Sheet Shrinkage and Seam Opening (Resilient Sheet Flooring)

Floor Detective® Claims and Conditions Guide

Summary

Sheet shrinkage and seam opening in resilient sheet flooring occur when adjacent sheet edges pull away from one another after installation, creating visible separation along the seam line. The condition reflects dimensional response, tension release, stress redistribution, or environmental movement interaction within the installed sheet flooring system rather than a surface-wear condition. Seam openings may appear as continuous gaps, intermittent separation, or localized edge pull-back concentrated within specific environmental or stress-exposure zones. Where heat welding is present, the weld bead may remain intact while separating from one or both sheet edges as the flooring moves away from the seam centerline. The condition may develop shortly after installation or progressively during service as the flooring system stabilizes to ambient conditions, thermal exposure, HVAC cycling, solar loading, substrate movement, or cumulative stress within long seam runs. Proper evaluation requires correlation of seam characteristics, distribution pattern, environmental exposure, restraint conditions, substrate influence, and installation behavior rather than appearance alone. The presence of seam opening does not independently establish manufacturing nonconformance. See also Heat Weld Seam Failure Resilient Sheet Flooring, Bubbling Sheet Goods, and LVT and SPC Floor Problems for broader context.

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