Defects in laminated coating with a locking system. Three problems with laminate

On the collection of funds paid for goods of inadequate quality

In case No....

Accepted Industrial District Court of Samara (Samara Region)

1. On August 30, 2010, the Industrial District Court of Samara, consisting of:
2. presiding judge Nikonova O.I.,
3. under secretary Boldyreva A.V.,
4. Having considered in open court in the city of Samara civil case No.... on the claim of Aleksandr Alekseev Alekseev against Parket-Torg LLC for the recovery of money paid for goods of inadequate quality, losses caused by violation of consumer rights,

5. Installed:

6. Alekseev A.A. filed a lawsuit against Parquet-Torg LLC, in support of his claims he indicated that... years in the defendant’s store, in a shopping center... according to delivery note No.... he purchased Laminate Tarket voodette oak light sherwood in number of 39 packages for a total amount of 46,917 rubles. Within a month, the goods were delivered to him (350 rubles for delivery). In... years the laminate flooring was installed. However, during operation, deformation of the laminate occurred over the entire surface. Guided by the current legislation... of the year, he appealed to the director of Parquet-Torg LLC with a claim for the return of the money paid for goods of inadequate quality. ... without waiting for a response from the defendant for a year, he was forced to conduct an examination of the laminate (in the amount of 1,416 rubles and 472 rubles), according to which it was established that the Tarket laminate flooring had a manufacturing defect, which could be eliminated by replacing it with qualitative. This conclusion was handed to the defendant... years. Also, during the operation of the laminate, a wooden door was installed in the apartments, the installation of which costs 1,400 rubles, inserting a lock - 300 rubles, and in the event of dismantling the door block, the work of re-installing the door will amount to 2,100 rubles, of which: - dismantling the door block 200 rub.; installation of a door block 1400 rub.; repeated departure of the performer 500 rub. The plaintiff also installed a wardrobe - a compartment assembly and installation, which amounted to 3,000 rubles, the dismantling of which, according to the invoice from... the year will amount to 2,000 rubles. The defendant, by not returning the amount paid, not only violates his legal right, but also forces him to spend a lot of effort and time negotiating with him. Due to the need to conduct long, useless negotiations with the seller, he and his family members constantly experience severe nervous stress. Also, the money he paid for the laminate, which he lost the opportunity to use for its intended purpose, is his labor savings accumulated over many years of his working life. Based on the foregoing, he asks the court to recover from the defendant in his favor the money paid for goods of inadequate quality in the amount of 47,267 rubles, costs for conducting an assessment in the amount of 1,888 rubles, losses caused by violation of consumer rights in the amount of 7,100 rubles, a fine for non-compliance on a voluntary basis satisfy the consumer's demands in the amount of 28,127 rubles 50 kopecks, and in total recover 84,382 rubles 50 kopecks, collect from the defendant in his favor compensation for moral damage in the amount of 100,000 rubles.
7. At the court hearing, the plaintiff supported the arguments of his statement of claim, asked to satisfy the claim, also explained that the claim contained a technical error in indicating the date of laying the laminate, indicated that he laid the laminate before... a year, as evidenced by the sales receipt for his purchase additional packaging of laminate from the defendant. He also explained that he did not agree with the conclusions of the experts who carried out the forensic examination, since when laying the laminate he did not violate the manufacturer’s requirements specified in the instructions, there was no long-term storage of the laminate in his apartment, the laminate was not exposed to moisture, in addition, the expert did not open the laminate in each room, but found a flaw in the screed in only one room. He believes that the expert qualified the defects on the laminate flooring in the hallway as scratches; in fact, this is premature erasure of the laminate, which also indicates a manufacturing defect. He indicated that the defendant did not provide evidence that during the transportation of the laminate, it was not exposed to prolonged exposure to adverse weather conditions. He also explained that he doesn’t remember when he installed the wardrobe. He indicated that he had doubts that the laminate he bought from the defendant was actually made in Germany. He explained that the wallpaper in the kitchen and living room was hung after the laminate was laid.
8. At the court hearing, representatives of the defendant N.A., acting on the basis of a power of attorney, and V.V., who is the director of Parquet Torg LLC, acting on the basis of the Charter, objected to the satisfaction of the claims, asked to dismiss the claim, since it was established that the laminate, purchased by the plaintiff from Parquet Torg LLC does not have any manufacturing defects and its deformation occurred due to the plaintiff’s violation of the installation rules, as well as due to its improper operation. V.V. also explained that the laminate was delivered to the plaintiff on the same day when it was removed from the warehouse of Monarch Samara LLC, all the defects of the laminate, which are of a production nature, appear during its installation, and the plaintiff filed a claim only in December 2009.
9. Having listened to the persons participating in the case, studied the case materials, questioned O.G. as a witness, and V.Yu. as an expert, the court comes to the following.
10. According to Article 4 of the Law “On the Protection of Consumer Rights” dated 02/07/1992 N 2300-1, the seller (performer) is obliged to transfer to the consumer a product (perform work, provide a service), the quality of which corresponds to the contract. If there are no conditions in the contract regarding the quality of the product (work, service), the seller (performer) is obliged to transfer to the consumer a product (perform work, provide a service) that meets the usually required requirements and is suitable for the purposes for which a product (work, service) of this kind is usually used .
11. In accordance with Article 503 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, a buyer to whom a product of inadequate quality has been sold, if its defects have not been specified by the seller, has the right, at his own discretion, to demand: replacement of a defective product with a product of adequate quality; proportionate reduction in the purchase price; immediate, free of charge elimination of product defects; reimbursement of expenses for eliminating product defects. If defects are discovered in a product whose properties do not allow them to be eliminated (food products, household chemicals, etc.), the buyer, at his choice, has the right to demand the replacement of such a product with a product of adequate quality or a commensurate reduction in the purchase price.
12. In accordance with paragraph 1 of Article 18 of the Law of 02/07/1992 N 2300-1 “On the Protection of Consumer Rights”, the consumer, if defects are detected in the product, if they were not specified by the seller, at his own discretion, has the right to: demand a replacement with a product of the same brand ( the same model and (or) article); demand replacement with the same product of another brand (model, article) with a corresponding recalculation of the purchase price; demand a proportionate reduction in the purchase price; demand immediate free elimination of defects in the goods or reimbursement of costs for their correction by the consumer or a third party; refuse to fulfill the purchase and sale agreement and demand a refund of the amount paid for the goods. At the request of the seller and at his expense, the consumer must return the defective product. In this case, the consumer also has the right to demand full compensation for losses caused to him as a result of the sale of goods of inadequate quality. Losses are compensated within the time limits established by this Law to satisfy the relevant consumer requirements.
13. In accordance with paragraph 1 of Article 15 of the Law of 02/07/1992 N 2300-1 “On the Protection of Consumer Rights”, moral damage caused to the consumer as a result of violation by the manufacturer (performer, seller, authorized organization or authorized individual entrepreneur, importer) of consumer rights provided for by laws and legal acts of the Russian Federation regulating relations in the field of consumer rights protection are subject to compensation by the causer of harm if he is at fault. The amount of compensation for moral damage is determined by the court and does not depend on the amount of compensation for property damage.
14. The court found that... Alekseev A.A. purchased from Parquet-Torg LLC 39 packs of Tarket voodette laminate light sherwood oak manufactured in Germany, paying the defendant an amount of 47,267 rubles, which is confirmed by sales receipt No....
15. The court also found that Parquet-Torg LLC does not have its own warehouse on the territory..., and therefore uses the warehouse of Monarch-Samara LLC. ... year Monarch-Samara LLC (payer) received from TARKETT RUS LLC (supplier) laminated floors code 8130218 (woodstok 832 beige shrew.) manufactured in Germany in the amount of 112.28 sq.m. for a total amount of 42949 rubles 35 kopecks, which is confirmed by the invoice dated... year No.... ... of the year Parket-Torg LLC (payer) according to the invoice dated... year No.... M-00000129 received from Monarch-Samara LLC laminated floors code 81302218 (woodstok Light Sherwood Oak) in the amount of 312 pieces for a total amount of 33,804 rubles 41 kopecks. Based on the invoice No.... Parquet-Torg LLC delivered Laminate Tarkett voodette oak sherwood light, manufactured in Germany, to the plaintiff at the address: ....
16. From the plaintiff’s explanations it follows that he laid laminate flooring in his apartment for up to... a year. He does not remember the exact date the plaintiff received 39 packages of goods, and the defendant does not have this information either. Since Parquet-Torg LLC removed laminate flooring... from the warehouse of Monarch-Samara LLC, the defendant has no other place of storage, the court considers it established that the plaintiff received the goods... year.
17. ... year, the plaintiff purchased from the defendant an additional 1 package of laminate Tarket voodette oak sherwood light made in Germany for the amount of 1299 rubles, which is confirmed by a sales and cash receipt dated... year No.... ... the defendant delivered 1 package to the plaintiff laminate (8 pieces), which is confirmed by the delivery note dated... year No....
18. ... year, the plaintiff sent a claim to the defendant regarding the detected deformation of the laminate over the entire surface during operation, and asked to return the money paid for the goods no later than ... year. The said claim was received by the defendant... year ld.4).
19. ... the year the director of Parket-Torg LLC gave a response to the plaintiff, indicating a refusal to pay the amount for the goods, since the defendant believes that the laminate delivered to the plaintiff is of proper quality.
20. ... year, the plaintiff sent a notification to the defendant about his conducting an independent examination, which was scheduled for ... year.
21. According to expert opinion No.... State Unitary Enterprise of the Samara Region Bureau of Commodity Expertise from... year, expert T.A. concluded that the Tarket laminate flooring has a manufacturing defect, which can be eliminated by replacing it with a high-quality one. From this conclusion it follows that the specialist who prepared this conclusion by visual inspection discovered warping of the boards, which led to divergence of horizontal seams due to the elevation of the horizontal end and corners, thereby contributing to the formation of an uneven surface for laying the laminate, and when installing flooring from laminated boards, technological gaps and seams have been observed, no violations of installation conditions according to the instructions have been established.
22. In order to establish the reasons for the formation of defects on the Tarket voodette oak Sherwood laminate, purchased by the plaintiff from the defendant, and laid at the address: ..., the court appointed a commodity and construction technical examination at the Rating Scientific and Technical Center.
23. According to the conclusion of experts No.... NMC "Rating", based on the examination carried out from... year to... year, the presence of deformation at the joints of the laminate throughout the entire area of ​​the apartment was established. At the time of the inspection, repairs to the premises were not completed. When exposed to individual areas of the floor at the joints, there is sagging of the laminate. On the entire surface of the floor under the laminate there is a 3 mm thick polymer backing and a transparent polyethylene film that acts as a waterproofing 44 microns thick. When measuring the heights of the connected elements - end and longitudinal connections of the laminated floor covering, it was established that there were deviations that reached up to 0.4 mm in height at the joints of the laminate and 3.5-4 mm in the screed. During an external inspection of the laminate Tarket vudetok oak Sherwood light, Germany, laid at the address: ..., the following defects were revealed: over the entire surface of the floor, swelling of the edges of the laminated flooring and their lifting relative to the general plane of the floor. As a result, on individual elements there is mowing of corners and chipping of edges along the end surface. In some places at the joints and on the planes of the elements of the laminated flooring, there is a deflection of the plane. There are scratches on the laminate flooring between the children's room and the bedroom. The reasons for the formation of defects are as follows. The base of the laminate is made of rigid wood fiber board, pressed under high pressure and at elevated temperatures from finely crushed wood fiber with a polymer binder, therefore they have a low initial moisture content. When inspecting the apartment, traces of repairs were found, including wallpaper in two rooms, which creates prolonged high humidity in the room until it dries. When the edges of the laminate are exposed to high humidity, the wood fibers in the area adjacent to them gradually swell, as a result, the edges increase in thickness and rise relative to the general plane of the floor, as a result of which individual elements experience mowing of corners and chipping of edges along the end surface. Operational defect. The indicated defects are not allowed in accordance with Appendix E (mandatory) “Typical surface defects of laminate flooring elements.” In accordance with the instructions for laying laminate flooring elements, the base must be dry. It is not possible for experts to check the moisture content of the base at the time of laying the laminate flooring. The base must be level, unevenness of more than 3 mm on a meter length or 2 mm on a two meter length must be leveled. In fact, there were base unevennesses of more than 3 mm, which did not ensure a tight fit of the laminate flooring elements to the base and caused them to sag. Defect in laying elements of laminated coating. The specified defect does not comply with the instructions in paragraph “Before installation”. The buyer purchased and installed laminated flooring from one batch over the entire floor surface with the exception of a small area in the hallway. The presence of scratches was detected in only one place, which allows experts to draw a conclusion about the mechanical impact on the laminated floor covering during its operation. Operational defect. In accordance with the instructions in paragraph “After installation”, it is necessary to use protective pads and other precautions against mechanical influences on the furniture legs. In accordance with clause 1.1.4.4 “Requirements for the appearance of the decorative (top) surface of laminated coating elements” table No...., scratches are not allowed.
24. After analyzing the results obtained during the study, the experts came to the conclusion that all the identified deficiencies were of an operational nature.
25. The court found that the experts who carried out the forensic examination were properly warned by the court about liability for giving a knowingly false conclusion, which is confirmed by the signature they gave ld.74)
26. Questioned as an expert, V.Yu. at the court hearing explained that the information that the laying was carried out by the plaintiff in April 2009 was established from the case materials, since the plaintiff himself referred to this in his statement of claim, however, the plaintiff’s reference to the fact that he laid the laminate flooring before ... year cannot affect the conclusions of the examination, since after receiving the goods, it was stored at the plaintiff’s apartment, where repair work was not completed. She also indicated that if the laminate had been exposed to moisture before it was laid, the defects would have appeared within three months, but the plaintiff announced his claims only in... years. In addition, she indicated that the swelling of the laminate occurred along the edges, and if the laminate had been wet initially, then the swelling would have formed over the entire surface. She indicated that the unevenness of the tension caused the laminate to rise during operation and the floors to begin to “walk.” She also explained that she examined the defendant’s stores, which do not have their own places to store laminate; according to the explanations of the store employees, it was established that all the laminate was stored in the warehouse of Monarch-Samara LLC. During an expert study, she established that the warehouse of Monarch-Samara LLC is dry and heated.
27. Consequently, the expert confirmed the conclusions of the expert report; the court has no reason not to trust the testimony of the expert who was warned about criminal liability.
28. Under such circumstances, the court comes to the conclusion that the plaintiff’s demands for the return of money paid for goods of inadequate quality, costs of assessment, losses caused by violation of consumer rights, fines for failure to voluntarily meet consumer requirements are not subject to satisfaction in full, since during the trial it was not confirmed that the goods sold to the plaintiff (laminate Tarket voodette oak Sherwood light, Germany, installed at: ...) had manufacturing defects, but operational defects were identified. Consequently, the goods purchased by the plaintiff from the defendant were of proper quality.
29. The plaintiff’s reference to expert report No.... dated..., specialist T.A., as well as to her testimony given at the court hearing as a specialist, the court considers untenable, since during the study the expert of the Bureau of Commodity Expertise did not examine the correct installation of the laminate, therefore, I could not draw an unambiguous conclusion that there were no violations of the installation conditions according to the instructions.
30. The plaintiff’s argument that during the forensic examination it was necessary to dismantle the laminate in all areas of the apartment in order to determine the defect in the screed over the entire surface cannot be accepted by the court, since the expert study was carried out with the participation of all parties, as evidenced by the inspection reports from... year from... year and it was the plaintiff who gave his permission to dismantle the floor in a specific room.
31. The plaintiff’s reference to the fact that the defects of the laminate appeared much earlier than he submitted a written claim to the defendant is not supported by evidence; in addition, in the case materials, there is a copy of the cash receipt order (presented by the plaintiff), from which it follows that... he installed a wardrobe, therefore, when installing the furniture in September 2009, the plaintiff had no complaints about the laminated flooring laid in his apartment.
32. The plaintiff's reference to the agreement on shared participation in the construction of a multi-storey 3-section residential building No.... (according to the general plan) according to..., by which the plaintiff confirms that the developer under the agreement prepared the floor (leveling screed) in apartment No.... , is not sufficient evidence of the quality of the work performed to prepare the floor for laying laminate flooring.
33. Since during the trial the plaintiff did not provide evidence of the defendant’s guilt in violating his consumer rights, the claims for compensation for moral damage cannot be satisfied in full.
34. Based on the above, guided by Art. Art. 194-199 Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation, court

Laminate is quite common in modern apartments, as it is a coating that combines a pleasant appearance and low cost. Its advantage over linoleum is also that if any defects appear, you can get rid of them by simply replacing a separate board. What are the most common defects that can happen to laminate flooring and how to get rid of them?

Minor defects

Minor defects include the following damage: scratches from furniture, burn marks from cigarette butts, pressure dents, chips, etc. All of them can be eliminated in several ways:

Extensive defects

If there are a huge number of scratches on the laminate, a large burn spot, etc., i.e. those defects that can no longer be corrected using the methods described above, you will have to replace the damaged elements, because individual boards can also be purchased individually. But laminate flooring is laid, albeit from piece elements, but using a tongue-and-groove system, which is not intended for disassembly. Therefore, several ways have been found to carry out repair work so as not to harm the rest of the coating.

If the damaged part is located near the wall, then the best option would be partial disassembly of the coating. First, you need to dismantle the baseboard: it may turn out that the technological gap between the coating and the wall disappears, then it will need to be restored with a grinder or a chisel. Then we carefully remove the first board, while it is important not to damage the lock, and it is better to sign all dismantled boards so as not to confuse them during assembly. We disassemble the covering down to the damaged area, replace the old board with a new one, and assemble the rest of the covering, after which we install the plinth. This is a reliable method, which, however, requires due care from you.

If the damaged area is located closer to the middle of the room, then the task becomes more complicated, since it is quite difficult to remove a separate element connected by locks to others without damaging anything. To do this, we mark a rectangular window in the middle of the damaged panel: then we cut it out along the marked lines with a minisaw or chisel and carefully remove it, while it is better to cut the panel in some places all the way to the lock: this will make it easier to remove. The plinth, which is installed across the panels, must be dismantled, and the panel itself must be moved towards the wall until it stops. Now we clean everything, chamfer the lock, and on the new board we partially file the lock, about a third. Now we coat the edges on the floor with wood glue and carefully place a new board into the resulting hole, but in order to achieve a good fit on all sides, you need to lift one of the adjacent panels with a vacuum handle. Now we push the board away from the wall into its normal position and leave it to glue for about 30 minutes, and it is advisable to use vacuum handles for a more reliable connection.

Note that laminate flooring in the middle and high price categories is most repairable, since cheaper ones may not withstand dismantling and crumble.

Laminate is a floor covering made of several layers of fibrous material (usually paper is used) impregnated with melamine resins. This material first appeared in 1909 in Pittsburgh and was used as an insulator for electrical wiring.

Since 1920, Westinghouse Co. began to produce sheets of multi-layer paper and use them as tabletops. But the first laminate floor appeared only in the 80s in Switzerland. Now this is the youngest flooring material and occupies only 10% of the entire flooring market.

Sometimes it is called laminated parquet, although they have nothing in common. Because parquet is made from natural wood and is not laminated, but covered with a thin layer of special varnish.

Laminate characteristics

Laminate flooring is represented by many companies and firms. Properties and characteristics will easily satisfy any taste and suit any, even the most sophisticated interior.

This article gives you only the general properties, characteristics and classification of laminate, since each class has its own features unique to this class.

The size of laminated panels, which in professional circles are called laminate, can be different - the length is no more than 1.5 m and the width is up to 0.25 m. Each panel has a groove and a tenon along the edges to connect them to each other.

Laminate structure

It itself looks like a layer cake, which consists of 4 tightly glued layers:

1. The bottom one is unrefined or tarred paper that does not allow moisture to pass through. Stabilizes and protects the base layer. May have additional sound insulation or stand-alone underlay.
2. The main layer is wood fiber pressed into a board. The thickest of all layers, and therefore considered the main one. The standard thickness is 4 - 6 mm, there are options with a base layer thickness of 8 mm. This layer gives the panel rigidity and a clear shape. A connecting groove and tenon are made in it.
3. Decorative - special paper on which a pattern with imitation wood or furniture foil is applied. The pattern can be anything: the structure of various types of wood, marble, sand, wooden parquet, etc.
4. The top layer is melamine or acrylic resin that protects against abrasion. It can be made of 2 - 3 layers, the more layers the higher the performance characteristics.

It is the strength of the top layer that determines the class of the product.

Laminate classification

Laminated panels are divided into classes depending on the load they can withstand. The panels go through 18 tests: light fastness, wear resistance, smolder resistance, impact resistance, etc.

After passing all tests, the laminate receives a class from 21 to 34. 21 - 23 - for home use, 24 - 34 - commercial. Today, commercial grade panels are often used in homes.
Below is a table describing the classes of laminated floor panels:

Today, laminate is gaining increasing popularity among consumers, which is not surprising. After all, it has good load resistance and a long service life.

The cost of the material is quite affordable and at a price lower than finishing made of natural wood (parquet).
Average prices range from 240 to 500 rubles per square meter and depend on the class, country of production and the manufacturer itself.

When choosing flooring for your home, do not forget about such characteristics as:

Moisture resistance

If the laminate is moisture-resistant, then it should have a greenish tint (just like moisture-resistant drywall). This material is used for finishing rooms with high humidity - bathrooms, kitchens.

Its lining contains a substance that protects against the appearance of fungus, and the core of the panel is impregnated with substances that reduce water absorption. An example of a waterproof laminate is Kronoflooring and Egger made in Germany.

Water resistance

Waterproof laminate is produced by pressing under very high pressure. This coating can withstand even a large flood due to excellent sealing of seams (hot wax is used), the addition of wood dust to its composition and some other secrets that manufacturers do not share.
Manufacturers of waterproof panels can be counted on one hand: a German company - Witex and a manufacturer from Norway - Alloc.

Environmental friendliness

The production technology of laminated coatings is such that it is impossible to do without phenol-formaldehyde resins. Therefore, before purchasing a floor covering, read the hygienic certificate of the product and ask the seller about the chemical composition of the laminate. The phenol content should not be higher than 0.003 mg per cubic meter, and formaldehyde should not be more than 0.01 mg.

Guarantee

The guarantee applies to the top layer and is related to its class and the room in which it will be installed. If you want the laminate to serve faithfully for 15 - 20 years, use class 32 (15 - 20 year guarantee) for the kitchen and hallway, and for other rooms use 31. As a result, it turns out that the laminate flooring will last on average 15 years.

If you want to set it and forget it, then you need material with a lifetime guarantee, but this option will cost two to three times more. This coating is produced only by the Norwegian company Alloc.

Watch the video: HOW TO CHOOSE LAMINATE!? (secrets of choice)…

Laminate is rightfully considered one of the most practical floor coverings. After all, it is inexpensive, has a presentable appearance, and is quite resistant to various influences.

But still, from time to time, repairs to this floor covering may be required - sometimes cosmetic, and at times major. This is where a lot of people can get stuck.

It’s just that not everyone knows how to properly repair such a floor covering.

But this matter can be fixed...

Possible malfunctions of the laminate

Do-it-yourself laminate flooring repairs may be required in a number of different cases. And, so that it becomes clear to everyone what actions need to be taken if a certain malfunction is detected, the most common breakdowns should first be analyzed.

• Often there is such a laminate defect as various stains. True, the procedure for removing them would hardly be called a repair. But, on the other hand, many stains will require significant effort in the process of removing them. In addition, a stain can significantly spoil the appearance of such a floor covering.
• Next comes another common fault in the form of chips and scratches that have formed on the laminate. They can occur in the process of moving furniture, when any heavy things with sharp edges fall on the laminate, as well as as a result of contact of the laminate with the claws of pets and with metal shoe heels. Here you won’t be able to get by with ordinary shoe cleaning, since you will need a special repair compound for laminate flooring. The compositions that are used in such situations will be discussed below.
• Also common faults are the gaps between the laminate panels and various irregularities that appear on the floor. Among the reasons for this state of affairs is the laying of laminate flooring on a base surface that is not level. And also, the use of a substrate under the laminate that is not suitable or the lack of a gap between the laminate and the wall. All such problems are also solvable, but such a repair of laminate flooring will require colossal efforts.

And finally, the most serious of the malfunctions. This may include swelling of the laminate after a flood has occurred (often the culprit is the neighbors above, but sometimes the culprit is a burst aquarium), and also serious damage to the laminate panels.

Replacing all elements that are damaged can help here. How to repair and install laminate flooring in such situations will be discussed below.

We repair laminate flooring ourselves

Removing stains from laminate surfaces

During the production of laminate, as a rule, its surface is treated with various protective compounds. These products will prevent the deep penetration of various pollutants. Therefore, most stains from such floor coverings can be removed quite easily - with a dry or damp cloth.

And, if renovation work is in full swing in the apartment, various varnishes and paints, as well as mortars, will get on the laminate. The question immediately arises about how to wash the laminate after the repair has been completed?

For stains that are difficult to remove, there are several effective recipes:

• Stains from varnishes and paints from the floor covering (and renovation processes in apartments are almost never complete without such stains) can be removed using acetone or solvent.
• Nail polish can be cleaned with washing powder, a brush with medium-hard bristles and a few drops of water.
• Traces left by rubber heels can be easily removed using an eraser.
• Grease stains need to be cooled, the congealed grease should be scraped off, and its remains wiped off with an ordinary sponge, after moistening it in a product intended for washing dishes.
• But acid stains on laminate cannot be removed with anything. If you are unlucky with them and happen to burn through one or several panels at once with acid, there are no options left other than repairing the laminate by replacing panels that are damaged.

Removing chips and scratches

Chips and scratches on laminate flooring will not pose much of a problem. If the scratch is not so deep, in order to eliminate it, you need to use a wax pencil that exists specifically for this purpose.

You need to draw a pencil over the scratch, filling it with the material from which the pencil itself is made. After the scratch is filled, you need to polish the area using a clean flannel.

Please pay attention! The shade of the pencil intended for repair will have to match the color of the laminate itself. Therefore, when you go to purchase such a pencil, you need to take a sample of the coating in order to more accurately “get into color.”

And especially for large chips, one pencil will not be enough, since a special kit for repairing laminate flooring will be required. The cost of quality sets is quite high. However, repairs will ultimately cost much less than replacing panels.

The designated set is used as follows:

• The area is cleaned and degreased, and its edges are protected using masking tape;
• A white repair paste intended for laminate is squeezed onto a non-absorbent surface, after which you need to add pigments from the jars that are included in the repair kit. The instructions for such a set, as a rule, contain a special palette, which allows you to determine more precisely the proportions of pigments for mixing;
• The pigment paste is mixed evenly to achieve the desired color. Using a spatula, it is necessary to fill the damaged area with the resulting mass.

After the repair compound has been applied, you need to remove the tape and clean the floor around the damage itself. Often, the floor can be used an hour after the paste has been applied.

Large-scale renovation

After the neighbors above have poured laminate flooring, repairing it will take a significant amount of time, as will large-scale leveling of such flooring. In addition, this will also take a lot of financial resources. It is necessary to be aware of how to repair laminate flooring in case of serious damage.

If one laminate panel is damaged, it can be replaced. For this action you will need:

• Removing the damaged panel by sawing out the outer part of the laminate lock using a circular saw. You will need to use a flat chisel to pry the panel that has been cut out;
• Cleaning the locks of adjacent panels from debris and dust using sandpaper. Dust must be removed from under the laminate using a vacuum cleaner;
• Then a panel is taken that is identical in shade to the one removed. If a panel from this batch is not available, it is possible to remove the panel from the floor in an inconspicuous place. For example, behind the bed or under the closet. You need to insert the panel in place of the removed one. It is required that it roughly matches the color (it won’t be visible anyway), but now in your hands, it’s a perfect replacement!;
• You need to cut off the lower edges of the groove from the new panel, inserting it in place of the panel that is damaged, securing it with glue.

In the event that several different panels are damaged at once (for example, when the floor swells, in the case of moisture ingress), you will have to replace these panels by dismantling the floor from one edge of the room. Of course, this requires removing the baseboard.

In the event that the reason for the swelling of the floor covering lies not in swelling, but in the absence of a gap between the wall and the laminate, it will be enough to remove the baseboard and, using a circular saw, trim the outer panels by a few millimeters. The floor will be smooth again in two days.

And in order to level the floor under the laminate, it is necessary to completely dismantle all the panels at once, as shown in the video, and then dismantle the substrate under the laminate. After the floor is dismantled, it is leveled using a cement screed or plywood. Only on a perfectly leveled floor can the laminate be laid again.

Laminate operation and care

Despite the fact that quite a lot of different defects and damage to laminate were discussed above, it is a fairly stable floor covering.

If you want not to spend a long time repairing laminate flooring, we can strongly recommend following these rules:

• You should try not to drop heavy things and hard objects that have sharp edges onto the laminate and be sure to lay a backing under the laminate;
• Especially for the legs of heavy furniture such as chests of drawers or cabinets, we recommend purchasing special protective pads made of plastic, rubber or cork. Such overlays can protect the laminate from a lot of damage due to long-term static load.

Advice! If you use furniture with wheels, it is best to replace them with rubberized ones, as they are more gentle.

• The less sand and dirt that gets on the laminate, the better. For this reason, a simple rug in the hallway will significantly extend, without loss of appearance, the service life of the laminate flooring as a whole;
• In order to clean and wash laminate flooring, it is necessary to use special products, since they do not include abrasive particles and will not damage the outer laminate layer;
• We should strive to minimize the contact of the laminate flooring with liquid. If something has been spilled on the laminate, you need to wipe up the liquid as soon as possible.

Indeed, in any case, repairing a laminate that is already damaged (even in the case of cosmetic repairs of the coating without disassembling it) is quite an expensive and troublesome task, which is best not to go through with it. If the problem has already been detected, we hope that the information obtained from this article will help you!