Homeowners in recent times prefer DIY to professional renovations to cut down costs while achieving style and elegance. DIY installations come with many concerns, especially if you are working on your floors. You do not want to install your floor, only for it to collapse after a few months or years, which is why I will help you understand how much weight laminate flooring can take.
So, how much weight can laminate flooring take? Laminate flooring can support up to 500 pounds per square foot. Above this weight, your laminate flooring will sustain permanent damage such as warping and scratching. The amount of weight laminate can take will depend on certain factors, including the type of laminate, the weight of the objects you put on it, and the installation method.
Normally, putting too heavy furniture or appliances on laminate flooring will strain the joints causing them to collapse, especially floating laminate. Also, placing heavy furniture wrongly on your flooring will deny the flooring material space to expand and contract, explaining the warping and buckling, which compromises durability.
With DIY installations becoming the norm, this guide will help you avoid potential flooring problems by understanding how much weight laminate flooring can take, whether you can put kitchen appliances on laminate flooring, whether the floating floor can go under appliances, and if a refrigerator can sit on a floating floor.
People tend to put tables, cupboards, closets, tables, and other heavy items on the floor, and this can last for decades, depending on your type of flooring. When installing your flooring, durability is paramount, and one of the ways to ensure this is by checking that your flooring can accommodate the weight of your furniture. I will help you know the amount of weight laminate flooring can take to guide your next home renovation.
Laminate flooring can accommodate 300-500 pounds per square inch. Exceeding 500 pounds will cause dents on your flooring. As such, be careful with heavy and bulky furniture and appliances such as the piano, which is around 600 pounds. Items above 500 pounds will put too much pressure on your flooring, causing the breakage, not to mention the security implications of this weight if your home is a story building.
To ensure your laminate flooring survives the heavy objects in your home, you should prioritize proper installation, including the subfloor. Proper installation makes your flooring appealing and prevents other damages that may result from poor installation. You should also prepare your subfloor properly, ensuring an even layer free from dirt, dust, and debris.
The quality and type of laminate will also dictate how much weight it can handle. However, the weight limitation in laminate does not extend to hardwood laminate floors. Unlike standard laminate, engineered hardwood laminate is designed in such a way that it can handle heavy furniture and high traffic as long as the installation is correct. Hence, where laminate floors sustain weight damages, engineered laminate will remain intact.
Given the above dynamics of laminate, you should always check with your manufacturer during purchase for information about your laminate flooring weight limit. You can also find this information in your laminate flooring user’s guide. Gathering this information beforehand is vital to prevent avoidable losses.
As stated earlier, putting too much weight on your laminate flooring will cause it to crack. This damage will be gradual since laminate boards feature flexible and sturdy boards capable of enduring pressure.
Your flooring will handle this weight until the pressure is way too much, after which it will crack or split open. The most immediate way to tell that you have put excess weight on your flooring is from the squeaking noises the floor will produce. These noises emanate from the intense pressure under the locks and joints in the laminate.
Continuous pressure will cause the planks to start sinking into the subfloor, and when this happens, the planks will bend and crack open. In addition to cracking, your laminate flooring may also buckle or separate from too much weight over some time. Buckling will also occur due to minimal space for expansion and contraction.
While it is almost inevitable to put heavy furniture on your laminate, you should exercise safety with respect to the time you take before adding the excess weight to your flooring. Ideally, you should take 72 hours before putting heavy furniture on your laminate flooring.
This duration will give your flooring adequate timing to adjust and acclimate. Acclimation allows your flooring to adjust to the room temperature and humidity and respond accordingly. This process should take 24 to 72 hours and waiting till it is complete ensures that your flooring is strong enough to handle heavy furniture. Putting heavy furniture on your flooring before it adjusts will result in gaps between the planks.
In addition to acclimation, you can use furniture pads before placement on a newly installed flooring. This way, you can move your furniture freely around the room without worrying that the floor will scratch given the heavy weight.
Can You Put Kitchen Appliances on Laminate Flooring?
Floating floors feature easy installation, free of nails and adhesives. However, this DIY flooring solution may not be the best solution for your kitchen, given how it bubbles when you put heavy weight on it. Hence, before putting appliances on your floating floor, you should understand their risks.
Kitchen Appliances can be put on laminate flooring as long as these appliances do not exert a weight of more than 500 pounds per square foot and the flooring is not in contact with walls and cabinets, allowing it still to be able to expand and contract. As appliances heavier than 500 pounds can do serious damage to the laminate flooring that can end up being permanent.
Laminate flooring is a floating floor, hence does not touch the subfloor. Installation of laminate in an empty kitchen is easy, but with certain appliances in mind, you may want to know how safe it is to have this flooring in your space. Most kitchen appliances are heavy and knowing how to put them on your laminate flooring safely will enhance durability.
Since laminate flooring can handle weights of up to 500 pounds, placing very heavy furniture on it will damage your flooring. These damages may result from a lack of space for expansion and contraction, not to mention moving the appliances around the room. Thus, you should improvise a way to move your furniture effectively. One of the ways to achieve this is using protection pads. You can also lay rugs under your furniture to prevent scratching.
Besides being a high humidity area, the kitchen also features heavy traffic, and installing the right type of flooring is ideal for maximum durability. Fortunately, laminate is durable, courtesy of its structure.
The laminate flooring structure includes a core, image, and wear layer. The wear layer is the protective layer of your flooring, and most feature an AC rating of 3. If your laminate wears out faster, consider one with a higher AC rating. You can go for AC-4 or higher to ensure maximum durability.
In addition to high humidity, the kitchen also features high spillage risks from appliances. These spillages can cause water damage. Water is an unfriendly agent to most floors, including porcelain and ceramic tiles.
Despite their good water resistance capabilities, these flooring options have absorption limits. Laminate is not an exception and will get wet either from accidental spills or catastrophic events from time to time.
Accidental spills include normal water or drink spillage, in which case you should wipe immediately to prevent seepage beneath the flooring. Failure to do so will cause dampness and harbor mold growth, which may cause bad smells in the long run.
On the other hand, if your dishwasher supply line leaks and you do not detect the mess for some time, this becomes a catastrophic event. Since laminate features limited resistance to water, time is of the essence, and you should mop the spills immediately or check for any leakages to prevent water from working through your seams to the core.
Another consideration for laminate flooring in the kitchen is the repair and maintenance. Luckily, unlike most flooring options, you can replace laminate in sections. This is because the flooring is a floating floor and not connected to the substrates. Also, the boards are not joined permanently.
While replacing your damaged flooring appears easy, it can be challenging if you do not have the material. This explains why it is advisable to buy the flooring in excess during installation. In the future, when these damages occur, you can easily replace the damaged parts from the stock in your store as your current laminate design may be out of stock by this time.
Can Floating Floor Go Under Appliances?
As stated earlier, floating floors do not touch the subfloor, and installation is free of nails and adhesives. These floorings are available in wood, laminate, linoleum, and vinyl. However, can you put appliances on top of it?
You can install a floating floor under appliances, but this will depend on the material of your flooring and the appliances. However, it is not advisable to put a floating floor under very heavy appliances, as they can break or stress the tongue and groove fasteners. The tongue and groove installation allow snapping of the pieces together without nails and glues to hold.
Weight is the biggest concern for floating floors and the appliances you can put on them. With direct pressure on the flooring joints, buckling may occur due to blocking of the expansion and contraction spaces. Hence, it is advisable to stick to items below 500 pounds for your flooring.
While some manufacturers will warn you against putting heavy objects on your floating flooring material, most home furniture and appliances do not exceed 500 pounds, which is unsafe for your floating floor.
As such, you are safe placing your washing machine on your floor, as it will not restrict these processes. However, you should be careful when moving heavy appliances on your floating floors, as they can scratch or damage your flooring.
One of the ways to achieve these is through padding. Pads comprise rubber and will prevent scratches as you move your appliances around. Sliders can also come in handy when moving your appliances on your floor.
Before installing floating floors, check that your existing floor is even and strong. An uneven floor will affect the flooring surface. You should also check that the installation does not raise the floor level by more than half an inch compared to the adjacent floor.
Can a Refrigerator Sit on a Floating Floor?
Floating floors feature easy installation, hence ideal for DIY home installers. However, these floors feature a disadvantage in that the weight of the items you put on the floor may prevent the flooring’s expansion and shifting, causing warping. Read on to understand whether you can put a refrigerator on your floating floor and whether there are any implications to this.
Putting a refrigerator on a floating floor is possible. When doing this, you should check that your flooring is not in direct contact with your kitchen walls or cabinets to allow enough room for expansion and contractions without creating problematic lumps.
It is safe to sit your refrigerator on your floating floor, but you should be careful when moving this appliance as you might damage your flooring. This is because refrigerators only roll in a backward and forward direction rather than from side to side.
Sliding your refrigerator on the sides can scratch the floor, causing lumps and seams. Hence, to move your refrigerator on the floating floor, use a furniture dolly. Moving your furniture with a dolly requires care, given that manufacturers recommend keeping your fridge upright as much as possible to prevent the oil from draining into the coolant.
If you intend to place your refrigerator on your floating floor, lay the planks underneath from side to side while featuring the planks in the main part of the kitchen. This way, the weight of your refrigerator will not pop the planks in the middle of the kitchen where you walk.
Wrap Up
Laminate flooring is a floating floor in that its attachment does not utilize nails and adhesives. Homeowners love this flooring for its durability and ease of installation. Even then, how much weight your laminate can take is an important question to answer if you want to attain durability and safety.
On average, laminate flooring will hold up to 500 pounds. Since most home appliances and furniture are below this weight, laminate is generally safe for any household setup. However, there are exceptions for certain appliances that require special attention.
For very heavy appliances such as the refrigerator, consider pads or rugs for easy movement on your flooring. Also, depending on your appliance, check for any leakages or water damage, as these can greatly affect the durability of your flooring. Whenever unsure, talk to your manufacturer before installation to avoid future losses.
