BHK Laminate Locking Problems and Red Resin Paper

Q: I am in a dilemma with some laminate flooring I recently installed in my home. I am not happy with the joints after a week of living on the floor. I have contacted the manufacturer, who without seeing it, is claiming that I must have installed it poorly. I take some offense to that considering I installed Pergo brand laminate in my other home and have not had any problems after nearly 5 years.
The difference is that the Pergo was installed on the second floor, so it was floated over a plywood subfloor and we used Pergo’s 3-in-1 underlayment.
The floor I just installed is a BHK product with a Soundguard backing on a concrete slab. I was told that all I needed was a vapor barrier. My plan was to use a 6 mL plastic, but when I started the removal of the old flooring I came across an issue. My house is only 7 years old, but it had cracks every couple of feet. Luckily none of them were slipping vertically. I took the time to fill all of the cracks with concrete and smoothed out the floor. I called a friend who specializes in remodel. I told him that I was concerned with the minor imperfections and he suggested that I use red resin paper instead of the plastic. He told me that it was also a vapor barrier, but it could also help take care of the minor imperfections in the slab. He told me that he had seen it done many times on jobs he was working.
Now I am concerned that I made a mistake by listening to his advice. I live in Yucca Valley, CA. It is a desert climate and we don’t get much precipitation. I would hope that the resin paper is sufficient, but I am thinking that I could have voided the warranty on my flooring.
What is your opinion on the Resin Paper? Could the joints separating be a manufacturer’s defect?
Thank you so much for your time,
Roz
A: Red resin paper (also called rosin paper) is a relatively common underlayment for solid and engineered wood floors. Tad A., iFLOOR.com’s Director of Install, mentioned that the “old guys” in the industry used to use only the red resin paper because it was a standard until they found out the black paper was a bit more cost efficient.
Unfortunately resin paper is NOT a moisture barrier, it is a moisture inhibitor. This means it will slow the amount of moisture which transfers through it, but it will not prevent moisture from passing through. The red paper is impregnated with resin or rosin whereas the black paper is impregnated with an oil.
This being said, you are more than likely dealing with a slight moisture issue. Unfortunately this will more than likely have voided your warranty since the resin paper is not a true moisture barrier. However I would suggest you contact BHK to make sure.
There is a slight possibility that this could be a defect; however, you would have encountered problems right away if this was a defect. Normally when problems occur over time (with exception to delamination) it is due to problems in the environment of the home or use. In this case, you are more than likely encountering minor amounts of moisture.
Here’s a tip that might help. Try running a dehumidifier to pull some of the moisture out of the boards. I would also suggest replacing the resin paper with a 6 mil plastic moisture barrier ASAP.