Problems With Laminate Flooring And How to Avoid Them

Anyone who’s searched for laminate flooring problems or has experienced them will recognise the same familiar signs: joins lifting, edges swelling, or a ridge forming through the middle of a room. I’ve seen the lot.

Let me explain why laminate copped such a bad rap in Australia: the truth is, the early issues weren’t caused by laminate being a “bad product”; they were caused by how we installed it, what we installed it over, and the race to the bottom with cheap cores.

I’ve seen this category rise, fall, and make a quiet comeback. Modern laminate is making a huge comeback and is nothing like what people remember from the early 2000s. Clearly, Laminate has its pros and cons. But to understand why laminate behaves the way it does, and how to stop it misbehaving, you’ve got to know where things went wrong.

So let me walk you through the fundamental problems with laminate flooring, why they happened, and the simple steps that fix almost all of them.

Overview:

The Snapshot

If you just want the short version, here it is:

• Most laminate problems come from moisture, not the product.
  Moisture entering the core through the joins is what caused all those “swollen edges” we all remember.
• Laminate flooring on concrete problems start with missing builder’s plastic.
  When the industry removed builder’s plastic, moisture crept into joins and the category fell apart.
• Cheap laminate cores were the silent killer.
  Lower-density boards couldn’t handle Australian moisture levels.
• Raft size, expansion gaps and acclimatisation matter.
  Laminate grows with environmental moisture, so the installation must allow movement.
• Most problems installing laminate flooring come from ignoring the basics.
  Skipping tanking, forcing boards together, or installing over uneven slabs creates 90% of failures.
• Modern laminate is genuinely good again.
  With AC4/AC5 surfaces, better cores and improved click systems, you can get a tough, stable floor; if you install it properly.

Why Laminate Flooring Had Problems in Australia

Let me take you back a bit, because to understand laminate flooring problems today, you need to know where laminate flooring started and where it went wrong.

When laminate first arrived in Australia, it came from Sweden (invented in 1977): a completely different climate, completely different building methods. Early European laminates were actually quite moisture-resistant for their time. The real problems didn’t start until the category took off and cheaper products began flooding the market, especially from China and some lower-end European factories.

That’s when laminate copped a bad rap. And to be honest, it deserved some of it, but most of it came down to moisture.

Let me walk you through the major issues and why they happened.

Moisture Ingress and Swelling Edges

The number one historical problem with laminate flooring was moisture entering the core, primarily through the joints. Once moisture gets in, the board swells, the edges lift, and you’re stuck with that classic “puffy” laminate look that everyone remembers from the early 2000s.

The question is: why did this become such a big issue in Australia?

There were two main reasons:

1. We stopped using builder’s plastic.

   Back then, you’d lay builder’s plastic over the slab, then put your underlay on top, then the laminate. Builder’s plastic is 100% waterproof. But once underlays started being manufactured with membranes glued to their underside, the industry removed the builder’s plastic… because everyone assumed the membrane was just as good. It wasn’t.

2. Cheaper laminate cores hit the market.

   Once the category took off, builders wanted a cheaper alternative to tiles. Cheaper cores meant more moisture sensitivity. Combine that with the sudden disappearance of waterproof builder’s plastic, and you have a recipe for swelling edges everywhere.This is why the entire laminate category unfairly got tarred with the same brush; the bad products dragged the good ones down with them.

How to Prevent Moisture Problems: Tanking the Floor

If you take one thing away from this entire section, let it be this:

Always tank the floor. In other words, use a plastic membrane.

I don’t care if your underlay already has a membrane built in; I still recommend throwing down a layer of builder’s plastic, running it 100 mm up the walls, installing the floor, and trimming it back at the end.

This stops moisture evaporating from the slab and sneaking up into the joins where laminate is most vulnerable.

It costs next to nothing, and it prevents 90% of historical laminate failures.

Scratch Resistance, AC Ratings & High-Gloss Laminate Issues

Back in the day, laminate had another problem: scratch resistance vs appearance.

Here’s how it worked:

• AC1 → softer, clearer visual
• AC2 → same
• AC3 → medium durability
• AC4/AC5 → very tough surface, but the print underneath used to look foggier or muted

So installers and homeowners often choose lower AC ratings for cosmetic reasons, which leads to more scratching. This is mostly a non-issue today. Modern AC4 and AC5 laminates look better than old AC3 ever did. The clarity is there, and the durability is far superior.

If you’re shopping for laminate, my opinion is simple:

Don’t even bother with AC3 anymore. Go straight to AC4 or AC5.

Problems With High-Gloss Laminate Flooring

• Let me be blunt: high-gloss laminate shows everything.
• Every speck of dust, every micro-scratch, every cleaning streak.

It’s not that the product is faulty; it’s just that a mirror-gloss surface reflects light so well that even tiny imperfections look dramatic. If you’ve got kids, pets or sandy shoes coming through the house, a high-gloss laminate will keep you busier than a barista at 7:30 am on Monday.

If someone wants low-maintenance or lives in a dust-prone area, I steer them clear of gloss finishes every time.

Expansion Problems: Raft Size and Environmental Moisture

Laminate absorbs environmental moisture, not just liquid water. The air in a humid home is enough for mould to grow slightly over time.

If the raft (the floating floor area) is too big and you haven’t followed the manufacturer’s maximum dimensions, the flooring grows until it hits something and then forms a peak.

You’ve probably seen it:

• A raised ridge in the middle of the room
• Boards lifting
• A “speed bump” effect under your feet

Manufacturers give raft-size limits for a reason. It isn’t negotiable.

And if you’re installing in a very humid or very dry area, let the laminate acclimate for a while before laying it. Let it move before you lock it into place.

Locking & Installation Mistakes

This is where a lot of DIY jobs and rushed installs fall apart.

Laminate click systems today are strong, but they’re not indestructible. The problems I see most often come back to installers doing one of the following:

• Forcing the boards instead of angling them in cleanly
• Hammering the locking system from the wrong direction
• Dragging planks into place, which snaps or weakens the joint
• Laying laminate on a slab with dips, putting pressure on the locking system
• Skipping builder’s plastic, allowing moisture to attack the join from underneath
• Installing the same day the product arrives, before acclimatisation

Most “locking laminate flooring problems” aren’t caused by the click system itself; they stem from the subfloor or from an installer rushing through the job.

If the slab isn’t flat, or you’re installing outside raft-size rules, no click system in the world will save you.

Laminate Flooring and Repair

Laminate isn’t like timber; you can’t sand it, refinish it or resurface it. So the repair options depend entirely on what went wrong.

Here’s the honest breakdown:

Swollen edges or puffy boards

This means moisture got into the core. You can’t repair swollen laminate; the affected boards must be replaced, the moisture source fixed, or the problem will return.

Peaking in the middle of the room

Often caused by:

• No expansion gap
• Furniture trapping the floor
• Raft size too big

The fix is usually to relieve pressure around the perimeter, reset trims or adjust the floor at the edges.

Scratches

Small scratches can sometimes be disguised with colour-matched pens, but deep scratches won’t disappear. In most cases:

• If it’s minor → live with it
• If it’s obvious → replace the plank

This is why AC4/AC5 is worth the upgrade.

Gaps between boards

• If caused by incorrect installation or environmental moisture, sometimes boards can be pulled back together.
• If caused by damage to the locking system → the plank needs replacing.

Why Laminate Is Actually Fantastic Today

Modern laminate has solved almost all the early issues:

• Cores are far more moisture-resistant
• AC ratings are higher with better clarity
• Edge sealing and click systems have improved dramatically
• High-quality laminates now behave almost like waterproof floors when installed correctly

So the category went from being the “bad guy” of flooring to being one of the best value-for-money products on the market, as long as you install it properly and protect it from subfloor moisture.

If you’ve stuck with me this far, you’ve probably realised something important: Most problems with laminate flooring never came from the laminate. They came from the site. Modern laminate is nothing like the stuff that flooded the market 20 years ago.

Today’s AC4 and AC5 laminates are tough, stable, visually sharp and incredibly good value when they’re installed the right way. Tank the floor, follow raft-size rules, give it room to breathe, and laminate becomes one of the most reliable floating floors you can put in a home.

Floors are meant to be lived on, not babysat. Get the prep right, choose a decent product, and the laminate will look after you for years.

If you ever want help choosing a laminate that’ll actually suit your home, or you’re comparing laminate vs hybrid and not sure what’s best for your subfloor, we’re always here to help.

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