Flooring Shrinks

Forums: Home Improvement, Flooring, Floors, Strip Vinyl
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A few years back, we began getting a contractor to install strip vinyl flooring to help upgrade our apartments. When these floors are brand new they are beautiful. Here's the problem: In a matter of months, the strips draw up, leaving sizeable cracks between pieces. The contractor lives up to the warranty and replaces them, using the same product and the exact same procedure as before. The representative assures us that this only happens with our property and one high rise in Houston. Once, they upgraded the glue they use, thinking inferior glue could be the culprit. Nope. Our upstairs floors are a concrete-like aggregate over waferboard. Downstairs it is a concrete slab. The shrinking occurs in both locations. Any ideas on why it happens with us and nobody else?

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@edgarblythe,

just a thought, should there be a vapor barrier under the vinyl flooring?

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@edgarblythe,

is this the vinyl that lays down dry, and only the seams are glued?

1 Reply

@Rockhead,

It gets glued down solid. The strips are perhaps 3" wide and 3' long.

1 Reply

@dyslexia,

I don't know. They don't do that on the floors that they claim are successful. I will be making notes and passing suggestions to the powers that be.

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@edgarblythe,

no real experience then.

my only thought is that the concrete might shoulda been sealed first.

they ain't gonna rip it all up, clean it, and seal it now, though...

1 Reply

@edgarblythe,

My guess is that it's not just you and nobody else.

Cycloptichorn

1 Reply

@Cycloptichorn,

I had the same thought. The big question I keep asking: Why do they waste all that expense over and over rather than finding a solution or switching to a better product.

1 Reply

@Rockhead,

I saw them hard at work, stripping it down to the concrete just before I left today. I can't blame the installers. They are doing as they have been trained.

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@edgarblythe,

edgarblythe wrote:

I had the same thought. The big question I keep asking: Why do they waste all that expense over and over rather than finding a solution or switching to a better product.

Probably because they have a large inventory of product that they can't sell now, b/c they know it's inferior, sorry to say.

Cycloptichorn

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You probably nailed it.

1 Reply

@edgarblythe,

LOL Edgar - I read your title to indicate that somebody attacked a group of psychiatrists and threw them to the floor Smile

To the point: why not ask the contractor directly? You should be able to answer questions about humidity, radon, porous cement, etc, but if he really fixed your kitchen floor so many times he must know all about it:
http://www.radonseal.com/catalog.htm

1 Reply

@High Seas,

His answer is that we are one of only two properties with that problem. He says they don't know any good solution, but are searching for one. I agree thus far with cycloptichorn that they are liars.

1 Reply

@edgarblythe,

Then be more specific - look up the link I just posted and ask him whether (you!) paying for the extra coating would solve the problem.

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I will send that URL to them , with a question. But, I didn't see on there that the shrinking is directly addressed.

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A twist: The manager tells me that our sister property in Tomball uses the same people. They had the same problem with one apartment and switched colors when the replacement was done. Manager favors the idea that it's the lot of lighter colored flooring. Sorry, I did not know that part of it earlier.

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@dyslexia,

There should be a moisture diffusion barrier between the concrete and the ground.

As to what's happening to those levels that are above grade on concrete topping, I'm not so sure.

Were there substantial differences between those two situations, Edgar?

1 Reply

@JTT,

The floors in the other Tomball apartments was not given such treatment, and yet the manager tells us their floors are fine. Their property gets occasional flooding. We never have flooded.

1 Reply

@edgarblythe,

While I certainly can't say for sure what's happening, Edgar, flooding is not the same thing as moisture constantly migrating into concrete from the ground.

Possibly, their floors got a layer of gravel underneath that had much less silt, or even sand. Rock is also a moisture diffusion barrier of sorts.

If they've flooded and even then, not seen these results you're seeing, they may well have underground soil/gravel conditions that have excellent draining characteristics whereby a moisture diffusion barrier isn't needed as much.

1 Reply

@JTT,

The upstairs floors never get wet, except if something gets spilled on them.

1 Reply

Flooring Shrinks

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