Peaking: Peaking is a common problem of the floating floor, which hampers the natural-looking of the floating floor. In this type of problem, plank boards expand and if there is no space to expand then it bumps out and the floor is slightly lifting. If there is no expansion happens then the upper side of the board will rise.
Warping and Buckling: Moisture is the main cause of warping and buckling in the floating floors. Do not use excess water for cleaning purposes of the floor because if you use less water to clean then the buckling and warping changes will also reduce. You need to take proper care about no liquid should be entered into the gap between two floating boards.
Mould: This is another huge problem of floating floors where the existence of bacteria or fungi on the upper portion of floating floor. This situation is only happens when the moisture or humidity of that room is constantly rising or higher than normal room.
Floorboard Gaps: This type of problem appears when the floorboards are pulled away from each other and creates different gaps. Generally this type of problem arises when there is a huge difference in temperature.
Edge Chipping: This is one of the major problem and it destroys the aesthetic beauty where some gap creates and there is the chance or place to grow mold.
The mentioned concrete slab, where the floating floor construction will be done, needs to be fully dry and cleaned perfectly.
That concrete surface need to be smooth enough, flat and no projections should be allowed. Beams on the floors or any kind of blockage should be perfectly measured and take necessary action. Irregularities should not exceed 5 mm at the time of measuring 3-meter straight edge.
At first a thin layer of cement-sand mortar is used, leveling screed is used to level the surface. If the boards tend to slip then you need to provide at least 1 day time for hardening.
If no damp proofing membrane or damp proofing coarse is applied then you need to provide a damp proofing material for extra safety purposes. The damp-proof material should be used like 300 microns and 1200 gauge polyethylene. The joints must be strong enough to resist the groundwater pressure.
The membranes should be placed at the height of the wall so that it acts as a DPC (Damp Proofing Course).
At the battens, any type of softwood is used and it is generally used at the doorways. The top of the battens are being flushed by the insulation boards.
The insulation boards act as a vapor-controlling layer. Here, a polyethylene sheet is provided and use as a slip resisting layer.
At the time of installation, 2 mm expansion gap at 2 meter run of floor or 10 mm swell which is greater, we take into our calculation.
Before placing the floating boards, we need to apply an adhesive PVA material on the top of the battens and the joints.
After placing the floating boards, we need to place some wedges to maintain the tightness of the joint between the wall and the floor.
When the wedge is removed then cork or polyethylene foam is sued as a filler material. After that skirting work should be done.