Marmoleum swelling!

[modarch]

I have had a thick cardboard protective cover over my sheet Marmoleum for at least the past 6 months while I have tried to wrap up things on the renovation of my Caravel. After I pulled the cardboard out last week I was horrified to see that I have a few long bubbles or swelling spots running front to back in the middle of the floor!

I glued it only at the perimeter. I am not sure if it was moisture that I tracked in over time, or a leak. I have hoped it would go back down, but after a week there are no signs if it changing.

Any suggestions on how to fix? All I can think of is trying to find a small syringe for the adhesive and drilling small periodic holes, but I am worried about gluing across a plywood seam...

[cameront120]

I think the problem is that you glued down only the perimeter. Normally, the product is glued down with contact cement over it's entire area. Is the subfloor new? Whatsort of material is it? I suspect that vapour is escaping from the wood or is transferring through the wood or at the seams and causing the bubbles (temperature difference between inside and out may be playing a part in this). What kind of glue did you use at the perimeter? Is it possible for you to lift the flooring up in a few spots at the perimeter to allow the gas to escape? Can you lift the whole floor and then re-glue it and this time glue the whole surface?

[modarch]

I glued the perimeter with the adhesive product that is made by the manufacturer. I glued the perimeter only based on direction I found on this forum, and it was based on the fact that the plywood subfloor may move over time. All others have reported no problems like what I have experienced. My subfloor is new 5/8" plywood that is epoxy coated on both sides.

Not possible to lift up the floor because all of the cabinetry has been installed on top of the flooring. At this point I will try to "spot adhere" with a small hole and syringe. If worse comes to worse, I have quite a bit of flooring left and I could possibly just cut it at the face of the cabinetry and reinstall with a quarter round trim at perimeter.

[InsideOut]

Originally Posted by cameront120

I think the problem is that you glued down only the perimeter. Normally, the product is glued down with contact cement over it's entire area.
<snip>I suspect that vapour is escaping from the wood or is transferring through the wood or at the seams and causing the bubbles (temperature difference between inside and out may be playing a part in this).

Cameron is probably right...

We have installed Marmoleum in both of our trailers totally glued down without any problems. One we just had our '56 Safari done this winter and our '64 GlobeTrotter has been down for over 8 years.

Sorry that you have had this problem...it really is a terrific product, but it should be 100% adhered as it is dynamic with humidity. I think, at this point, I would cut along the base of the cabinets then re-install that piece with 100% coverage on the glue rather than just spot adhere with a syringe - I would think that would only transfer the bubbles to somewhere else.

Good luck on your fix.

Shari

[modarch]

Thanks Shari- I think I am going to try the syringe idea and see how that works. If it doesn't, or if the bubbles move, I will pull up and replace

I should have just glued the whole thing. So far that has been the only piece of advice I have received here that hasn't worked, or at least for me...