Studio Flooring

earthpanther started this discussion · 5/19/2010

Hey everyone, We're having a major issue with the floor at the studio I work at and I need some info. We're trying to figure out if the installation of the floor was bad or if the flooring just can't handle the poles. We have a floating laminate floor. In some places corners are popping up and in others the boards are pulling apart both lengthwise and widthwise creating unsafe gaps on the floor. We have 7 permanently installed poles. Any other studios have flooring issues? How did you solve them? Thanks!!!

8 replies

amy · 5/19/2010
hey earthpanther-- sorry to hear abut that. how big is the studio? where is the damage occurring? is it possibly getting wet/water damage? what was the flooring installed on top of? how level were your floors to begin with? how did the installers finish the edge of the floor, where the laminate meets the wall?
earthpanther · 5/19/2010
Thanks for replying amyxshi. I will try to answer your question to the best of my ability. Our studio is approximately 800 sq. ft. It is an office building and we are on the second floor. I am relatively certain that water damage is not an issue. The laminate is installed over the top of very low pile carpet (like in offices). I'm not sure how level the floor was to begin with. That is a good point. Not really sure how the edge is finished since it is hidden by trim. Thanks for any input/thoughts/ideas you ladies have.
amy · 5/19/2010
yikes.... sorry to tell you this... but unless the carpet pile is VERY short (less than 1/4" total thickness for carpet), and unless the carpet was glued down directly to a plywood subfloor or the concrete slab, you really shouldn't install laminate over carpet--especially for a high traffic pole dance studio! the damage you're describing sounds exactly like what i would expect for an installation on a carpet that has too much give (and it may even have a carpet pad underneath)-- causing the laminate to be unstable. you're going to have to rip up the flooring and carpet and re-do the flooring directly on the subfloor or concrete slab below. 😕 🙁
earthpanther · 5/19/2010
Thanks again amyxshi!!! Don't feel bad. I work there, I don't own it. The landlord of the building is responsible for the flooring and we're having a rough time convincing him there is something wrong and that something needs to be done about it. He probably just doesn't want to spend the money to do it right. A quick note; the carpet pile is extremely short, not sure if it is directly glued to the underlayment though.
Mary Ellyn · 5/20/2010
We have laminate flooring with removeable Xpoles which I would think have more potential to cause problems, IF ANY, on a floating floor since a permanent pole should have little to no shifting on top of the floor. Anyway, Amy may have different knowledge but it's been my understanding when we installed the same floors both at home and the studio, that the underlament needs to be relatively level, in good shape and the only thing that goes under the laminate flooring is a very thin foam underlayment made especially for these floors. From what I've seen on the internet as well, some people have tried to install over carpet but al most every reference I saw to it said not to do it in any circumstance and the manufacturers recommend against it too. Sounds like it's an installation problem and if they didn't do the underlayment correctly they probably didn't do other things correctly.
nymphdancer · 5/20/2010
I've actually been doing a lot of research on this right now for my home studio area, and what amy said is what I have found most company's say, you can install over glued down carpet with a pile of less then 1/4 of an inch. Installing over a regular carpet or any carpet with pad is not recommended and will void the warranty. Armstrong does say it can be installed as stated above, carpet of less then 1/4 inch pile that is glued down with no pad. Although some installers won't install over carpet period because they don't want to be responsible if it doesn't hold up. Looks like we will be ripping up our carpet to put down laminate here at the house. I was sort of hoping to put it in over the short pile carpet we have but we do have a pad underneath, which means this will only be going in the pole area, because I think it is going to make my house too cold to do the whole living room. 😢
amy · 5/20/2010
sorry, to clarify-- a laminate flooring should always be installed over the manufacturer's recommended underlayment pad. not all manufacturers require an underlayment, it does depend on whether you are installing over plywood subfloor or concrete, how level the floor (concrete slab) is to begin with, and part of it is preference-- there are several different types (sound deadening, waterproofing, etc). you should make sure to ask your installer what they recommend and double check with the manufacturer that they are planning to use.
PsychoticAndrea · 5/24/2010
I had this problem with a house.. We had laminate flooring and it began rising up.. The problem was water damage. Carpet should never be below laminate not matter what size they say or what type blah blah its a big no no. I would suggest to remove the whole floor, remove the carpet, vacum and scrap the bits of any uneven padding. Then get an inspection for water damage, since that is mostly the cause for it to RAISE up. When I was installing mine on ground level I just used polyethylene foam underlayment which worked perfectly. Polyethylene foam underlayment is good for 2nd+ floors while the other underlayment is suggested for basement and ground levels. But if you DO have water damage do use both, foam and and underlayment with vapour-barrier, which will help with prevention of moist, humindity, and water issues.