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Gapping or Rafting Suddenly Appeared in Floor of Flat

Posted: Mon Dec 07, 2015 10:20 pm
by mapletreewizard
Hi guys,

I just need a second (or more!) opinion.

Quite literally overnight, a gap has appeared in between one of the panels on the bathroom floor in my flat (photo attached) and I have asked my landlord to get this fixed but he has refused, saying that I have either applied some kind of force to the floor or that I have spilled water on the floor to cause this to happen and I am therefore duty bound to pay for the 'damage'.

I have done some research and come across something common called gapping or rafting and, not being an expert on flooring in any sense, I wondered if someone could back this up. I'm interested to know if this is indeed due to the amount of general moisture in the air and a drying/shrinkage of the wood, combined with a poorly laid floor or if such a thing can be caused by pools of water or someone hitting the floor with an object.

Your opinion would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers.

Re: Gapping or Rafting Suddenly Appeared in Floor of Flat

Posted: Tue Dec 08, 2015 6:05 pm
by welsh brickie
its best not to use laminate flooring in bathrooms because of this problem, unless all the joints are glued, and it does not look like this has been done.
See if you can knock it back into place by kicking it, it sometimes works