Fast Fixes for Vinyl Floors

By: Merle Henkenius (Page 1 of 3)

Photos by: Merle Henkenius

A snagged chair leg floor ripped open this section of sheet-vinyl flooring. The remedy is to install a replacement patch.

Secure the replacement patch over the damaged area with 2-in.-wide masking tape. Be sure the pattern lines match.

Use a straightedge and utility knife to cut through the patch and the flooring below. For a neater repair, cut along pattern lines.

Remove the damaged section of flooring and spread mastic onto the plywood subfloor with a notched trowel.

Press the replacement patch onto the mastic, cover it with wax paper and then weigh it down with a few books.

Mix equal amounts of the two-part seam sealer. Then squeeze it into the joints using the special applicator bottle.

Pry up the damaged tile with a stiff-blade putty knife after softening the tile's adhesive with an electric heat gun.

Scrape the subfloor completely clean of all residual adhesive and bits of broken tile so the replacement tile lies perfectly flat.

Peel the protective paper off the back surface of the replacement tile to expose its pressure-sensitive adhesive.

Set one edge of the tile in place, then slowly lower the tile onto the subfloor. Firmly press it down with a rolling pin.

Browse Images

Browse Floors Galleries:

View All

On Newsstands Now

In the Magazine

Easy Upgrades That Say Welcome Home

If you own a home in America, odds are there's vinyl flooring in at least one of its rooms. That likelihood is bound to continue: According to the Resilient Floor Covering Institute, an industry trade group, nearly 85 million square yards of the stuff were laid in new homes in 1994 - enough to nearly cover the island of Manhattan. And that doesn't include the vinyl floors added during remodeling.

Vinyl, or resilient, flooring is so popular because it's affordable and durable. In fact, its pattern usually goes out of style long before its surface wears out. Vinyl flooring isn't indestructible, however. Sliding back a chair can snag and rip it (photo 1), while a dropped can and other sharp objects can easily gouge the material. And high heels are notorious for puncturing the toughest flooring if there's even the slightest void in the subfloor beneath it.

Fortunately, repairing vinyl flooring is easy, and requires little more than a utility knife. We'll cover the techniques for repairing sheet vinyl and vinyl tile - the two major varieties of vinyl floor. Here's where you begin.

ASSESSING THE DAMAGE
How you repair vinyl flooring depends on what kind you have and how it's damaged. With vinyl tile, the best approach simply is to replace marred tiles . With sheet vinyl, eliminating damage requires fusing the surface or patching in new material.

Small cuts and scratches can be permanently fused with liquid seam sealer, a clear compound that's available wherever vinyl flooring is sold. Clean the area with a soft cloth that's dipped in lacquer thinner, then squeeze in a thin bead of sealer. After the sealer has dried, the repair will be virtually invisible.

For tears or burns, you'll have to cut out the damaged area and glue in a replacement patch; this type of work requires an extra piece of identical flooring and a technique called double cutting (which is covered in the next section. Installers often leave a few scrap pieces behind for just such an emergency. If there aren't any leftover pieces - and if the flooring isn't too old - you might find an identical piece at a flooring dealer. You can also lift a piece for your patch from inside a closet, under the refrigerator or in some other inconspicuous location.