4 Rubber Flooring Issues Building Inspections May Reveal

Are you planning to buy a home that has rubber flooring? Read on and discover some of the potential issues that a building inspection report may reveal about the rubber flooring of that home.

Oxidation

You may have to conduct costly repairs to the rubber flooring in case you don't engage a building inspector to check that flooring. Rubber can oxidise after reacting with light, heat and air. This oxidation can cause the rubber to become brittle. Such rubber can easily break when it is subjected to any strain, such as furniture legs being dragged on it. The inspector can point out this defect and save you from the costly repairs associated with restoring that floor.

Off-Gassing

Some rubber flooring materials emit volatile organic compounds that may be harmful to humans, pets and the environment. The building inspector may ask you to commission a detailed assessment of the rubber flooring in order to rule out off-gassing. The inspectors may also find out whether the flooring materials were conditioned off-site in order to ensure that no off-gassing was taking place at the time of the installation of that flooring material. 

Odours

The building inspector can also draw your attention to any odour that may be coming from the rubber flooring materials. This odour is most common in rubber flooring materials that were made from recycled tyres. The observation of the inspector can lead you to decide whether you can tolerate that odour or not before you buy the property. You may have missed the odour as you viewed the property when the previous owner had deodorised the rooms.

Lifted Seams

The building inspector will also examine whether the seams of the rubber flooring have lifted at their edges. Such lifting could expose the sub-floor to moisture ingress. The prompt detection of any lifted seams can help you to repair the flooring as soon as you occupy the home. This will avert any further damage that would have occurred if the problem had remained undetected for a long time.

Building inspections don't only focus on the floors. You shouldn't therefore think that you can avoid hiring a building inspector just because you can assess the issues above on your own. Find an experienced professional who will give you a detailed report about the condition of the home. Only then will you avoid incurring high costs to fix the issues that are discovered after you have taken possession of the home.

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