Results 1 to 12 of 12

Thread: Dents in new floor

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Apr 2017
    Location
    Michigan
    Posts
    2,754

    Dents in new floor

    Our kitchen remodel is going great except for the new sheet vinyl flooring. Our dining table (about 60 pounds) caused dents overnight. We removed it and the dents partly recovered in a few days. This is not making me happy. Our old vinyl held up without dents or scratches for 33 years. It seems that the vinyl was not fully cured in manufacture, but the professional installers didn't say anything when they installed it and we had no reason to suspect anything. I notified the contractor and expect to hear something today.

    I don't believe there were any compromises in the installation. Looking on line I find a lot of advice about repairing dents and modifying the furniture and the behavior of the occupants but nothing on defective material. Any similar experience?

  2. #2
    Unfortunately I think there are reasons you just dont see sheet linoleum/inlaid/vinyl installed much any more. I havent been in a residential project with a piece in well over 20 years. The last stuff I remember was a lot thicker than the linoleum of old and had a spongy foam core to it undoubtedly to soften the under foot feel as well as allow it to give a bit as opposed to cracking. This would have been back in the early 90's when sheet vinyl was also laid with 4" perimeter glue and the field left to float.

    Not beating up on your choice but it is what it is. VCT tile is rigid and hard, scratches, requires regular strip and wax. Sheet products are softer and cheap enough that you swap them out every few years.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Apr 2013
    Location
    Okotoks AB
    Posts
    3,495
    Blog Entries
    1
    What Mark said. The better quality LVT is very tough & dent resistant. It's about 1/8" thick & has a very scuff resistant surface.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    May 2005
    Location
    Highland MI
    Posts
    4,508
    Blog Entries
    11
    Quote Originally Posted by Frank Pratt View Post
    What Mark said. The better quality LVT is very tough & dent resistant. It's about 1/8" thick & has a very scuff resistant surface.
    All of the click lock LVT I have done recently is much thicker than 1/8". HD Lifeproof is 7mm, or more than 1/4".
    We are doing some glue down premium LVT at church which is 3 mm planks.
    NOW you tell me...

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jul 2007
    Location
    NE OH
    Posts
    2,612
    The old armstrong designer solarian was made from solid particles of vinyl fused together with heat and was bullet proof. But Armstrong discontinued it because it took a really good installer to to get good results, among other reasons. Most or maybe all sheet vinyl available now has a relatively soft resilient backing and is subject to denting. When you read the durability claims from the manufacturers they always talk about how well it resists scratching and scuffing but nary a mention of denting.

    We did a kitchen 20 years or so ago with high quality sheet vinyl with the resilient backing and the first woman to walk on it with high heels left little round dents everywhere. The dents did lessen over time, but never went away completely. If I were doing vinyl today I'd go with solid core LVT; it holds up pretty well.
    --I had my patience tested. I'm negative--

  6. #6
    I always find these things fascinating. In the 60's, 70's, 80's, we went through the phases of VCT tile, peel and stick, sheet products, and so on. Dealt with all the shortfalls, wear, dents, cheap, seams, gaps,.. Then we move to wide sheets, ceramic tile, epoxy floor systems, then the move starts back to pergo, laminate, dry seams that allow water intrusion, cheap, floating, floors that buckle with a dishwasher leak, and now we are coming back around to more plastic tile, "water-proof laminate hardwood" in kitchens (there is no such thing). Pre-finished hardwoods as opposed to laid, sanded, site finished.

    Its wild. No different than in my cabinet world. In the 80's we supposedly learned that particle board equals crap. Now frameless kitchens are the rave. Some are veneer or MDF core but the vast majority are PB core. And core technology is not much better than the 80's. They may pump a little more material into the core but its not like we are getting an Advantec core melamine any time soon. The stuff still swells up like a sponge in a heartbeat.

    Again, not saying anything about sheet vinyl. Its whomevers choice.

    I remember working in a "home center" in the mid 80's (before the big boxes) and they had vertical carousels of linoleum with 50 different colors and patters that sold daily. Id guess our local home center may have 6-8 mixed in with indoor outdoor carpet, vinyl carpet runner, and so on. I wouldnt honestly know where else to buy sheet linoleum now.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Apr 2013
    Location
    Okotoks AB
    Posts
    3,495
    Blog Entries
    1
    I have a soft spot for old school Marmoleum. Not completely maintenance free, but it's beautiful & pretty tough. I've been living with it in my kitchen for about 15 years now.

  8. #8
    Quote Originally Posted by Frank Pratt View Post
    I have a soft spot for old school Marmoleum. Not completely maintenance free, but it's beautiful & pretty tough. I've been living with it in my kitchen for about 15 years now.
    I agree ,even as a kid I thought it was beautiful stuff. And ,of course it was on tables ,desks ,and store counters,too.
    Linoleum was inspired by "floor cloths". The floor I would like for kitchen would be a modern take on the Roman "unswept
    floor " mosaics.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Apr 2013
    Location
    Okotoks AB
    Posts
    3,495
    Blog Entries
    1
    Quote Originally Posted by Mel Fulks View Post
    I agree ,even as a kid I thought it was beautiful stuff. And ,of course it was on tables ,desks ,and store counters,too.
    Linoleum was inspired by "floor cloths". The floor I would like for kitchen would be a modern take on the Roman "unswept
    floor " mosaics.
    Our old farm house had the kitchen counters covered in linoleum. The table too. I'm afraid we're beginning to sound like a couple of old farts.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    McKean, PA
    Posts
    15,574
    Blog Entries
    1
    If the sheet vinyl was put down with adhesive you should wait a week or more before permanently placing any concentrated weight on it so that the adhesive completely cures. The uncured adhesive will compress and move away from the pressure.
    Lee Schierer
    USNA '71
    Go Navy!

    My advice, comments and suggestions are free, but it costs money to run the site. If you found something of value here please give a little something back by becoming a contributor! Please Contribute

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Feb 2016
    Location
    NE Iowa
    Posts
    1,207
    Quote Originally Posted by Frank Pratt View Post
    Our old farm house had the kitchen counters covered in linoleum. The table too. I'm afraid we're beginning to sound like a couple of old farts.
    My parents put down (self installed) a Johns-Mansville tile in their kitchen in 1966. When they moved off the farm in 2017 - 51 years later - it looked as good as the day it was put down. That's in a farm kitchen, with up to eight people in the house, so it wasn't lite wear. Don't know what it was, but bulletproof doesn't begin to describe it.

    The countertops were true linoleum for years, but replaced with Formica at some point.

    Guess I'm an old fart too.

  12. #12
    Quote Originally Posted by Tom Bender View Post
    Our kitchen remodel is going great except for the new sheet vinyl flooring. Our dining table (about 60 pounds) caused dents overnight. We removed it and the dents partly recovered in a few days. This is not making me happy. Our old vinyl held up without dents or scratches for 33 years. It seems that the vinyl was not fully cured in manufacture, but the professional installers didn't say anything when they installed it and we had no reason to suspect anything. I notified the contractor and expect to hear something today.

    I don't believe there were any compromises in the installation. Looking on line I find a lot of advice about repairing dents and modifying the furniture and the behavior of the occupants but nothing on defective material. Any similar experience?
    Those spiky heels that women wear nowadays have made vinyl flooring obsolete. Is there any way you could pull it up and replace with tile? I hear that Harbor Freight sells cheap tile cutters. You might be able to enforce a strict dress code in your kitchen, but somebody buying the house in the future might not wish to be so encumbered.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •