Flooring · Flowood showroom
Laminate Flooring, Laid Flat and Fitted Tight
Laminate on the right underlayment, with the expansion gap hidden under the base or quarter round instead of pinned by it. Free estimates within our area, residential and commercial.
Chapter 01
The Hollow Sound and Peaked Joints of a Rushed Laminate Job
A laminate floor that sounds hollow underfoot, or that has a visible ridge peaking up at the seams, almost always traces back to the same mistake: the boards were pinned down tight against a wall or a doorway with no room to move. Laminate expands and contracts with the season, and if the expansion gap around the edge of the room gets trapped under a baseboard or a threshold that was set before the floor was laid, the floor has nowhere to go but up at the joints.
The other place we get called out to is water. A dishwasher that weeps slowly, or an exterior door that lets rain track in during a Mississippi storm, will swell a laminate core faster than almost anything else in the house. Neither problem shows up on install day. Both show up months later as a floor that used to lie flat and now doesn't.
Wood-look flooring samples standing between display panels in a flooring showroom
Flattening the Subfloor and Hiding the Expansion Gap
Before laminate goes down, we flatten the subfloor and set the right underlayment for the room, which is what keeps the click-lock joints from working themselves loose under foot traffic. The expansion gap around the perimeter gets left where it belongs and then covered by base or quarter round, so the floor has room to move and nobody ever sees the gap that lets it.
At doorways and transitions into tile or hardwood, we set the trim clean so there is no lip to catch a foot or a chair leg. Water-sensitive spots like the kitchen and any exterior door get called out at the estimate, not discovered after the fact, so you know going in where a laminate floor is the right call and where it isn't.
Most owners pick laminate after standing at the showroom on Lakeland Drive holding a sample next to a hardwood plank and a vinyl tile side by side, because it is easier to judge the color and the grain pattern in person than off a swatch card. A lot of those same visits end with a countertop chosen the same afternoon, since the counter samples sit a few steps away from the flooring wall. Laminate holds up in commercial spaces too, offices and light-traffic retail especially, where the budget matters and the floor still needs to look sharp.
Chapter 03
Living With Laminate Day to Day
Wipe up spills as soon as you see them. Laminate handles a quick pass with a damp cloth fine, but standing water sitting at a seam overnight is exactly what swells a core and starts the peaking we described above. Skip the steam mop entirely; the heat and moisture work against the same joints the underlayment is meant to protect.
Felt pads under chair and table legs keep the wear layer from scuffing over time, especially in a kitchen or dining room where chairs move every day. If a floor you already own is starting to show the problems above, call (601) 591-0902 or stop by 4211 Lakeland Dr in Flowood and we'll tell you honestly whether it's a trim fix or a re-lay.
Ashley's Flooring & Decorating, 4211 Lakeland Dr, Flowood. Open Mon-Fri 8:30 AM to 4:00 PM. Call (601) 591-0902 for a free estimate, or bring a cabinet door or a photo of the room by the showroom.