LESLIE: Now we’re going to talk flooring with Rae in New York. Tell us what’s going on at your money pit.
RAE: I have an Armstrong tile marble tan look floor in my kitchen. I bought it about two years ago. After three-quarters of a year, the floor near the area of the stove, sink and refrigerator turned grayish coloring. I called Armstrong. They came, looked at it; picked up the floor; they didn’t know why and we put the same floor down again and now the same thing is happening.
TOM: Is this a vinyl floor?
RAE: No, it’s a laminate.
TOM: Hmm, interesting.
RAE: And we don’t know why.
TOM: And they don’t know why either, so they just …
RAE: No, they don’t know why either.
TOM: I’ve never really heard of laminates changing color, so that’s kind of a new one for us. And if the folks at Armstrong can’t figure out I don’t think that we can either. I would stay in touch with them because perhaps with the passage of time they’ve discovered why that problem is happening. It’s a good company. They make a good product.
RAE: Right. It’s interesting that underneath the further ends of the kitchen, where the dining area is, you really don’t have that happening. You have it towards the front where the stove and the sink and the …
TOM: Well, the areas that you describe would be those parts of the kitchen that you spend the most time standing in front of …
RAE: Right.
TOM: … so there’s probably more wear and tear there.
RAE: Right.
TOM: You know, the way laminate is built there’s a clear laminate surface; usually an aluminum-oxide coating that’s over the color coating. I just wonder if some of that is breaking down and you’re getting down to the color coat of the floor and wearing off some of the surface; bringing up whatever is gray underneath of that. That’s the only thing that would make sense to me; unless there’s just a manufacturing defect in the product. But I think your best bet is to go back to the folks at Armstrong. If it’s been replaced once, like I said, maybe by now they know what’s going on and maybe you just select a different product from them next time.
RAE: OK. Thank you very much.
TOM: You’re welcome, Rae. Sorry we couldn’t be more help. Good luck with that project.
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