Laminate Floor Repair

Fix damaged laminate flooring

Introduction

Laminate flooring go a ding? Whether it's a small chip or a large divot, yous can repair it with simple, DIY techniques that brand the flooring expect as good as new.

Tools Required

Materials Required

  • Cleaning solvent
  • Actress flooring
  • Laminate floor patching material
  • Forest glue

Assess the laminate floor damage

You tin can ready modest chips and scratches in a laminate floor with filler products.

But if the damage is severe, you have to supercede the plank (y'all did save a few from the installation, correct?). It's a job you can do yourself in well-nigh 2 hours. In improver to a spare plank, you'll need a circular saw, hammer and chisel, router or tabular array saw, drill and wood glue.

Some floor experts recommend removing the base molding and unsnapping and numbering every plank until you go to the damaged portion. That works if the damaged plank is close to the wall. But trust the states, if the damaged section is more than a few rows out from the wall, it's actually faster to but cut it out.

If your laminate flooring is glued together, the unsnapping routine won't work at all. See "Replacing Glued Planks," below. Plus, check out our expert guide for installing laminate floor.

Project pace-by-step (7)

Stride 1

Replace 'snap-together' planks:

laminate floor repair

Remove the center section.Offset by drawing a cutting line 1-1/two in. in from all four edges of the plank. Drill a three/8-in. relief pigsty at each corner of the cut line and again 1/4 in. in from each corner of the plank.

Cutting out the center section with a circular saw, cut from hole to hole. Set the depth of your round saw a tad deeper than the flooring thickness. Then elevator the blade guard and dip the blade into the cutting line.

Footstep ii

Cut to the corners

replace laminate floor damage

Adjacent, cut from the center section into each corner, stopping at the drilled hole. Don't go whatsoever farther! Finally, cutting a relief cut from the center section out toward the seam of each plank. Tap a chisel into each relief cut to pause out the uncut portion. Then remove all the cut pieces.

Step 3

Remove the lesser lip

remove bottom lip laminate floor plank

The new plank has a groove at ane end and one side, as well as a tongue at the opposite end and side. But you can't install information technology until you cut off the lesser lip of both grooves and the side tongue. Score the natural language several times with a utility pocketknife. And so snap it off with pliers. Shave off any remaining scraps with your pocketknife.

Here's a tip for cutting the groove: Stick the blade inside the groove and cut off the lesser from the inside (or utilize a table saw).

Apply a bead of wood glue to all four edges of the new plank. Insert the glued tongue of the new plank into the groove on the existing flooring and driblet the plank into place. Wipe off any excess glue and load books on the plank until information technology'south dry.

Footstep 4

Replace glued planks:

replace glued laminate planks

Raise the flooring to gain leverage.Most of the early on laminate floors were fastened with gum. But that doesn't hateful you can't practice an 'in-identify' patch on those floors besides. Follow all the cutting directions shown for a snap-together floor.

Skid a dowel or scrap piece of floor under the seam. Grab the department with pliers and tilt it down until the glued seam cracks apart. Then snap it upward to interruption any remaining glue.

Step 5

The former glue has to go

remove glue from planks

Utilise a flat-blade screwdriver or modest chisel to bit out the old mucilage. Get the surfaces as smoothen as possible for a flush fit and a expert gum bond. Lay the new plank when done.

Pace vi

Repair pocket-sized damage in laminate floor:

Repair minor damage in laminate flooring

Scratches on Laminate Floor or Fries?

Drop a knife or other precipitous-edged item and you'll get an instant chip in your laminate floor. But you don't demand to call in a pro, because this repair is strictly DIY. If y'all have the chip or an extra plank, take it to a habitation middle or flooring supplier and match it up with a tube of laminate floor patching material. You may have to purchase the two closest colors and mix them to lucifer. While you lot're at that place, buy a matching make of cleaning solvent.

Clean the flooring with the solvent and let it dry. Adjacent, squeeze a dollop of laminate repair paste onto a scrap slice of flooring or a mixing board and mix it with a putty knife until it begins to dry. So press a shallow layer into the chip. Don't try to make full the unabridged chip in ane application. Clean off any excess with solvent. Let the showtime glaze set up for ane hr before applying the side by side.

Originally Published: September 30, 2022