New Flooring

Some of you may remember that I had installed Laminate Flooring within months of the date I moved into this home - which was 10 years ago.  [the first 3 pix are of my Kitchen and Laminate the way it looked 10 years ago]  There was vinyl installed when it was built, but due to improper installation, not being attached around the entire perimeter - especially by heat vents, the vinyl stretched and actually ballooned up off the floor when the heat was initially turned on in the house.  The stretching couldn't be taken care of...so I made a deal with them to issue me a credit [and I got what I thought was a very good amount] so I could buy and install the laminate.

It looked pretty......initially.  I didn't like the fake wood quarter round molding that was used - it was foam...and over time, it would get chipped...and it wound up looking awful.  Then there was a leak under the sink that I wasn't aware of and the person that knew it was there, never mentioned it to me.  I discovered it one day when I walked through the kitchen and nearly slipped on the water.  It was then that I knew there was a problem and saw the damage that had already occurred to the laminate.  Called a plumber to take care of the leak but the damage was done.  About a 7 foot wide swath of laminate was splitting and warping.  I lived with that for 4 years.  

Then I decided it was time for a change.

Since I live in a manufactured home, I decided I didn't want to over-improve, since these houses don't hold their value.  My home could have been put on a foundation, I could have had a basement if I so desired, but instead decided to put my house on a lot in a Manufactured home park...which I love.

So, I decided to look at Vinyl.  It would be perfect with my Pups [they are getting older and the oldest has already had some problems due to age] and any future water leaks.  It was also durable.  While the cost wasn't a whole lot less than some other materials, I just preferred it.  

I chose Mannington [with a 25 year warranty] from a company I'd dealt with before - in Lambertville, Mi - the next town away from me.  I needed underlayment and they assured me they had the best and after reading about it on the internet, I thought it sounded great too.  And I found something that went with everything else going on in my home too.  I chose Bagota, Coffee Bean.  It has lots of texture and many different colors and shades of colors in it.  It also had a small diamond in the middle of every four tiles...it's gorgeous.  And it "feels" warmer, not physically warmer than the laminate, but feels warmer with the colors.,,than the cold, shiny laminate.

Here it is in a sample kitchen. 

It was installed somewhere around the 2nd week of November 2016.  Within 4 weeks I began to have problems with "crackling" and "popping" as I walked over it.  Then I began seeing "baby speed bumps" in the vinyl.  Not just one or two, but several and more as time has gone on.  Of course, I called Townsend Carpeting [no website] early in December and they came out after the holidays to check on what was happening.  Since then, the owner has been here with the Mannington Vinyl Rep and the Matrixx Underlayment Rep.  The last visit was 2 weeks ago.  I called again today and the owner's wife wasn't in...so I will be calling again on Monday.

On the internet, I learned that the speed bumps are actually called Telegraphing Seams.

*Causes of Telegraphing Seams and Panel Blow-Through

In our 50 plus years of experience, the majority of underlayment flooring failures are due to telegraphing seams and fastener blow-through. Telegraphing seams and fastener blow-through are always the result of incorrect installation. They are not caused by panel failure. There are many factors that can cause telegraphing seams. These are the most common:

• The use of too much seam filler
• Not allowing the seam filler to dry sufficiently
• Not sanding the seam filler smooth and even with the plywood underlayment
• Panels being butted too tightly together
• Panels not properly acclimated
• Too high moisture content in flooring environment
• Uneven subfloors
• Placing the fasteners more than 1/2" from the edges of the panels
• Inconsistent fastener depth and blow-through along the edges of the panels

Fastener blow-through is caused by not properly adjusting the drive depth or air pressure in your staple or nail gun, which can result in shooting the fastener completely through the underlayment. Nothing short of physical plywood failure such as delamination will be warranted with regard to telegraphing seams.

Pardon the glare, but you have to look sideways on the floor to see all of the speed bumps.

These photos are of my actual flooring...which is in the Laundry, Sitting Room, Kitchen, Office and 2 Bathrooms.  Notice the lines...some are worse than others.  They've all gotten worse and new ones keep coming with time that passes.  

It just makes me sick.  All the money I paid...and 6 days of having the 2 old "supposed to be retired" guys [who complained alot] install it, making a mess every single step of the way.  I did get a bit of a credit, because they wrecked my painted walls nearly everywhere they went.  And they chipped a big chunk out of laminate countertop.

 I hope that very soon, this will be taken care of.  I just have to keep in touch with them.

It's such a shame, I love the flooring...it looks beautiful, that is, until you see the speed bumps.  When it is replaced, I want to know what they're doing in order to avoid the same thing from happening again.  I'll keep updating as it makes progress.