I am working on a repair job for a commercial client and they have some laminate flooring that has seperated along a seam. The floor layout is very odd with the laminate butting up against vinyl as well as tile. They do not want to replace the laminate hardwood and for whatever reason the seam cannot be driven back to together. It is an open area in which the hardwood area is about 45' across and in a circular shape. The top 1/3 of that circular area is what has seperated so we do not know if it is a concrete subfloor issue beneath the laminate or poor design of the flooring. I attribute it to the latter. Anyway, this seperation has caused the floating floor to have highs and lows which have created tripping hazards for customers in the store. To fix this, the floor was secured to the subfloor (not the preferred solution and not a aesthetically pleasing solution) via countersunk concrete screws. Also, the constant scuffing has caused several larger chipped edges that need to be fixed. What if anything can be done to patch or fill this 1/8" to 1/4" gap and cover the larger 4"x4" chipped areas? There will likely still be some "bounce" to the floor although very minimal so I am concerned about whatever is used being pliable but not looking like caulk. The store does not want any type of transition strip, so that is not an option unless it is unique from what I have found already - atransition strip that is only 1/8" to 1/4" in height. It is not acceptable since it can cause a greater tripping concern than what is already there.

Sorry about the novel. Any ideas please help!

So is this ENGINEERED WOOD FLOORING or a LAMINATE FLOATING FLOOR? You called it a "laminate hardwood" and it's installed by floating method.

Yes, it is a laminate floating floor and is not an actual hardwood. Sorry for the confusion. I incorreclty interchanged the terminology.

Replace the boards with the larger chips in the surface. This is the only acceptable repair. Pergo (and others) make laminate repair fillers to repair very small chips and gaps. That's about all one can do. All fillers look like what they are, fillers. But they are color matched so it's better than a dark gap or chip.

Once the damaged planks are removed, do you have any suggestions on securing the new pieces in place? The gap will still be there so the interlocking of the peices will not help to keep it secure.

There is an older repair method that could work here, since even installing new T&G's will not help, due to the gapping. Go to TAP plastics and buy a THIN (1/16") small sheet of rigid plastic. Something tough and strong, perhaps Lexan. Cut 2" strips the length and width of the boards. The idea is to epoxy those plastic panels on the backside of the floor boards next to the cut-out section, leaving half of the plastic panels exposed in the replacement area. After readying the replacement board and test fitting, glue-up the T&G's as well as possible and epoxy it to the exposed plastic panels. Place heavy weights on it till the epoxy cures. Then fill your gaps with the appropriate colored laminate filler.

Bring in the hose pipe and flood the floor?