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In this video I want to alert you to a problem, a potential problem with laminate floors
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and help you avoid that problem or fix it after the fact
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Now these days, laminate flooring has what they call click edges, which is interlocking edges that when they're together they don't come apart
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And those edges on this flooring exist along the edge of each piece of wood
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But the ends just have regular tongue and groove edges that interlock but they don't lock
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So many times people will see something like this and they'll think, oh, my laminate flooring has shrunk
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But that's not actually what's happening at all. Under foot traffic, this piece of wood here, this piece of laminate has slid away
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And that's why we have this gap. So, recommendation number one, choose a laminate with end grooves that actually lock together
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Not just interlock, but they click together so they can't pull apart
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Now, if you've got your heart set on using a laminate without that kind of end joint
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then put a little bit of glue in the tongue and groove edges when you're installing it
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That will solve this problem. Now, I learned this the hard way because this laminate's in my own home
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So, the next best thing you can do is to apply a little bit of glue to the tongue and groove
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It doesn't really take a whole lot. Just regular wood glue is fine
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And you kind of work it in as best as you can
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I've pulled this joint apart as much as I can. This sort of thing does tend to happen more in the winter than in the summer
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because the tension of the regular click edges gets a little bit weaker because of the dry conditions
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And this should just push together like that. And we'll wipe this off
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And no more problems. But like I said, you can avoid this by choosing a floor with ends that lock together
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or by gluing the ends during installation. That will save you a lot of trouble
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Or you can get down on your hands and knees like I've just done and fix it after the fact
