Page 3 - 2018-08-CFR Volume 119 - How Can You See What You Can’t See - The Luxury Vinyl Tile And Plank Dilemma

Adhesive Transfer – adhesive whether it transfers or August 2018
not depends on the type of adhesive used and
whether you go into it wet or when it has set up. We
keep hearing, “there is no adhesive transfer” for the
reason a plank or tile lifts when the adhesive used is
pressure sensitive. It sticks but it can release pri-
marily so the owner of the facility can change individ-
ual tiles or planks themselves. Direct sunlight on the
flooring material can also cause the adhesive to
weaken. Believe me, if it takes some concerted ef-
fort to get the stuff off the floor, its stuck.
Wet/Dry Set this goes along with the previous adhe-
sive transfer issue. The adhesive being used will
have instructions on it as to how it is to be used and
applied. If the material is lifting off the substrate at
an end or edge and you pull on it to see if it comes
up easily and it takes the effort of two men then the
adhesive is working. If the flooring material has an
inherent stress in it it’s going to lift regardless of how
aggressive the adhesive is. Just like nails won’t
keep wood from warping, flooring adhesive will not
prevent the flooring material from lifting or distorting.
Drying the Adhesive – adhesive will dry on its own or
can be assisted by fans which blow over, not at it.
On most jobs, installed by professional installation
firms they know enough to use air movers to blow air
over the floor and not at it creating “dry” spots.

LVT well adhered with Pressure
Sensitive Adhesive

Adhesive Transfer with
“legs”
3 Commercial Flooring Report