Vinyl Click Flooring Separating

[sydjess]

Hi, I am hoping I can find info on a vinyl floating floor that I had installed in March 2015.
It is Moduleo Vision Click LVT flooring.
It's a floating floor.
The question I have is, is it normal for the floor to separate in different areas? I don't think it is, but the floor has more than a dozen places where it seems to be separating.I noticed, the day it was installed, that some of the seams weren't as tight fitting as most of them were.
Now, there are a lot of areas that have separated.
I just want to see if anyone may know what may have caused this & what can be done to fix it.
I appreciate any help
Thank you

 

[woodfloorplanet]

Separation like this is common for very old vinyl tiles, not for new ones, IME. I suggest you contact the manufacturer with your photos and receipts. If the floor is very cold, that could be useful information. You may want some close-up photos that include a ruler.

 

[Ernesto]

Couple reasons, floor is not flat to spec - pivot points and even normal traffic, direct sunlight on floor - heating it up, flooring is locked in - no expansion space or transitions locked down on it and to much weight in areas, extreme fluctuations of temp, no accliamtion.
Note, they don't say anything about weight restrictions. lol

Oh, forgot one, locking mechanism not fully engaged. I always give my planks a tap even though they look tight it may not be. Seeing this happened on day one or two this may be installation related.

 

[sydjess]

Thank you!
I am worried about contacting Moduleo directly because I read on their web site that if it isn't installed correctly, the warranty is void.
We had a company put this in for us, but I really don't want to risk having a problem with the warranty, if it is an install fault.
I have no experience with floors, is there anything I could do, myself, to check why this is happening? Without hiring someone?
I found 2 certified flooring inspectors near me, 1 charges $300 to come out & inspect & give a report with digital pictures. The other company would charge $450 (including mileage since they are further away).
I am trying to stay away from spending ANY additional money, is there anything I can do?
I appreciate the help!

 

[Ernesto]

You should contact the installation company and file a complaint immediately as you should have from the get go. However it is never to late. The installation company should offer an installation warranty.
That said you should not be afraid to initiate any claim whether it's the manufacturer or installation company. If properly fixed you warranty should not be voided and the manufacturer should record this.
The manufacturer should send out an inspector for free, possibly billing the installation company if the finding rule against them.

I do these all the time so no worries unless you've abused the floor in some way.

 

[sydjess]

I've had a problem with the installation company, from a previous floor they installed, so I didn't want to call them unless I knew for sure that there was a problem.
The ONLY reason we used the company again, was because they were replacing the laminate flooring they put in the year before.
I finally was able to have my Dad stop over in the beginning of July and he told me it wasn't supposed to be that way, so that was when I finally called the company that installed it.
I sent the company emails with pics 1st, (but they never responded) about a week before I called them.
The day I called, I asked if they could have someone come & look to make sure it was installed correctly. The owner told me he knew it was installed correctly & that they took pics after the job was done & if I wanted to have it inspected, I'd have to pay $300 for them to come out & inspect it & fix any problems!
If I contact the manufacturer, & they say it is because of the install, would it still be covered under the warranty?
Thanks!

 

[Ernesto]

if I wanted to have it inspected, I'd have to pay $300 for them to come out & inspect it & fix any problems!

Uh no, thats not how it works, lol

The installation company should not perform any inspection and neither should a rep of the manufacturer because obviously they are biased. Reps protect the retailer often. Call the manufacturer immediately, and also ask the installation company to supply you with pictures because I believe he is bluffing. Even if he has pics thats not evidence they were installed correctly. Refer back to my original post. Ask an official inspection with the manufacturer be performed with an unbiased inspector. If then everyone drags their feet to out live any installation warranty then you should immediately get your own inspector and take them to court if the report falls in your favor. Oh, ask the installation company this; " if you have finished pics, you should also have pre inspection report/pics citing the installation requirements for moisture tests, flatness and proper acclimation time."

 

[sydjess]

Hi, I appreciate all the info!
The company that manufactured the vinyl floor is from the UK.
Is that who you recommend me contacting?
I just want to be sure of how to handle the situation, like I said, I have no clue about flooring
or how a warranty works.
Again, thank you! Your comments are very helpful

 

[Ernesto]

Sounds like theres bad blood between you and the installation company. Did the installation company also sell it to you? If not call the retailer that sold it to you or the manufacturers technical/claims dept. There should be a US division.

 

[sydjess]

Yes, the installer did sell it to me.
We had a problem with laminate flooring this company installed the year prior to the vinyl floor. The laminate started bubbling at some of the seams within 3 months of installation. The install company said they would replace it with the same thing for no charge.
I didn't want the same thing, since the 1st one only lasted 3 months, so I wanted a better water resistent floor.
The owner told me he'd put in the Moduleo vinyl floor & only charge me for materials & not labor.
The problem we had was, I felt he should take the amount of money we paid for the original laminate, off of the new vinyl floor.
We argued back and forth about it, but eventually I agreed to pay the amount for the vinyl & get it put in.
I didn't contact the installer until July because I wanted to be sure there was a problem & it wasn't normal for that type of floor to separate like it was. So when
I did call, they owner asked "what did you do to the floor", accusing me of damaging it or something! I told him I don't think it was installed correctly & if he could send someone out to look at it, that's when he told me he knows the job was done correctly, he had pictures to prove it & it would cost me $300 if I wanted someone to come look at it. I told him I was calling the BBB. I didn't want to deal with him yelling at me.
Since then, my husband called & talked to him (after some arguing) the guy agreed to send someone to look at it. He plans on sending the guy that installed it. That was another problem that I had. The person that did the install mentioned to me a number of times, that he "wasn't getting paid to do this job anyways", he wasn't a very nice person.
I want to just get the floor fixed correctly & I feel I shouldn't have to pay for it since I didn't do anything to it (except walk on it , lol)

 

[Ernesto]

Well I can see the owners concern. Laminate floors just dont bubble by themselves - on seams- unless its delaminating or swelling due to poor maintenance like steamers, sloppy wet mops and animal urine. Unless your talking about the floor buckling due to improper expansion space.

 

[sydjess]

What the installer told me was the floor was bubbling from excessive moisture.
We never mopped the floor, I always wiped it with a damp cloth then dried it with a towel. He mentioned we may have a lot of humidity that caused the moisture problem.
Nonetheless, I am not concerned with that part of the ordeal, I just want to find out why the new vinyl floor is separating & what can be done to fix it & stop it from happening again.
Thanks for the help

 

[johnmet]

Inspect the area that's bubbling. If the bubble is limited to a single board, then the board itself has become damaged because layers in the board have lost their cohesion, buckling or warping most likely because of moisture. This requires you to remove the damaged board and replace it with a new one.

 

[Floorist]

I didn't know that India was in California.