DIY laminate repair indiscriminately

Nowadays, laminate flooring is one of the most popular flooring options. Its practicality and attractive price are a big plus compared to other options. But it often happens that you need to repair the laminate with your own hands indiscriminately. Here the problems begin, because in fact, few people know how to produce it, what is required for this. In this article, you will learn how to repair your flooring, what to do so that it retains its beautiful appearance for as long as possible.

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The main causes of damage to the laminate

In fact, if you look in general, then all of them can be divided into 2 large categories:

1. Incorrect styling.
2. Improper operation and maintenance.

In any of these cases, a thorough approach to the problem is required.

Important! How durable the result you get after repairing a laminate floor will turn out to be largely dependent on whether you figured out the reason.

Styling errors

Many manufacturers of this material for the floor in their instructions say that anyone can install. In fact, in 70% of cases, styling does not occur due to a number of reasons:

1. Unprepared base. This is the first and most fatal mistake when installing the laminate. Many people think that it is enough to put a substrate on the rough floor, and everything will be fine. But everything is far from so rosy. Large mounds and pits to hide just will not work. As a result, squeaks and irregularities occur, and locks on the slats break very quickly. There is only one solution to this problem - remove the laminate, level the floor and lay again.
2. Not acclimatized coating. Not many people know, but any coating needs acclimatization. This is especially important for wood. Failure to comply with this paragraph of the instructions leads to such consequences as swelling, creaking, breaking locks. In this case, the restoration of the laminate is carried out in the same way as in the previous case: the entire coating is removed, the damaged one is removed and laid again.
3. Savings on the substrate. Laying a laminate without a substrate is strictly prohibited. The more expensive the laminate, the better the substrate should be. Otherwise, you are threatened with a creak, reeling of elements, damage to locks. The solution to the problem is a complete enumeration of the entire coating: removal of the laminate, replacement of damaged elements and its further installation already on the substrate.

Improper operation

Very often, a laminate is damaged when it is mistreated and not properly looked after. The most serious mistake is the incorrectly calculated floor load, as a result - the material is completely inappropriate. There are also a number of recommendations on what to do with such a coating, and what to do after all is not worth it:

• You can not walk on the laminate with stiletto heels. They leave chips and scratches.
• Under the legs of the furniture, you need to make a substrate of soft material.

Important! Some sales representatives have special laminate furniture linings for sale.

• If the climate is not taken into account and the material is selected incorrectly, this will also entail unpleasant consequences. The most striking example of such a mistake is the unaccounted humidity in the room. There is a special moisture resistant laminate.

And these are only the main recommendations, which, unfortunately, few people follow.Let's talk about how to eliminate such troubles in more detail.

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Tools and materials

In order for the DIY repair of the laminate floor to succeed, you will need:

1. Special wax to restore the laminate.
2. Soft cloth (rags).
3. Sealant intended for sealing joints between floorboards.
4. New slats, if you need to replace something.
5. Hand tool.

Now that everything is ready, you can proceed with the repair.

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Repair and restoration of a laminate

Do-it-yourself laminate restoration is a rather complicated task and entails considerable financial costs. Let's talk in more detail how to solve problems with poorly laid and damaged coating.

Base problems

If you suddenly suspect that the base was poorly prepared, and now your flooring is creaking, swollen or broken in some places, then work is needed to restore it. Prepare the required number of slats that will need to be replaced, and proceed with cleaning and leveling the floor.

Follow the instructions below:

1. Remove the laminate.
2. Remove all debris and dust from the rough floor. Inspect it carefully.
3. Coat the pits with mortar.
4. Level with a concrete screed if the level deviation is more than 2 cm per 1 m.
5. Allow mortar to dry. Do not rush to lay laminate.
6. Lay the plastic film around the entire perimeter and fix the joints with tape. Do the same with the backing.
7. Follow the instructions to lay the laminate.
8. Seal the joints with a special sealant.
9. As a last step, apply a special protective wax to the floor.

Now that the successful restoration of the laminate has taken place, we recommend that you adhere to the operating rules so as not to do such repairs for a long time.

Laminated edges

Such a “symptom” may indicate that the coating is not properly laid, and is very close to the walls. Unfortunately, in order to solve the problem, you have to disassemble the floor. The sequence of work is as follows:

1. Carefully remove all boards and number them. This is done so that when laying the second time they are not confused, otherwise you will get gaps.
2. Replace any damaged lamellas with new ones.
3. Reinstall the floor, leaving up to 0.5 cm of clearance near the walls.
4. Work joints and apply a protective coating.

Poor substrate

This version of the oversight leads to the fact that the restoration of the laminate with your own hands turns into a complete overlap of the floor again. In order to get rid of this problem, buy a new substrate and cover the floor with its replacement. How to block the floor - described in the previous section.

Important! If you completely remove the cover, review all the lamellas and immediately eliminate all that you consider problematic. This will save you time in the future.

Laminate scratches

The most easily solved problem that can occur with material. There are many options for fixing scratches quickly and efficiently. Among all of them, a wax-based pencil stands out. In order for the restoration of the laminate to be successful, adhere to the following work scheme:

1. Draw a few times with a pencil on the surface of the lesions until they disappear.
2. Wipe this area with a soft cloth.

Defect, as it never happened!

More serious scratches need to be repaired with a special paste for the laminate. For this:

1. Choose the most suitable paste for the color.
2. Apply putty with a rubber spatula to the defect.
3. Remove excess with a rag.
4. Polish the dried putty.

Scuff Removal

Such damage often appears in places of frequent use. You can get rid of the defect with wax. For this:

1. Apply it to the surface of the jammed place, slightly protruding beyond the edges.
2. Wait for the wax to dry, polish with a dry cloth.

If the damage to the top layer of the laminate is strong, then simple wax can not do here. In order to get rid of such a defect:

1. Take fine sandpaper, treat it with damage.
2. Remove dust.
3. Now sandpaper-nullivka walk through these places again, again remove all the dust.
4. Now take the varnish for your coating, apply it to these areas.
5. After complete drying, wax the entire surface.

If the floor is swollen due to water

If water suddenly spilled onto the laminate and you did not immediately notice it, it is most likely that individual boards are swollen. Repairing a laminate floor in this case consists of the following steps:

• If possible, disassemble the coating as quickly as possible.
• Put boards on blank sheets of paper. The latter will absorb moisture into themselves. This will speed up the drying process.

Important! Boards must dry on their own under normal conditions.

• After drying, reassemble the laminate back by placing water-damaged planks in a place where the water does not reach them.
• Seal the joints between the floorboards - this will increase the resistance to water.
• Wax the floor.

Chipping Recovery

This type of defect is the most common. In order to eliminate it:

• Get special pasta in the store.
• Strip the damaged area.
• Apply the paste to the defect with a rubber spatula.

Important! Try to apply the composition only at the site of damage. If the paste didn’t fall into the place of the chip, remove it.

• Level it with the surface of the floor and wipe it with dry soft material.
• After drying, cover with a protective coating.

Stains on laminate flooring

Regardless of the careful attitude to the coating, spots on it will appear sooner or later on it. Therefore, it is important to remember how to get rid of which stain. Do-it-yourself restoration of the laminate from stains is as follows:

• Fruits and berries, various drinks are removed with a well-absorbing cloth, if the stain is still fresh. Old dry stains of these types are removed with a laminate cleaner.
• Paints, varnishes or felt-tip pens are removed with acetone.

Important! Use the minimum amount of such a tool and, wiping the stain, try not to go beyond its edges.

• Remove dirt, cosmetics, pencils with nylon cloth.

Important! Whatever the type of stain, try to act as quickly as possible.

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Stock footage

Now that we have found out the causes of problems with the laminate, it will be easier for you to repair the floor from the laminate with your own hands. Using our tips, you can easily get rid of all the problems. And in conclusion, take one more tip: the better and more serious you are about caring for the laminate, the more time you devote to this lesson, the less likely you will have to repair the floor from the laminate.