Issues with newly installed laminate

ag19426

13 years ago

I had laminate installed by Empire Today crew on the whole second floor. Previously I had carpets but they were in dire need of replacing. I have hardwood on the first floor. Laminate and hardwood actually look very nice next to each other. Laminate itself looks nice, it is well done and I canÃ¯Â¿Â½t tell it apart from wood. I could not do hardwood on the second floor due to its high cost.

While I like how laminate looks, it is bouncy and squeaky when I walk on it. I do not like how it feels and sounds. I do like how it looks but it drives me crazy to feel the bounce followed by squeaking.

Will the bounce and noise go away with time, as laminate settles? If not, what could I do? At this point I regret installing laminate and I cannot afford to pay for replacing it.

Please advise what could be done?

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Comments (5)

annzgw
13 years ago
First, call the store you purchased from and have someone come out and look at it. There may be areas where the planks are fitting too tight against the wall or door frames, but the problem may also be due to an uneven subfloor. Did they check the floor to see if it was level and was the flooring acclimatized before they installed it?
ag19426
Original Author
13 years ago
Hi Annz,
I am not sure if the floors were even or not. It is a reputable company (or so I thought) and would expect them to check that. As far as acclimating before the install, I would say no, as they came, removed carpet and started placing laminate right away.
I understand that I need to call Empire Today back, but I feel bad for contractors that did the job. They were nice people, polite and I saw that they took an effort. Would they have to pay themselves for floors if they did a bad job or would Empire Today cover it?
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annzgw
13 years ago
I'm not sure how the company would handle it, but you can't feel bad for the installers if the job wasn't done right. I've had some of the nicest people do the worst jobs, so please separate yourself from how nice the installers were. Look at it as a product and installation that you paid for, and now you are unhappy with the results. You weren't buying personality.
texasredhead
13 years ago
Laminate flooring tends to have something of a hollow sound when you walk on it because the floor actually floats. It is not nailed or glued down. IMO, you are used to the quietness of carpet so the laminate will take some getting used to due to the new sound and feel.
dkenny
13 years ago
the squeaky noise..call the rep/manuf..this doesn't sound right..
talcum power in the cracks might help..
this hollow sound..is why I don't like laminates..but squeaky is different..for me that the sound of 2 board rubbing when you walk on them..not from laminates.
was there a problem with the sub floor?

did you note any areas that squeaked before the laminate was installed?

-dkenny