Page 5 - 2017-10-CFR Volume 109 - Back To Basics With Vinyl Flooring Installation - Also Polyester And Polyethylene Membranes October 2017

addition, the cushion used did not qualify for use under the
manufacturers guidelines for type of product and density.
The cushion used was touted as being appropriate for dou-
ble stick installation when in fact nothing about it qualifies it
for that use.

One other issue you need to be aware of is the use of un-
derlayments that contain the same type thermoplastics that
are used beneath hard surface flooring as an acoustical mit-
igation system. There are products on the market that are
thin underlayments that are made of the material men-
tioned. A failure we’ve dealt with is a wood flooring instal-
lation failure that was installed over one of these underlay-
ments. The underlayment was to be glued to the subfloor
and the wood flooring then glued to the underlayment. The
glue to the subfloor stuck and the glue also stuck to the bot-
tom of the wood. The glued did not stick to the underlay-
ment which was actually as clean as a whistle. The adhe-
sive was supplied by the underlayment manufacturer. The
adhesive is water based. Remember what was said about
these types of thermoplastics, that they repel water. Why
do you think the installation failed?

I find it extremely difficult to understand how manufacturers
can specify a product for use that has no hope of working
and then blame the flooring contractor and installers for the
failure. Unfortunately you can’t always trust what you’re be-
ing told about a product. Just another reason for you to
contact LGM before you have a flooring project so you can
get honest and unbiased answers to questions. If you’re
being made promises by someone that seem outlandish,
they likely are. Or, if afterwards should you have a failure
and need to know definitively why, we can give you that an-
swer and help on how to resolve the issue. There’s a lot of
smoke being blown out there about flooring products and
components and if you don’t clear the air of it you’re going
to choke on it.

5 Commercial Flooring Report October 2017