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We recently noticed a small tear in our vinyl flooring (laundry room if that matters.) I'm assuming overtime a mixture of air and dirt will begin causing bubbles to form, and it will impact the rest of the flooring.

What's the best way to repair or patch this tear?

damaged flooring damaged flooring

enter image description here

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    Do you have any extra pieces/cut-offs left over?
    – crip659
    Aug 3 at 12:06
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    That kinda looks like it was melted. Otherwise you might be able to use a heat gun or hair dryer to soften the vinyl and kinda pull it back over the wood. You still might be able to do that, which would give you a smaller area you'd need to repair.
    – Huesmann
    Aug 3 at 12:48
  • @crip659 I kept spare vinyl tiles once. But when I wanted to replace a tile, the floor had faded so much, it was a glaring mismatch. Better to see if you can get a patch from an inconspicuous place. Aug 3 at 14:10
  • @SteveWellens It will depend if you want the patch to match exactly or just to seal the floor from spills from soaking in.
    – crip659
    Aug 3 at 14:18
  • I don't have any extra pieces, as the flooring was installed when the home was purchased. My main concern is sealing the floor from spills, so I'm perfectly okay with slapping a small patch on top of it. It really doesn't even need to be a perfect match, since the dryer will be covering it 99% of the time. I hadn't considered using a blower dryer to soften it up, right now it's very stiff.
    – stack back
    Aug 4 at 11:25

2 Answers 2

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The best solution is to replace a unit of the flooring. In your case, this would be one of the simulated tiles, putting the new seam on the simulated grout line where it's less visible. You can use spare material or you can remove some from an inconspicuous location (and replace it with a scrap from a store, for example).

The technique involves securing the patch piece in place with tape and cutting through both layers to achieve a good fit. Then remove the damaged tile and adhesive, bond the repair in place, and apply seam sealer to the perimeter joint.

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  • So it sounds like I couldn't just find some vinyl and more or less glue/bond it on top of the tear? I'll try and find some YouTube videos to get a better idea of what I'm about to take on. Thank you for your suggestion.
    – stack back
    Aug 4 at 11:28
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    No, that won't work. It'll look bad and it'll be scraped away before long.
    – isherwood
    Aug 4 at 12:55
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I would get some clear silicone caulk. Tape around the tear with masking tape, so extra caulk that squeezes out of the repair won't get all over the rest of the "tile" face.

Carefully pry up the places where the tear has occurred with a knife blade, inject the caulk into the spaces. Try to get some caulk under the final decorative color layer too, if possible. Then lay everything back out as close to the untorn state as possible.

Lay a bit of wax paper, cling wrap, or plastic sheet over the top of the tear. Lay a flat board over the plastic. Lay heavy weight on the board.

Let the caulk dry for 2 or 3 times its curing time. When the board and plastic are removed, the tear and caulk should be squeezed flat again. It may not look 100% factory, but it will at least be sealed shut.

Carefully pry up the masking tape. and clean off excess caulk that squeezed out.

This tear may have happened because something was dragged across the floor. Be careful about dragging things on vinyl floors.

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  • Silicone is not a strong adhesive in small cases like this, and I'd expect it to let go in short order under any kind of force. I'd use something better, such as white glue.
    – isherwood
    Aug 3 at 13:30
  • @isherwood, Good point! I was thinking of a clear-drying glue of some sort. White glue would be clear. I wonder how clean-up-able the overflow would be after removing the weight? Aug 3 at 14:02
  • It think it would wipe away with water, assuming it wasn't an exterior variety.
    – isherwood
    Aug 3 at 14:05

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