Karndean Korlok laid on top of parquet (Ed.)

[kb21]

Hi

Hopefully an expert on this forum might be able to give some advice/guidance.

I had Karndean Korlok installed around 3 years ago in our lounge and hallway on top of herringbone parquet (parquet is glued (maybe bitumen?) which is on top of concrete. There is 5mm or larger gaps between all Karndean panels around all wall edges

Last April (2022) two areas of the Karndean started rising. Naturally, I left it until it was really bad (December 2022) and when I pulled the Karndean panels up the parquet had lifted off the concrete (which caused the rise). The 2nd spot then got bad and the same parquet problem occurred.

There's no evidence of damp or water leaks in the lounge or hallway, but I need to fix the problem.

My questions are:
1. If I pull floor up completely, should I be laying a damp proof membrane down between parquet and Karndean?
2. Is it (was it) ok to lay Karndean direct on to parquet?
3. Could I add 2mm or 3mm plywood between Karndean and parquet to resolve the 'lifting' issue?
4. Is there a magic solution where I don't have to pull the entire floor up? eg the rise is a localised issue that another member of this forum has experienced or fixed?

I did read this thread, but it seemed to have went unanswered: https://www.diynot.com/diy/threads/karndean-over-old-parquet-flooring.525736/


Any advice gratefully appreciated

Thank you

 

[Debbt]

Hi. We are in the same situation you were in 2023! How did you resolve the problem and did Karndean offer you any support?

 

[crazydaze]

Hi. We are in the same situation you were in 2023! How did you resolve the problem and did Karndean offer you any support?

This is an issue with the subfloor not being prepared correctly rather than an issue with Karndean's product.

Unfortunately parquet blocks are not particularly stable, especially after 40+ years and the bitumen adhesive tends to break down given time, resulting in the issue you have. You can lift that area, glue the blocks with Grip Fill (not too much) and re-fit the Korlok but there's no guarantee another area may pop up in future.