The OVF October Newsletter

OCTOBER, 2022

‘Tis the season where we enjoy decorating for Halloween. I have seen some very clever front porches with jack-o-lanterns, skeletons and more. I find myself enjoying some scary movies this time of the year too. It can be fun dressing up for parties and enjoying some frightfully good times. What is not fun??Encountering flooring horrors! Especially in your own projects! This month we cross over to the dark side of flooring projects.

Read on. If you dare!!

Flooring Horror Stories

Flooring horrors come in all shapes and sizes. Some are caused by installer error. Some are caused by the owners’ or end-users’ carelessness. Occasionally, flaws occur in the manufacturing of a product. Regardless, flooring problems can be mysterious. I have collected some examples to share with you for educational purposes. Note: these examples are all anonymous. I don’t know anything about the locations or even where the products came from. When requesting photos, I asked my sources to omit any identifying information.?These images are intended purely for our educational purposes. So no need to scream!

Below:?This photo illustrates the murder of a floor by neglect. Grime and grit was tracked into the facility. Then by the action of chairs sliding back and fourth, a scouring effect was conjured up by the friction of the chair glides. Prevention is the key. Install quality entrance matting at all the doors and regularly sweep or vacuum floors. Cleaning the bottom of the glides would have helped too!

?To the rescue: Johnsonite Clean Path shown below. This walk-off modular tile stands its ground to protect all kinds of entryways. From hospitals to schools and office buildings to restaurants, Clean Path traps dirt and moisture to preserve your client’s flooring investment.        

Chemicals are tricky business and can be pure evil to floors when not managed correctly. Improper use of disinfectants can cause irreversible quaternary burn of the flooring material as shown in the discolored areas here. Always read and follow the manufacturer's maintenance instructions and save them so as new employees are hired, they will understand how to properly care for the floorcovering. Flooring is an investment in the facility and needs to be treated as such. Premature replacement of the floor is not good for the bottom line! If needed, your friendly sales rep can help arrange for a maintenance seminar.

?More Flooring Frights!

The Following Photos Represent Unfortunate Installer Errors.

This vinyl sheet floor is haunted. Yes! The ghost of the past VCT is ever present. The tragedy is magnified with the application of a high gloss floor finish.?To make matters worse, the floor failed because the vapor emissions that had previously escaped via the tile joints has now become trapped under the new sheet flooring, causing loss of bond at every tile joint, contributing to the telegraphing of the tile joints. Here illustrates the hazard of short cuts. It’s typically best to remove an existing floorcovering, then test for RH levels and properly prep the subfloor before installing the new flooring.?

?Below:?Dead on arrival! Here’s the indented surface of a vinyl sheet floor under a hospital patient bed. Epoxy adhesive is often required where point loads will be heavier and more abusive than usual so that the installation system can withstand the trauma of the environment. It was discovered that the adhesive specification was not followed by the flooring installer.

(Photo credit: Reggie Hill, President at Floor Covering Services & Consultants, Inc.)

Tales From the Design Crypt:?“Value Engineering” and Supply Chain Nightmares.

This is, unfortunately, a familiar story. You worked hours researching, selecting and specifying the flooring for that high profile project. Now what? The bids came back over budget. What a pain! When you’re working with Tarkett / Johnsonite products, a happy ending is still possible. This manufacturer has multiple offerings in every price point. Take treads, for example. You specified Bamboo texture, visually impaired, speckled. This is a premium price point. However, no need to downsize the texture! All textures are priced alike! Just re-select a solid color to capture substantial savings. And if that still does not realize enough savings, you could consider reducing or eliminating the visually impaired insert. If necessary, look at the possibility of vinyl treads as an alternate.

?The OVF Advantage

Ohio Valley Flooring is one of our nation's largest flooring distributors serving OH, KY, IN and Western PA. That means options and choices for you, the design professional. With our 460,000 SF primary warehouse in Mason, Ohio, OVF has the capacity to stock many items for Quick Ship so that supply chain woes can be minimized. If you ever need assistance in finding alternates to meet your budget or timeline, we are ready to help you find a happy ending to your flooring horror story. Below: OVF’s collection of manufacturers.

Ohio Valley Flooring strives to be your top resource when it comes to specifying commercial resilient and hard surface flooring. Have a Happy & safe Halloween! Email:[email protected]

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