Repairing Your Vinyl
Floor
From a nail polish stain
to water damage, there are several ways your vinyl floor
can become visibly damaged. Before you decide how to
repair it, consider what caused the damage. Depending
on the severity, you may need to take extra steps in
the repair process.
If the vinyl floor’s edges are lifting or the
surface shows ring stains, water or moisture probably
caused the damage. Although vinyl usually resists water
well, continuous exposure to moisture or a water build-up
can cause severe damage to your vinyl floor. Find out
if the subfloor is damaged by peeling back the edge
of the vinyl to see the subfloor underneath. If you
find water rings or a moldy surface, you may need to
patch your subfloor along
with making repairs to the vinyl. A stain with rings
on the subfloor shows that the water problem developed
over time. Leave the area exposed for a few days to
allow air to flow to the subfloor to dry it. During
the drying period, check for any leaks or water build-up
that may have caused the damage. If the problem seems
beyond your repair ability, contact a professional for
a recommendation.
Non-eroding liquids, sunspots or punctures may have
damaged your vinyl floor. In this case, where only the
surface layer of the floor is damaged, you won’t
need to patch the subfloor underneath.
Before you begin
- Find a large patch that
matches your flooring. Get a patch large enough to
cover the stain along with a generous border around
the damaged area.
- Find the right adhesive
and seam sealer for your patch. Check with your hardware
store to see what they recommend for the floor materials
you have. Make sure the adhesive will adhere to the
vinyl flooring material and the subfloor in your home.
- Check to see how your
vinyl flooring fastens to the subfloor. Is your floor
attached with a bed of adhesive or is the floor adhered
around the perimeter? Follow the correct process listed
below.
| Fix-it
Tip |
| Make the
seam less noticeable by cutting along the pattern
lines. |
For a perimeter
adhesive
- Use a straight edge
to mark a square around the damaged spot on the floor.
If your floor has a pattern, you can make the seam
less noticeable by tracing along pattern lines.
- Use a framing square
and utility knife to cut out the square.
- Lay the cutout on your
patching material, carefully matching the patterns
with one another. Use masking tape to keep the patch
in position and trace around the cutout.
- Cut the patch along the
lines you traced. If necessary, sand the edges so
the patch will properly fit into place.
- Spread the recommended
adhesive on the exposed area of the floor and under
the perimeter of the patch area to adhere the previously
installed flooring as well. CAUTION! Keep the room
ventilated when using adhesive. Refer to adhesive
packaging for proper safety and application instructions.
- Lay the patch in place
and wipe off any excess adhesive.
- Put a piece of wax paper
over the patch and place weights on it for 24 hours
and let the adhesive dry.
- Once the adhesive dries,
squeeze the seam sealer along the edges of the patch
to protect them from moisture. Most seam sealers come
with an applicator bottle. Refer to your hardware
store and sealant label for instructions.
For a bed of adhesive
- Cut the patch in a square
larger than the damaged area.
- Lay the patch over the
damaged floor, match the pattern and tape down the
patch. With a utility knife and framing square, cut
through both layers of flooring.
- Remove the damaged square.
If you make a diagonal slice from corner to corner
and pry from the middle of the patch, you won't damage
the edges.
- Scrape the exposed floor
to remove the old adhesive. Clean the exposed surface
and make it smooth. Any bumps or bits and pieces left
in the area might make the finished surface uneven.
- Apply fresh adhesive
to the exposed surface. CAUTION!
Keep the room ventilated
when using adhesive. Refer to adhesive packaging for
proper safety and application instructions.
- Place in the patch,
and wipe off any excess adhesive.
- Put a piece of wax paper
over the patch and place weights on it for 24 hours.
- Once the adhesive dries,
squeeze the seam sealer along the edges of the patch
to protect them from moisture. Most seam sealers come
with an applicator bottle. Refer to your hardware
store and sealant label for instructions.
Subfloor Patch
You might need to patch the subfloor if moisture, a
hole or other damage weakened an area of the floor.
When you take a look at the subfloor in a manufactured
home, you will most likely find either particleboard
(sometimes called D2) or Orient Strand Board (OSB) beneath
the carpet padding or tile. Carpeting and padding that
have not been damaged can be pulled back while you repair
the area, then glued or tacked over the patched subfloor
area. Vinyl tile and linoleum will need to be patched.
Materials
- Use a piece of plywood
for the patch. Using plywood will make the area more
resistant to moisture damage. The thickness of the
plywood patch needs to be the same as the thickness
of the rest of the subfloor. Usually you’ll
find ½, 5/8 or ¾ inch original subfloor
material.
- Anchor the patched area
with 2x4s around the perimeter of the opening. You
may need extra 2x4s for supports on large areas.
- Tools: utility knife,
straightedge, keyhole saw, handsaw or circular saw,
electric drill, three-inch drywall screws or ring-shank
nails.
STEP 1: Prepare
the Area
Store the plywood in the room where it will be installed
for at least 24 hours to allow the wood to settle in
the room’s temperature. When you’re ready
to install, remove floor covering and molding from the
damaged area. Locate and mark the floor joists on both
sides of the area to be patched. Manufactured home joists
usually sit 16 inches apart and can be spotted easily
by the trail of nails or staples along the joist.
STEP 2: Cut Out
Damaged Area
Find the joists that run just outside the damaged area.
If you plan to use a handsaw to cut out the area, make
a pilot hole at the corner of the patch. This allows
the saw blade to slip through the hole for a starting
point. If a handheld saw sounds like too much work,
you can use a circular saw to cut out the patch. Set
the blade at the proper depth, deep enough to cut out
the damaged subfloor and shallow enough so you don’t
reach the joists. Square off the area and remove the
damaged floor.
CAUTION!
Please take precautions when using electrical and handheld
saws. Always use safety equipment and follow instructions
provided with the tool.
STEP 3: Frame the
Patch
To support the patch, cut pieces of a 2x4 to fit the
patched area like a frame. Match the top edge of the
2x4s with the bottom edge to complete the frame. (See
illustration.)
STEP 4: Attach Frames
to Joist
Using an electric drill and three-inch drywall screws,
install the cut 2x4 flat against each joist. Drill two
screws into each end of the frame boards for support.
STEP 5: Prepare the Patch
Measure the floor area to be patched. Subtract 1/4 inch
from both the length and width to allow for expansion
after it settles into place. With a power saw or handsaw,
cut out the plywood patch.
STEP 6: Fasten Patch
Lay the patch on the frame and screw the plywood into
the frame. Countersink the screws so the heads are set
into the floor.
STEP 7: Add Floor Covering
Replace, reinstall the carpeting or patch the floor
covering.
|
Fixing
Squeaky Floors |
To silence a noisy subfloor, drive ring-shank
nails into the loose board to reattach it to the
joist. Be sure to pull back the floor covering
first. The parallel ridges on the ring-shank nail
provide greater holding power than a smooth-shank
nail. If that doesn't work, you need to go under
the manufactured home and shim up the subfloor.
Cut through the blackboard to expose the joists.
Apply glue to a tapered wooden shim. With a hammer,
drive the shim between the joist and the floorboard.
When you are finished, apply a belly board patch
to the blackboard.
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What's Under Your Floor
The factory assembles your manufactured home layer by
layer which makes the floor and subfloor more complex
than in a site-built home. You’ll find it handy
to know what’s under your floor when repair time
comes.
Chassis
A welded steel chassis sits at the base of the home.
The wooden joists and subfloor structure bolts to the
chassis outriggers.
Joists
The floor joists are spaced 16 or 24 inches apart and
may run lengthwise or crosswise.
Blackboard
On top of the chassis rests a piece of black fiberboard,
fiberglass cloth or heavy tarpaper called the underbelly.
The underbelly protects the home from moisture, animals
and insects, and helps insulate the subfloor.
Plumbing & Ductwork
The heating/cooling ductwork and plumbing lines run
between the insulation and the joists. Usually the electrical
wiring runs up the walls, but in rare cases the electrical
wires may be under the floor.
Subfloor
The subfloor usually consists of 5/8 or 3/4 inch particleboard
or OSB panels. Because some particleboard has little
resistance to water, wipe up spills quickly and take
care of any leaks before the moisture can weaken the
subfloor. If you are replacing the subfloor, substitute
plywood of equal thickness for the particleboard.
Insulation
Batten insulation sit between the floor joists.
Vapor Barrier
This plastic sheeting, between the insulation and the
subfloor, keeps the moisture in the air away from the
insulation.
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