Amtico tiles shrinking?

Discussion in 'Vinyl / Impervious floor coverings' started by Ashley Lewis, Nov 1, 2016.

  1. Rugmunching

    Rugmunching Well-Known Member

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    Yeah Ive heard of this before as well.
     
  2. tomsim94

    tomsim94 Member

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    I know..unprofessional. He said the same about the credit card test as well, but the customer wasn't having none of it lol
     
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  3. Rugmunching

    Rugmunching Well-Known Member

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    Makes me laugh because if you was to go round and fit some amtico at these reps/complaint handlers own house would he/she accept the gaps.....I think not....
     
  4. Dave H

    Dave H New Member

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    My thoughts are that manufacturers are having to use a certain percentage of recycled pvc and it behaves differently to virgin pvc. Also amtico was allways homogenous but as with any lvt they are all hetrogenous these days. But there are so many contributing factors that the manucturer can fall back on.
     
  5. Spacey

    Spacey Super Moderator Staff Member

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    It's all to do with plastercisers but I can't be arsed to explain it :eek:
     
  6. Distinctive Adam

    Distinctive Adam Well-Known Member

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    How long was the sub floor down before you screeded over it and fitted the tiles? Every lvt will move over time no matter how pure the product is, obviously the pure PVC tiles tend to off gas at a slower speed than a recycled product but with seasonal changes etc movement can happen, ps adhesives should rectify movements quickly between hot and cold temps. I fear the floor was fitted too quickly after the initial sub base went down ?
     
  7. Distinctive Adam

    Distinctive Adam Well-Known Member

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    Conservatory and new build were the clues in this post !
     
  8. merit

    merit Well-Known Member

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    What a joke. I wonder how many complaints they get about lvt shrinking? My guess is a lot. Will they all end up looking like the Marley tiles you find under carpets with a 5mm gap in between each of them? I think lots of people have had the same problems and it's very frustrating


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     
  9. Matt

    Matt Well-Known Member Staff Member

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    you say two houses installed next to each other but only one has issues? same batches? It would seem odd that the same product has reacted different in one house compared to the other. In such a short time, if the conservatory is not getting direct sunlight on the subfloor it would indicate that the lvt in one property was installed at too hot a temperature. In other words fitted in a expanded state and now its returned to its correct size. You need to check the actual dimensions of the lvt. If they are as specified by manufacturer or to a spare plank then the flooring has not shrunk. It was simply installed to hot. If the dimensions are now smaller then the lvt has off gassed and a product issue providing it hasnt been cooked by the sun.
     
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  10. ste

    ste Active Member

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    well said, nothing can stop it.
     
  11. ste

    ste Active Member

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    o_Oo_Oo_Oo_Oo_Oo_Oo_O
     
  12. SDM

    SDM Member

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    I have the same issue. Gaps appearing at the ends of the planks and he customer isnt happy. It was a loinge dinner fit on ply with ps adhesive. I called the rep and he said he hasn't come across this before? How can you attempt to close the gap with a scraper as mentioned? Is there not an gap filler product that would do the job? I also read somewhere about the card allowance but try telling the customer that. It was all butted up perfectly on completion of the job and a warm day. I need a solution to this.
     
  13. merit

    merit Well-Known Member

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    He hasn't come across it before...


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  14. pf flooring

    pf flooring Well-Known Member

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    fitted on a warm day is probably the cause, are there lots of windows in the area? did you use an ht glue at all if there were? depending on the severity it could be seasonal shift where in the opposite season to when it was fitted the tiles can move (shrink/expand) ever so slightly, in a lighter tile its more noticeable than darker for obvious reasons, depending on severity of movement would depend on if its acceptable.

    I will in the new builds always try to keep the temp at a steady 18 degrees, as I believe that to be the best temp to fit at to limit the noticeability of any potential movement, if its a hot day I will paper felt the windows and open the windows to try and cool it off, as if you fit in 25/26 degree heat by the time it drops to a more livable 18/19 degrees the rest of the year you will get headers opening up by upto 1mm.
     
  15. pf flooring

    pf flooring Well-Known Member

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    I know lol, Karndean if you believe their technical department have never had a complaint about their feature strips and the way they are cut/packed, had them phone me out of the blue the other day after id tweeted a couple of comments (as had the hump) and gave the tech rep a polite piece of my mind, made me feel loads better :)
     
  16. SDM

    SDM Member

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    Thanks for your input PF flooring.. My opinion on this is given its a very expensive high end product (average £70/£90m2 supply and fit where I come from). its ludicrous to have to try and control the temperature with fans and taping up windows, especially with so much effort and expense that goes into preparation, the correct trowel and glue etc. It should be made very clear with the product and to the buyer that expansion and contraction might be an issue like any real wood flooring. When I laid this flooring it was a consistent 19 to 21c ish which to me would be the same as acclimatizing it in any room or home. It certainly wasnt overly hot. I go into property this time of year and people have the heating on above 25C. I will take some of your comments and try and come up with the best thing to say to the customer. would heating the plank up, lifting it and a some manipulation not help? Or is there not a gap filling product available?
     
  17. Spacey

    Spacey Super Moderator Staff Member

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    The best answer to stop gapping is to not use a PS adhesive full stop Dry fit and lay in soaking wet wet set adhesive especially with woodplank.
    Gaps can be disguised with Mapei easy grout if it still exists Not sure they still make it ? Also know as Amtico easy grout but Amtico don't do it anymore.
     
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  18. pf flooring

    pf flooring Well-Known Member

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    Are you a Floorlayer? As by your reply I'm guessing not, end of the day the product is plastic and it will shrink/expand with the temperature changes, nature of the beast I'm afraid
     
  19. RPB

    RPB Super Moderator Staff Member

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    While temperature may of been maintained prior to and throughout the installation, its possible an exterior door was open allowing a cool/cold draught into the room.., which will cause shrinkage to LVT...

    As Spacey says.., why use PS...? Wet set adhesive (Universal/KE66) has a far greater sheer strength which obviously help reduce/stop shrinkage. (Again., doors closed also helps)
     
  20. SDM

    SDM Member

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    I do all interior reforms/improvements, including decorating and tiling. Yes I am a floor layer, some 18+ years, but I dont have vast experience with LVT. I started to pick it up fitting with other guys and I suppose their bad habits. Mostly what I have read, being advised and also seen is the use of PS adhesive and little else. And I have never had issues before this? I think explaining to the customer prior to purchasing and fitting that there is a possibility of expansion and contraction, would also help.
    I wonder if a colored silicon would help disguise the gaps ?
     

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