Laminate kitchen floor splitting apart

[LoniceraJaponica]

Our kitchen floor has split down the middle and I'm not sure what could be causing it. It occurred to me that it might be damp, but we don't appear to have any leaks. The flooring has been in since we moved here 14 years ago BTW.

Who should I get to come and look at it?

Sounds like it's time for a new floor - 14 years is good going anyway. I doubt it can be make good as it sound like sth that's due either to poor workmanship or wear and tear (the latter in your case).

I agree that we need a new floor. I dropped an iron on it so it has a big dent in it. You don't think it could have been caused by damp then?

Is it damp? Can you feel or smell damp? Where the split is, does the floor bounce as though unsupported?

No to both wowfudge
It looks like a new floor is required. I'm not sure I want laminate again, so what are the best suggestions for a kitchen?

I appreciate the help here BTW.

Damp may have caused "heave". This would lift up the floor. It would not make it bounce. I have a friend where all the houses in the street had sub floor problems, which resulted in humps and splitting, due to building materials used in the 1960s.

However, you are not going to know what is underneath until you get the floor up. Make sure any new floor is laid on top of a suitable sub floor and make sure no corners are cut.

We live in an ex mining area and may have had a little subsidence. Could this have caused the problem?

We will look at flooring options and ask the supplier to have a god look at the floor when they take up the laminate.

I wasn't suggesting damp would make the floor bounce btw - any of a number of things could cause it to split. If there is a dip or raised area immediately under the split area, for example. Laminate is a floating floor and it needs an expansion gap around the edges. Has anything been done in the room which has affected that?

No. Nothing at all.