Vinyl flooring seams

[Richard Evans]

Several years ago, I had woodtone vinyl flooring installed by Lowe's. A couple of months later, all the seams were opening up. They came back, injected mastic under the seams, and rolled them flat. They were barely out of the drive way when they opened again. Again they came back, same routine. This time the fix lasted for several more months, but one seam started to open again.

I now have a seam that is 6'8" long that is open and curling up. I'm not terribly concerned with cosmetics, I just don't want the edges to start fraying and end up with a bald spot. I thought about a metal mending strip, but they only come in 6' lengths and I didn't want to have to buy two pieces and discard 5'4" of one. Also, I couldn't find any in woodtone.

I saw an ad for some non-skid tape: sticky on one side, textured non-slip finish on the other. Since it's intended for walking on, I figure it must be pretty tough and have thought about using it to cover that open seam. Like I said, I don't care much about the cosmetics, but if there were something similar in a woodtone, I would go for that.

Any suggestions? Alternative ideas?

[Sharp Dressed Man]

Politely escalate the problem at Lowe's-- all the way to corporate HQ if necessary. Call the vinyl manufacturer too-- though they'll say it's an "installation issue" and not their problem.

[ransley]

Since it was a problem from day one as in a poor instal I would call lowes again.

[JC]

Since it was a problem from day one as in a poor instal I would call lowes again.

Write a letter to your local newspaper and the Better Business Bureau. Send it to Lowes and tell them what your problem is and that if they don't fix it this time, that letter is going to be sent to the addressees.

That usually works pretty good for me.

[Richard Evans]

I'm not interested in going that route, I just want to stop the damage from spreading.

[ChairMan]

unless it was an inlaid vinyl, the seams should have been coated with a seam sealer, which fuses the two together. Being that the floor is curling tells me that they did not use a seam sealer and the problem will continue to get worse ever time you mop the floor

[Jon Danniken]

The reason that big box stores such as Lowe's and Home Despot can offer such a low price on installed products is that they pick the lowest bidder at the time to do the work for them. They count on their installed products going into houses that are being flipped, rented, or into other situations in which the end user is likely not to complain about the shoddy workmanship.

They also count on nice people, such as yourself, not wanting to "trouble them" with complaints. By not holding them accountable, the cycle continues, and more people will continue to fall victim to their practices.

Jon

[JC]

And if you don't want to go the route I suggested, you might as well leave it as it is. Here's what you're up against. When it comes unglued, the glue is still there. And it gathers dirt, dust and whatever. And just injecting more glue is a waste because until you get all that old glue up and clean the area spic and span, all the repairs in the world are not going to work. You need to have the installers come out, cut about a three foot wide section out and replace it properly. What you will have then, if you get shoddy workmanship, is TWO place that could come unseamed, but if you get good workmanship, your problem is solved.

If you change your mind and go the route I usggested, add the local TV consumer reporter to the addresses.

[dadiOH]

Nails.

[Richard Evans]

I'm not a nice person, I just understand cost/benefit analysis. If I tried to "hold accountable" every contractor who has screwed up repairs to my house in the last 20 years, my life would grind to a halt. I really don't want a discussion of customer service here, just suggestions for fixing the problem.

[Richard Evans]

That's what I've been doing. Black carpet tacks sort of blend with the background.

[Rashi]

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