Vinyl Floor Section 75

WillPS

Evening all,
I had a vinyl floor installed a couple of weeks ago by United Carpets. It looked great up until the point where I had to pull the dishwasher out. Despite being as careful as I could, putting a towel beneath the front feet (the rear ones are inaccessible), the vinyl floor tore straight off, ripping along the length of the dishwasher from the rear feet.

I've since been informed this was a 'perimeter fix', meaning the thing isn't actually glued down across the whole of it (3.7m x 3m).

This, I have subsequently been told, is an inappropriate way of fitting a kitchen floor with appliances under a counter. I took a diagram showing the layout of what we required (and the appliances which would be sat on top), so in my view the product is unfit for purpose.

United Carpets are not taking any responsibility and in fact are implying that it was explained that this would happen (it most definitely wasn't).

The vinyl was purchased using a Natwest Mastercard. I lodged a section 75 complaint with Natwest who knocked me back saying I lacked sufficient evidence that there had been a breach of contract (I sent them photos of the damage and the diagram I took in when I purchased).

How should I go about proving the damage is due to the product being unfit for purpose (assuming that constitutes a breach of contract)?

Any help would be appreciated.

unholyangel

You'd have to prove them doing a perimeter fix was not what a reasonable careful & skilled floor fitter would have done.

In future, do cloth under front feet and tip it slightly so rear feet aren't being dragged. Or place a small patch of cloth/felt under the feet before you push the appliance in.

WillPS

Thanks for the reply and the advice.

How would I go about doing that, practically?

bris

You won't, you cant simply drag an appliance out with vinyl flooring glued or not. It's not made to handle it.

hollydays

I’ve read a piece of Perspex / plastic is the thing to use to slide out an item of white goods

Lizabeth21

Is it a reputable brand (tried and tested)? I’ve always had vinyl floor - never fixed to the floor anywhere not even silicone at the edges. Have always done as stated above - rocked/tipped it to prevent the dragging and making sure the floor is wet as far back as I can reach (usually with a pallete knife wrapped in wet kitchen roll). I’ve never had flooring rip. I’m not sure how being fixed could have prevented ripping.

Valli

unholyangel wrote: »

In future, do cloth under front feet and tip it slightly so rear feet aren't being dragged. Or place a small patch of cloth/felt under the feet before you push the appliance in.

I always use a glug of washing up liquid, by each foot, when sliding appliances over vinyl. Even better if you can rock the appliance and squirt it under the foot.

WillPS

bris wrote: »

You won't, you cant simply drag an appliance out with vinyl flooring glued or not. It's not made to handle it.

I'm not sure I get why it was provided given the spec then? I had no expectation that it'd be pristine, especially in areas which are not visible normally (e.g. under an appliance under a counter). The problem is that rather than just scratching it's actually ripped out a whole chunk.

Again, if it was completely loose I imagine it wouldn't be quite so much of a problem as the floor would bunch up as one rahter than sticking around the edges and tearing.

To be totally clear, I didn't just grab the dishwasher and drag it out, I used a sack trolley to lift the front, stuck a towel under it as far I could and tried to walk it out very slowly. If I was given any advice on how to move appliances in or out, or if I would need a middle piece, I agree that'd be negligence on my part.

Asking around other shops (not revealing my disagreement elsewhere) I seem to be getting the answer that it's a full fix I should have had, not a perimeter fix.

baza52

you ripped it by dragging your dishwasher over it.
If it was fully fixed the flooring would still likely have been damaged

You were clearly negligent and i cant understand why you would think the fault lies elswhere. The floor didnt rip by its self, it only ripped when you dragged the dishwasher out.

seashore22

We were looking at vinyl flooring for our bathroom last weekend and for about 60 seconds I considered it for our kitchen, then I remembered what happens when you move kitchen appliances and swiftly abandoned the idea.

I don't know who told you that gluing the entire thing to the floor would be a good idea, but that sounds like a terrible idea to me. The beauty of vinyl is it's ease of laying and ease of removal when it's life span is at an end. If I moved into a house and had to rip up glued on vinyl I would probably cry.

Edit - I may have to eat my words slightly about gluing down vinyl flooring. Apparently it's what they do now. Still think it's a bad idea though and I doubt it would have prevented tearing.

Just seen this in a website:

When the whole vinyl sheet is down and the above is complete, lift the edges and stick down to your sub floor with a vinyl adhesive. NOTE: heavier duty vinyl flooring does not need to be stuck down and light, non-cushioned varieties need adhesive all over, not just the edges.

So it isn't all vinyl that need gluing all over. Phew.

photome

WillPS wrote: »

I'm not sure I get why it was provided given the spec then? I had no expectation that it'd be pristine, especially in areas which are not visible normally (e.g. under an appliance under a counter). The problem is that rather than just scratching it's actually ripped out a whole chunk.

Again, if it was completely loose I imagine it wouldn't be quite so much of a problem as the floor would bunch up as one rahter than sticking around the edges and tearing.

To be totally clear, I didn't just grab the dishwasher and drag it out, I used a sack trolley to lift the front, stuck a towel under it as far I could and tried to walk it out very slowly. If I was given any advice on how to move appliances in or out, or if I would need a middle piece, I agree that'd be negligence on my part.

Asking around other shops (not revealing my disagreement elsewhere) I seem to be getting the answer that it's a full fix I should have had, not a perimeter fix.

think it would have been better to tilt it backwards , put a towel or something similar under the 2 front feet, then tilt it forwards and then pull it out so the back feet are not in contact with the floor.

at least that is how i do it and havent damaged a floor, yet