All You Need To Know About How To Use Laminate Flooring In Basements
In the past, laminates were recommended only for high-grade basement installations with no issues with groundwater and flooding. However, with advancement of manufacturing techniques, now they are also used for flooring having issues with moisture.
A laminate floor is nothing, but a hybrid floor covering. It consists of a wood base, topped with transparent layers of wood. It contains a solid plastic core to avoid moisture. Laminate floors are quite popular among the other floor coverings, especially for living areas, kitchens, dining areas, hallways, bedrooms, and any other areas that are not prone to excessive moisture
Picking a Laminate Basement Flooring
Traditional laminates consist of three layers mainly a water surface, decorative, and a fiberboard backing. Often, backing is susceptible to moisture and can slowly twist into wraps and rot. Manufacturing technology is updated and the flooring companies near you can provide you with water-resistant laminates. They nestle on the decorative sheet and make tiles to resist all liquids.
Test for Moisture Before Installation
If you are not a professional or have any idea about flooring, it is recommended that you hire one of the professional flooring companies near you for installation. For example, 689 PTY LTD a Gold Coast Flooring Company can assist you with a free consultation and advice. Otherwise, you can find and contact flooring companies from Flooring Domain floor covering directories or Bleen an Australian local business directory. It is wise advice as well to spend some time and read a few articles about flooring and its installation on Flooring Domain international flooring directories and news website Before installation, you can make a simple plastic sheet test to check whether moisture is formed in a concrete slab or not as follows.
- Make squares with plastic garbage bags and tape them here and there to the basement.
- Wait for at least three days.
- Later, take off the squares and check whether moisture is accumulated at the bottom. If you find it then your basement is not ready for installing laminates.
- Flooring companies can offer advanced moisture tests by using chemicals, electric meters, and more.
- Whatever the test maybe they differ in accuracy and the testing process should be done again and again in various places in the basement.
Common Issues with Laminate Flooring for Basement
- Basement humidity
- Basements are humid due to the moist earth which makes atmospheric moisture condense.
- They can be muggy during rains because of the saturated soil.
- Humid air develops cracks causing laminate floors to wrap and even rot.
- Groundwater
- Any basement sub-floor will have a concrete slab down to the earth for giving a strong foundation to the structure.
- Due to a lack of vapor barriers, moisture slips from the ground to the floor.
- Below-grade flooding concerns
- Basements are susceptible to flooding for many reasons.
- Low areas are more prone to floods or heavy rainfalls during spring.
- This causes water to spill on the walls and subfloor.
- In homes, the malfunction of certain home appliances such as water heaters, and washing machines may create flooding.
How to Install Basement Laminate Flooring?
Laminate should be installed only after 60 days of pouring concrete basement. Always keep the installation environment at 60 F to 75 F, with 35 to 50 percent humidity or a minimum of 15 days before installation.
- Start sealing the concrete surface with a chemical agent to make an additional barrier between the laminate base and groundwater.
- Then flooring companies near you will layout a plastic 6-mil moisture barrier underlayment for protection.
- On the top install plastic underlayment foam.
- Then, install the laminate over the slab.
- Follow the instructions carefully given by the manufacturer and check for a warranty.