignoring this problem, in the future (perhaps very soon) the laminate will be completely out of order. The locks will begin to break, and the panels themselves will swell.

As you can see, most of the problems that at first glance may seem rather significant can be solved. The main thing is to know how to do it.

Video: laminate repair - repair of chips and cracks