Click-Lock Flooring Problems You Should Know About Before Using It In Your Home

Floating floors have revolutionized the flooring industry with click-lock systems that put installing beautiful floors within the average homeowner's DIY range, and these floating floors can be installed just about anywhere in your home. You didn't need many tools or any arcane knowledge... just a tapping block and the patience to learn how to cut around doorways. Lots of types of flooring are available in click-locking formats – luxury vinyl, engineered wood, bamboo, laminate, and even solid wood and solid bamboo. Every manufacturer's click system is a little different, including some hardwood systems that use an external track, but they're all pretty easy to get the hang of.

There are, however, a few common problems to be aware of before you commit to a click-lock floating floor. Every type of flooring has its own characteristics, but some is certainly prone to being a bit noisy, whether from squeaking, clicking, or crackling boards to a habit of amplifying other sounds. Soundproofing underlayment is your friend here, along with carefully following the manufacturer's installation instructions.

Another big issue is moisture, and it's actually two different issues. The moist obvious, and usually the easiest to cope with, is standing water introduced to your floor by spills, leaks, and the occasional ill-considered water balloon fight. Because a floating floor isn't fixed firmly in place, water can cause boards to warp, buckle, and separate. Some floors are more susceptible to this than others, but even some vinyl plank flooring can come unmoored when submerged. You might also find yourself dealing with a mold issue in short order. Dry spills promptly, and consider a variety of flooring that is water–resistant.

The other type of moisture issue is introduced via humidity, subfloor problems, and other frustrations that arise from floor preparation and installation mistakes. Click-lock floors rely on a properly prepped floor, the right underlayment, and an expansion allowance around the floor's edges so that moisture doesn't cause problems like curling and cupping. When a floor doesn't have a sufficient expansion allowance, expanding boards can peak at their joints when they have nowhere else to go. Some types of click-lock flooring require acclimation ... a period during which they're exposed to the native temperature and humidity of a room and can reach a sort of default level of expansion before installation. Incorrectly acclimated flooring can result in gaps between boards as a result of excessive shrinkage.

A properly prepared or even repaired subfloor is also crucial to dealing with ambient moisture and other challenges. A click-lock floor laid over a substrate that's not level can cause movement and strains that result in peaking or even failure of the flooring joints. You should also protect your floor from moisture during subfloor prep by installing moisture or vapor barriers where necessary, and using the manufacturer's recommended underlayment.

Sometimes flooring – and especially it's fragile click-lock mechanism – is directly damaged during installation, often as a result of improper installation tools or methods. Always use the tapping and locking techniques recommended by the manufacturer of your particular flooring. Damaged click-lock mechanisms will often contribute to other problems by weakening the floor.

Another sort of trouble spot to be aware of before you pull the trigger on click-lock flooring has to do with the challenges of making repairs. Repair difficulties vary a lot by flooring type and by the nature of the damage. Minor chips and scratches may be easily dealt with in situ, but boards that are more extensively damaged might require replacement, and that's where things can go badly. Particularly with rigid flooring, including some luxury vinyl plank floors, you could be required to remove a large portion of your floor in order to replace a damaged board ... and then, of course, install the removed part again. On the other hand, damage near a wall might not be a big deal, and there are techniques for replacing single boards with some types of flooring... including vinyl planks that can be heated and bent into place.

If you do go with click-lock flooring, preventing damage is your best route to avoiding repair challenges. Buy appropriate flooring for your household, and a quality sufficient not to be easily damaged during installation. Avoid moving heavy or sharp objects against your floating floor. Be cautious with putting heavy appliances like refrigerators on a floating floor, as they can interfere with the natural and necessary expansion and contraction of a floating floor. Install the floors properly as discussed above, and use T-molding transitions to create expansion joints between rooms. And protect the floor using manufacturer-recommended products like cleaners and sealants.