Fixed a nasty seam split with a heat gun and a prayer

Got called to a house in Tacoma last month, they had a seam open up right in the middle of their hallway. Looked like someone took a knife to it. First time I tried to re-iron it, the tape peeled right off. Turns out the original install used cheap tape and it had dried out. I pulled up both sides, scraped the old glue down to the pad, laid fresh tackstrip along the gap, and used my trimmer to shave the edges clean. Took about 3 hours total, but that seam is invisible now. Anyone else run into old tape that just crumbles? What do you do to prep the subfloor when that happens?

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wendyk631mo ago

Did you hear about that new peel and stick seam tape they're pushing at the trade shows? I saw a demo last spring and it's supposed to stick even to old dried out glue, but I'm still skeptical. In my experience, if the original tape is crumbling, the subfloor underneath is usually dusty or has residue that'll mess with any new bond. I always vacuum the gap, then wipe it down with denatured alcohol and let it dry completely before I even think about laying new tape. Sometimes I'll hit it with a light sanding block too if the old glue left a shiny spot. That heat gun trick you used, I've done the same but I keep the temp lower and move slow, otherwise you bubble the vinyl. Your three hour fix sounds about right, and honestly, if the seam is invisible now, you did better than most of the hack jobs I've seen.

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