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We had some recent work done on our house and it appears that one of the workers nicked the vinyl flooring in the kitchen -- resulting in a circular gash about 3/4 inch wide. Here's a picture:

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Unfortunately the contract we had with them indemnify them against stuff like this so we'll need to repair it ourselves.

The good news is that we're eventually planning to replace the flooring (probably within the next year). In the meantime, I looking for a way to repair the damage and make it resistant to water.

Any suggestions?

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    Is this vinyl (a thin layer of colored material over lots of backing) or real linoleum (thick layer of colored material, very little backing)?
    – Niall C. ♦
    Oct 26, 2010 at 16:15
  • Do you have any left over linoleum from when the floor was installed?
    – Tester101
    Oct 26, 2010 at 16:17
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    If you ever have an experience like this and they offer to fix it immediately, that's a good contractor. Keep hiring them; recommend them to your friends.
    – Jay Bazuzi
    Oct 26, 2010 at 16:53
  • @tester101 No left over linoleum unfortunately.
    – Mike B
    Oct 26, 2010 at 21:51
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    @MikeB: the term "linoleum" is often used for vinyl flooring, but patterns on vinyl are printed on the surface; with linoleum they go all the way through the thickness of the material. Doesn't really matter now, you've got a good answer from chris and woodchips.
    – Niall C. ♦
    Oct 26, 2010 at 21:57

2 Answers 2

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In answer to Mike's question about a repair kit, my first thought is to go to a local store that sells no-wax flooring. They would sell you a repair kit. Second thought is to look on Amazon, there I found a Vinyl flooring repair kit: that includes what you need for a color match. Apparently it cures when you apply heat, so I'd use my heat gun, but a hair dryer might work too. (I see that one online reviewer said it did not harden for them, but it sounds like they did not read the instructions about it needing heat to cure.)

The repair kit I had used for spot repair in the past was basically a tube of clear cement. You dabbed it on and it air cured. It was really designed to seal the seams between two pieces of flooring, but that was where I needed it.

If you are unsure about how to do something like this, a great idea is always to find a scrap to practice on. That local flooring store would surely have a scrap piece of flooring to play with, if you don't have one.

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  • Thanks! Just what I was looking for. I'll do more research and report back on how things go.
    – Mike B
    Oct 27, 2010 at 15:12
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Option 1: Try some nail polish of an appropriate colour. It's not a perfect fix by any means, but it is cheap, and you are replacing soon.

Option 2: Cut out the entire 'tile' on the 'grout' lines and cut a matching piece from leftovers if you have any. Glue it down with contact cement. The edge of the patch will collect dirt and become ugly pretty fast. I don't recommend this if it's in the center of the field. It's ok for edge work.

Option 3: Put a rug over it.

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    You can also buy a filler made specifically for no-wax flooring. It dries to a hard but flexible surface in a few hours. You might even be able to find coloring to add to the stuff. I have tried it, and it works reasonably well, at least for a year or so.
    – user558
    Oct 26, 2010 at 17:04
  • @woodchips Can you provide an example/brand/filler type? I'm not sure what type of product to look for at the hardware store...
    – Mike B
    Oct 26, 2010 at 21:50

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