Have a problem with my laminate wood flooring! Please help!?

Question

I recently bought a house (modcular home) and it has laminate wood flooring through out the entire house. It is beautiful and I love it! Never had any problems with it until the other day. My water pipe under my sink busted open the other morning and my daughter ran to my bedroom saying that water was all over the floor. I walked in to see that the water was squirting out from the pipe, out of my sink cabinet, onto my floor. There was water all over the kitchen floor and my living room (as they are connected together). I cleaned it up and blew a fan over it to dry it up quicker. That very day I noticed a soft spot (hallow feeling, bouncy under my foot, weak...) and it wasn't there before. It was about the size of my foot. 2 days later the area has expanded some. It feels like there is nothing supporting this area underneath. It had to be caused by the water cause it wasn't like that until the water got on my floors. Now that I am looking up laminate flooring on the computer, I see that water can cause humps or rised spots(which the water did that too in one area) but what about spot, weak spots? Is it the floor under the flooring that is messed up? Please help! I don't want my kids or me to fall through the floor!

Answer 1

Okidokey, you're in a modular home...

MOST true 'modulars' use plywood as the subfloor.  Some however, use particle board.  Judging from the symptoms youve mentioned, I'd guess you've got particle board, with how quickly you felt the soft spot.

One quick note... a modular home is designed to have the steel transport frame removed from the home once it is at the home site.  A mobile home's steel frame is integral to the structure and cannot be removed.  So...if you've still got the steel frame under your home, you don't have a 'modular', you have a 'mobile' home, and it is even more likely, to have a particle board sub floor.

Particle board sub floors, when subjected to flooding, will sag, or even buckle, and will need to be replaced.  I would replace them with a good exterior grade plywood in areas where flooding could occur, like a bathroom, or kitchen.

You may also find the laminate flooring will be swelling, and warping, due to the flooding.  These often have an mdf backer, and it tolerates water even less than particle board flooring.

I've done this type of work, many times.  I would suggest removing the damaged laminate flooring, saving what can be salvaged.  Perhaps you can use some of it to replace what was damaged in the second room.  Hopefully, you have some stuck back in a closet, just for this purpose.  While the laminate flooring is up, I'd cut out the damaged sub-floor, and replace it.  I like to add extra cross bracing between the floor joists, around the perimeter of the opening, to prevent flexing of the sub-floor.  Joist hangers help a lot, by the way.

If you need a more detailed answer, feel free to email me directly.

Good Luck

Answer 2

If it was installed on a proper sub-floor no one will fall through. Laminate floors are made with sawdust and binders (glue). When they get wet they suck up water like a sponge and then when dry they fall apart as the binders fail. This is why laminates are never good for areas that can get wet. Replacement is kind of hard. Sorry, no good answers. If it were me I would rip out the laminate in the entire kitchen and replace it with tile, linoleum or vinyl flooring.  

Answer 3

Your floor should be fine what you can do is put some nails were the floor is uneven to make it even agian untill you are ready to get someone to check the floor out Good Luck

Answer 4

Hi, I also love the durability of laminate floors but water is its worst enemy. It can be repaired but its no easy task. If you have the type that is glued at the joints its very difficult. If you have the snap together type its a do it yourself repair. It really doesn't take very much water to cause this type of floor to expand. Hopefully the last owner had left some leftover flooring because this will tell you what type you have. I wish you luck. The other option is turning into your homeowners because a repair done by a professional may be more than your deductable.