Cork flooring surface came off with tape!

12 years ago

Hi there,

We just recently installed CorkArt cork panel flooring in our basement. Looks and feels great. About a week ago, the installers put down some cardboard - to protect the floor while the other trades were in/out - and taped it down with painters tape.

I went to go remove the cardboard/tape yesterday and, to my surprise, the tape took off pieces of the top layer of the flooring!! This was a surprise for a couple of reasons, namely: (1) why on earth would painters tape take off the flooring's finish layer, and (2) the flooring guy told me that the colour goes right through, so if there was ever any damage there would not be any discoloured areas -- well, there is. The tape couldn't have taken off more than 1mm, yet that area is quite a bit lighter than the flooring surface.

We're waiting to hear back from our installer, but has anyone experienced this before? What types of remedies should I be expecting, and what would be the preferable course of action?

Thanks in advance for any advice you can provide.

Comments (3)

glennsfc
12 years ago
Sounds like the tape pulled off the factory coating.
woodfloorpro
12 years ago
"Tape issues

1. Not supposed to be used on flooring with coatings such as acrylic, polyurethane or wax.
2. It can be used on low gloss paint and LAMINATE FLOORING...
-- Not cork, wood or bamboo.

** It works by the tape surface easily lifting off it's own glue. When you pull the tape from the surface of the wood, it leaves the glue on the wood and the plastic tape comes off.
The flooring industry would refer to this as releasable adhesive.

The PROBLEM?
The adhesive is not the same gloss as the surface it was placed, leaving bands the width of the tape.
-- IF the tape is left on the floor too long it chemically and mechanically bonds to the surface (plasticizers) and is not possible to remove or remove the marks left by the tape."
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bishop8
Original Author
12 years ago
Thanks for the posts. The installer came by and said he'd never seen that happen before. He's contacting the manufacturer, but that we'll be 'taken care of' after the next stage of our reno is complete and we move out of the basement. He suspects it'll involve some coating of the entire floor, which he says is typically recommended anyway.