Vinyl Flooring: Wet glue underneath and pink and black stains on top

Question

I had vinyl flooring professionally laid 2 years ago. Now it is covered in black stains and a faint pink discolouration. We have the same flooring in two different rooms - in the kitchen (which is stained) and in the downstairs bathroom (not stained) which is next to the kitchen.

Today i pulled up the flooring to see what was causing the stains on the kitchen floor. The glue was still as wet as the day it was laid. The bathroom however, whilst a bit sticky, was pretty much dry. Does anybody know why this has happened?

Answer 1

The obvious answer is that something was done improperly. What, exactly, is anyone's guess at this time. Some possible explanations:

1. The adhesive used was the incorrect type, was past its expiration date, was not applied properly.
2. The surface over which the adhesive and flooring was applied was unsuitable for this application. Here it helps to read and understand the manufacturer's installation instructions.
3. There is some contaminant on the floor that is interfering with the adhesive.
4. Your floor has excess moisture that is breaking down the adhesive. Generally there are limits listed in the installation instructions.

At this point I'm sure you're well past the point of making a claim with the installations company but you might contact the manufacturer and see if their support folks have any suggestions. Otherwise I think you're looking at a total tear-out and re-installation, likely at your cost.

You definitely want to understand why this happened so that you can avoid a repeat on the new installation.