masking tape ruins Bruce prefinished floor

[Art]

I have Bruce prefinished flooring. I am having the ceiling painted. Painter was very careful covering floor using paper taped together. Most tape was taped to paper but at some points the blue masking tape was attached to hardwood floor. In 2 places, even though tape was only attached for a few hours and the house was about 75 degrees temperature, the sun must have been hitting the tape thru the window for hours and the adhesive reacted with the floor and ruined the finish. I was wondering if anyone had run into this before. Floor is about 10 years old and althought I was hoping to go a few more years before refinishing it now I guess I will have to get it done now unless a reasonable spot finish can be done. Damaged areas are about 1 foot long by 2 inches wide. I am planning on contacting the tape manufacterur and bitching though I am sure that is a waste of time.

[aemeijers]

Don't know if they still do, what with the modern Urethane finishes, but back in the stone age Bruce dealer had repair kits for stuff like that. Mainly intended for moving-day scratches. It won't be perfect- a field repair never is- but it may be 'good enough' to tide you over till rest of floor needs refinishing.

(GoogleGoogleGoogle)

See their web site at

. They do mention 'repair kit' in one spot, but don't give details. A real flooring dealer (not a big box) can likely tell you more.

aem sends...

[Jeff Wisnia]

Didn't the painter acknowledge his responsibility and arrange to rectify the problem?

Seems to me that if the floor was in reasonable condition before he did hid work, and he didn't warn you that something like that might happen then I it's his his responsibility to make things right.

Shouldn't he be the one contacting the tape company, not you?

Or am I just being naive again?

Jeff

[Art]

I suppose except for the fact that he was using a product as designed and was not negligent in any way from what I can see. If I was on a jury and this was a lawsuit I would vote not guilty. There were many other places on the floor where there was no damage from the tape. It was a fresh roll of tape.... I saw him open it up. So either it was some magical way that the sun was hitting the tape (indeed it was hitting the tape thru the window at those spots but it was hitting other spots too with no damage caused) or there was something wrong with the tape.... or there was something wrong with the 10 year old floor.

[Noozer]

I'd politely contact the tape manufacturer and the flooring company and ask them about the situation. (Whats' the warranty on your floor, BTW?)

If either company ignores you, then send a registered letter.

Technically, *IF* the tape was defective, the painter is responsible for the damage. It might not have happened if had used brand Y instead of brand X tape. You didn't tell him what tape to use. etc... He would be the one going after the tape company for restitution. Of course, the floor could have been defective, meaning the homeowner goes after the flooring company.

Personally I doubt the tape could have caused soooo much damage that it isn't satisfactorily repairable, but I'm not there to judge.

[Abe]

What nobody else has asked is what is wrong with the finish now? Have you tried to clean and buff it out?

[Art]

The polyurethane and color layer kind of crinkled from the tape. First I thought it was residue from the tape but I wiped it with the floor cleaner made by Bruce for the floor and the thin layer of the floor pretty much came off 2 inches wide by 12 inches long. This is Bruces prefinished solid Oak floors with gunstock stain. It appears that the stain doesn't soak into the wood as it does when floors are finished on site. It appears to be a thin layer under the polyurethane.