Have any other retailers/customers/ fitters had any problem with karndean shrinking and found Karndean come up with any excuse other than their product to blame. please let me know, could you PM me please EDIT- i have removed your email address as you will stand a chance of getting loads of spam emails. The forum will email you direct if someone leaves a Private Message (P.M) to save you getting 'spam' emails. Regards ADMIN.
what area did it shrink in mate? Was it a sunny area? Was the flooring warm when fitted? Possible subfloor problem? What have karndean blammed it on?
Thanks for the reply, We have had about 7 in the last 2 years or so. Hot areas, cold areas, solid floor, suspended floor the lot, all been acclimatised etc..... Karndean blame anything, area to hot, area to cold etc.... but never their product. They state that a gap of the width of a credit card is OK all around the plank / tile !! Having had one complaint to many I decided to send the same question to the members of a buying group we are in (200 members) and one week later I have had almost 30 replys and all have had problems with shrinkage and all have been fobbed off by Karndean so I have decided to look a bit further as in the end the problem lies with the retailer / installer which is now clear to me just not acceptable. Les
personally i have not had issues with it shrinking in the last last say 5 years since i changed my method of installing. But i have seen a few jobs others have done that have shrunk. Normally i find a reson why it has shrunk. However im not saying that there is not a product fault on your floors. I do install the product slightly different to there instructions tho that i belive helps alot. For one they say acclimatise. If you acclimatise in a warm room (summer time etc) then the product will be slightly bigger to start with so stands a chance that it will shrink in the future. I always keep the flooring in a slightly colder area before fitting like a garage. This way it will try to grow and not shrink. Also i dont like karndeans adhesive. There PS for instance. You allow to dry and stick to the ridges that ALLOW movement! If you roll the adhesive with a wet paintroller you remove the ridges and stick to a flat bed of adhesive so movement of the adhesive is not possible. I personally think that there install instructions dont help matters when it comes to shrinking. But thats my theroy anyway!
here is a link to what adhesive i use and how i use it. It might be of intrest to you ? viewtopic.php?f=32&t=371
also this may intrest you, here is a pick of a karndean floor that had appeared to of shrunk on a friend of mine. The next pick is the subfloor. It is chipboard and was reading dry and was level. However it is now warped with a dip- It turns out that the problem on this job was down to a new concrete base been laid. The chipboard floor was fitted ontop of the concrete base without allowing it to dry or any kind of vapiour barrier. My mate installed to the chipboard floor and a few months later it looked like the karndean had shrunk. The problem was that the chipboard had taken in the moister from the concrete and had grown so was not a product fault but an error caused by the builder.
Both our fitters fit the borders first, the problem with using adhesives other than Karndeans is that if you do have a problem they will blame the fact you didnt use their own brand. You can't win.
LOL, if you do have a problem with Karndean do they replace it or DO YOU end up sorting anyway? The only real thing that go wrond with karndean is the wearlayer or it delaminating. This will make the product not fit for purpose so should be replaced unless the glue has caused this problem. This is where independent reports will help you out.
I fit both ways depending on what im fitting and what mood im in on that day! Normaly tho i do the boarder last.
Got to have about 1000000% proof that it is the product that is at fault, a letter off the pope and a Chelsea European cup winners medal before Kardean will even consider replacing it!!
if its a small job i would just replace it/repair it. If it is a large job i would get a independant report and take them to the small claims court. With the correct person doing the report you will defo win. Unless it is a glue failer and if you havnt used there adhesive then you would be "stuck" Anyway, i never had one problem using f44/f46. Never get shrinkage etc. But when i used to use there glue etc i have had a few move slightly.
The problem is I think is with their own adhesive but the fact that they refuse to accept a complaint unless you use their adhesive makes it shakey ground when going through small claims etc. As I say I am getting as many complaints of shrinkage across the UK before I go any further. I have some info on some cost cutting during manufacture which may make the product un'stable but this is not confirmed as 100% as yet.
Im in the process of re fitting two bedrooms and an en-suite in karndean due to shrinkage,but personally i feel it is a fitting error.Also random planks like this one!!
Is that a small piece in-between full planks?.If it is and ina doorway of which is in the sightline then if the fitter has been paid then lucky.
