When you have decided to get a new commercial flooring put in, you do not want to have to worry about it resulting in major problems soon after you install it. It is when your business is operating at full capacity with your money. However, this is an issue we encounter often, and you have to employ another contractor to fix it. When actually it should have been done correctly by the initial carpet fitter.
The purpose of this guide is to keep you well-informed about the popular causes of commercial flooring failures. It means what to expect before you install the commercial floor and to help you make sure that the carpet fitters are adhering to the best practice.
Subfloor Moisture
The first and the most common reason for commercial flooring failure is moisture. This occurs due to moisture in the subfloor or newly laid concrete. If the specialists fail to address these concerns before the floor installation, it may lead to screeds and smoothing compounds to disintegrate and lift. Then resulting in holes and huge bubbles in the flooring. Second, there might be an issue with the adhesives, they may not set the way they should. And may become emulsified, forming a weak connection between the subfloor and the flooring.
Before the new flooring installation, it is necessary to take multiple moisture readings from different points around the property. Because one area is dry does not necessarily mean that all areas are dry. This is actually possible with a handheld hygrometer(although other methods are available). Hygrometer may read through multiple types of resilient commercial flooring to and should give you a meaningful moisture reading. This is often shown as relative humidity reading.
The tolerance of floor covering to moisture will vary from floor covering to floor covering. However, for the majority of tough floor coverings, such as Contract vinyl or LVT, a measurement of <75% RH will be necessary. Using damp proof membrane(DPM) helps to take care of this issue. They are either epoxy or solvent free liquids and put on the subfloor for some time to dry completely. And this forms a physical barrier to avoid any moisture rising up, before the application of an appropriate smoothing compound.
Floor Expansion or Contraction
The expansion or contraction of the recently installed flooring is another common reason for flooring failure. This is mainly present in laminate or LVT installations. This problem occurs when the product expands because of heat. This results in the material arching at joints and popping off of the floor. Or the products shrink because of cold, resulting in irritating gaps in the flooring joints.
Commercial flooring manufacturers like victoria carpets usually make available installation manuals, which contain instructions for flooring products and the temperature it needs to reach pre, during and post installation. It is important to follow the instruction closely and avoid flooring failure.
Most flooring products help to accommodate with expansion and contraction. However, quick or extreme changes in temperature may result in serious issues. For example, the carpet fitters install the flooring in the property in the middle of winter without heating and turning on central heating system, all of a sudden. Or when they install the flooring in the middle of summer with no cooling and then the freezing winter comes.
The main cause of flooring failure concerning expansion is basically poor workmanship by the carpet fitters. For luxury vinyl tile or laminate flooring products, there should be a gap for expansion around the perimeter. If there are no expansion gaps in the walls then the flooring failing is inevitable. LVT and laminate flooring products need at least a 5 mm gap around the walls to make provision for the flooring expanding and contracting. This is concealed by either installing the skirting boards after the commercial flooring has been installed or by the use of a curved scotia to the walls which is fastened to the skirting.
No Subfloor Adhesion
There are various reasons for a lack of adhesion, this includes:
- Selection of wrong bond.
- Adhesive has been put down for a long time before installation.
- Usage of wrong equipment
- Carpet fitters did not lay the flooring properly into the adhesive.
This may result in serious problems later, the most common of these is bubbling in marmoleum or vinyl products.
Each adhesive is unique and each has its guidelines that you need to follow strictly. This includes individual operating times and open times that outline how much time you have to install the flooring before it is too late. Also, you need the right trowel to apply correct amount of adhesive. The adhesive you purchase will come with its own technical document that will inform you on how to use it the proper way.
In conclusion, you will need to make sure that all the air has been removed from under the commercial floor you desire to install. Also make sure every part of the flooring product makes contact with the adhesive. This is possible with 68kg roller rolling to and fro, over the recent flooring, displacing all the air for creating strong and lasting bond.
Poor Installation of Commercial Flooring
Unfortunately, there are many bad carpet fitters in the market that offer their services at a cheap price but do not know how to do the work well.
These are the following problems connected to poor workmanship:
Trowel Marks
When installing a commercial floor, the first on your list of priorities should be to make the floor as flat and as smooth as possible. If this is not done, it will be seen and made obvious by your recent floor covering. This involves possessing the required skills and necessary tools which most do not have.
Bad Installation
The following are issues that arise most times as a result of a bad installation of commercial floors. Poor cutting in, gaps between tiles, leaving gaps between walls and the flooring material, bad setting out, burn marks, cracks, lumps, bumps, and things like these.
Avoid carpet contractors that do not know what they are doing. Contact us at M&M Carpets Contractors Ltd, or victoria carpets we are a trustworthy commercial flooring company.
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