[Mhladner]

We are starting the installation of laminate flooring throughout our home. The floor is an 8mm snap with underlayment attached. The house is 30 years old on concrete foundation. The installer, who came recommended, is having issues with the first room. The room, the den, is 16 x 26 and the floor will run parallel to the longest side. He has used appropriate spacers on the wall but the floor was not staying snapped together tightly. He did about 1/3 and pulled it out and started over. He stopped on Friday after doing about 2/3 because of the continued uneveness of the boards on the long sides.. to me it appears they are just not fit in tightly. He is coming back on Monday with his rubber mallet. To this point he was not tapping the boards together at all and he works solo. Is the technique the problem?

What should I look for to determine if the product is the problem? We have 60 boxes of flooring and I will take it back. I looked at some of the boards and can't say that its perfectly straight when you look down it but its not really "warped". Others have suggested that it needs to be tapped in tighter and that its difficult to do a long room without a helper... any suggestions? I don't want to get further into this and be unhappy with the floor. Thanks. MHL

[Raymonator]

I've done a few laminates, and usually they snap quite easily together with a lift and push kind of action on the long side of the board. However, the ends of the laminate require a hook bar or S shaped tool that allows you to strike the tool that is placed at the end of the board firmly, but not hard enough to damage the butt the end of the laminate. You can purchase this kit at any good laminate flooring store for about 10 bucks.
However you say the problem is with the "long" side of the laminate, so I would check to make sure that the male groove and the female groove are not damaged, which would cause them to not fit tightly, if at all. I've seen where a whole batch or several bundles were damaged for various reasons, which often is the reason why they can't be used or snapped together. Take a close look at those male and female V connections or grooves. If they are damaged even slightly, take them back to your store for refund or replacement. Hope this helps.