4 minutes reading time
(754 words)
Retail Laminate Repairs and Replacement
Retail stores usually have a fair amount of laminate on the sales floor, from displays to cash wrap counter.
Of course, these areas receive some very high abusive usage. When the laminate starts delaminating or chipping, we get the call to fix it.
This type of work always has to be done during store closing hours.
Finding matching laminate is always the hardest part of the job. If we cannot locate matching laminate, all surrounding laminate will have to be replaced, which ads a fair amount of money to these types of jobs. For this reason we take the extra time to try to locate and source out the laminate materials. The gallery of photos in this post shows a few jobs. The pictures show before and after in no particular order. In these photos, the existing damaged laminate had to have full removal. All the surfaces were cleaned and prepared for new laminate, and new laminate was installed and finished. When doing this type of work, we have to clear a fair section of the sales floor. Then we can set up our portable shop as the laminate comes in reasonably large rolls, we need to unroll these sheets on the sales floor so we can cut to size and install. It can be a bit of challenge as most stores this requires a fair amount of shuffling and moving of contents, displays, and product. Also, after we have our shop setup, there is much covering up to do with plastic, tape, and drop sheets. The removal process generates small chips of old laminate. These can fly for several feet in every direction. We want to make sure when we complete a project like this, that in the future, nobody can cut themselves on sharp pieces of chipped laminate laying on a shelf, product, or flooring. The next reason for covering up is after the new laminate installation, all the edges need trimming.
The use of a high-speed router assists us in trimming the edges of the laminate, creating a smooth, clean-cut look. Trimming does cause a large amount of fine dust. The router with a particular laminate edging bit finishes off the edges nicely. Then we do a final filing of the edges to make sure there is no sharp edge. Clean up after a job like this is usually pretty intense. Even though we have covered up extensively, there is a considerable amount of fine dust on all our plastic and drop sheets. Great care has to go into the cleanup.
Of course, these areas receive some very high abusive usage. When the laminate starts delaminating or chipping, we get the call to fix it.
This type of work always has to be done during store closing hours.
Finding matching laminate is always the hardest part of the job. If we cannot locate matching laminate, all surrounding laminate will have to be replaced, which ads a fair amount of money to these types of jobs. For this reason we take the extra time to try to locate and source out the laminate materials. The gallery of photos in this post shows a few jobs. The pictures show before and after in no particular order. In these photos, the existing damaged laminate had to have full removal. All the surfaces were cleaned and prepared for new laminate, and new laminate was installed and finished. When doing this type of work, we have to clear a fair section of the sales floor. Then we can set up our portable shop as the laminate comes in reasonably large rolls, we need to unroll these sheets on the sales floor so we can cut to size and install. It can be a bit of challenge as most stores this requires a fair amount of shuffling and moving of contents, displays, and product. Also, after we have our shop setup, there is much covering up to do with plastic, tape, and drop sheets. The removal process generates small chips of old laminate. These can fly for several feet in every direction. We want to make sure when we complete a project like this, that in the future, nobody can cut themselves on sharp pieces of chipped laminate laying on a shelf, product, or flooring. The next reason for covering up is after the new laminate installation, all the edges need trimming.
The use of a high-speed router assists us in trimming the edges of the laminate, creating a smooth, clean-cut look. Trimming does cause a large amount of fine dust. The router with a particular laminate edging bit finishes off the edges nicely. Then we do a final filing of the edges to make sure there is no sharp edge. Clean up after a job like this is usually pretty intense. Even though we have covered up extensively, there is a considerable amount of fine dust on all our plastic and drop sheets. Great care has to go into the cleanup.
We try to dust off and vacuum everything before removing the plastic and drop sheets. When we do remove, we do it slowly to make sure nothing goes airborne. Then bag drop sheets and old plastic to get them out of the store. Later at our shop, we shake out and clean the drop sheets thoroughly so we can reuse them on another project.
If you find yourself needing to get any laminate project done, repair, replace, or new, give us a call. We would love to hear from you and help you with your project. Remember, we provide free estimates to all.
