Vinyl Floor Splitting at Seams
QUESTION: Our vinyl floor is separating at the seams in some areas. What’s the best way to repair it?
ANSWER: You can close simple tears and separated seams with an inexpensive seam sealing kit. Make sure it’s the same brand as your vinyl.
In some cases you’ll need to reglue the vinyl to the floor. While this is easy enough to do, it’s usually not required. In any case, you simply apply a little flooring mastic to the undersides of the separated vinyl and press it back in place. To keep it there while it dries, set books or a brick on the seam or tear for a day or so.
With the vinyl stuck firmly in place, insert the applicator tip of the sealer bottle into the seam or tear, and pull it along until the entire seam or tear has a coating of sealer. Then, allow it to dry completely before resuming traffic in that area.
Tips on Fixing a Loose Balustrade
Q: We recently bought an old house and, as you can imagine, it offers a “lifetime” of fix-up projects. One such project that we’d like your advice on concerns the right way to fix a loose balustrade.
A: When the whole balustrade, including the handrail and newel post, feels loose, it indicates a breakdown of the joints between the steps and the outer stringer. You should attend to it immediately, before the whole structure becomes dangerous and liable to collapse completely if someone were to fall against it.
Refasten a loose stringer and newel to the steps by first removing the wedges from the tread and riser mortises; then, working along the face of the stringer with a hammer and wood block, knock it back into place to reseat the joints. If the stringer tends to spring away, hold it in place with lengths of timber braced between it and the opposite wall. Make new wedges, apply glue to the joints and drive the wedges in to make tight joints.
Reinforce the joint between the bottom step and the newel post with glued blocks rubbed into the angle on the underside of the stair. Alternatively, screw metal angle plates into the corners.