Problem with Cryntel Villastone

[doveredo]

Purchased and had 400 sq feet of Cryntel VillaStone professionally installed in my home. Three days after the floor was installed noticed scuff marks from tennis shoes on the floor. Tried removing marks following manufacturer's recommended floor product. Scuff marks did not come out. (by this time the number of scuff marks in kitchen has increased) Called manufacturer and was told to use mineral spirits, scuff marks lightened but did not come out. Contacted flooring company Cryntel recommended using Goo Gone and a little elbow grease to get out the scuff marks. After 3 minutes and extra effort the scuff marks came out. I don't know about anyone else, but having to get on hands and knees to clean a floor using petroleum based products in a kitchen with small children in pets doesn't sound like a viable solution.

[Daniel Wachtel]

I hate to say this, but, buy better sneakers. Make sure you buy the kind labled non-marking soles.

[doveredo]

these are good sneakers, felt pads from chairs and any rubber soled shoes cause the problem. My children's friends who wear sneakers or rubber soled shoes, elderly relatives who use walkers and also wear soft soled shoes also cause the same problem. The floor is too high maintenance for the price.

[doveredo]

I would like to add that I know all solid surface floors scuff, the biggest problem with Cryntel's floor is removing the scuff marks. I have over 400 sq feet of flooring, I didn't purchase a new floor with the expectation of scrubbing the floor by hand with petroleum to remove these marks.

[myval]

The VillaStone looked beautiful on the showroom boards, and it's nasty that you are having this issue. I wonder what in the composite is causing the VillaStone to react like that. Maybe it's the tumbled surface? Scuffs on flat vinyl can usually be rubbed off with your hand, no elbow grease and no product. Aside from the scuffs, can you tell how it is in terms of scratches or other wear?

[doveredo]

It's not scratching or staining. Removal of the scuff marks is the problem. It takes about 5 minutes (no kidding) per tile to remove a scuff mark.

The Sales Rep, owner and manager of the flooring company where I bought the floor, Cryntel's independent inspector and a customer service rep from Cryntel all agree that the floor scuffs and removal of the scuff takes a lot of elbow grease (not to mention Mineral spirits or Goo Gone).

While looking at my floor from different angles their inspector said the floor looks 10 years old (it was 2 months old when he looked at it). After trying 3 methods he was able to remove a scuff mark using steel wool. Which voids the warranty.

[myval]

Thanks for the info. (I think you should get a full refund!) It seems that the product is not user friendly for any home or commercial application.

[doveredo]

You're welcome, just as an fyi, Cryntel says this is a characteristic of the floor so unless you want to spend lots of money on a floor that looks 10 years old after a few months I'd steer clear of this turkey.

[fish4alifetime]

I know it has been awhile since this info was posted but wanted to know how your floor is still doing? I am not happy with it but can find little info on this product - neither good or bad.

[mflynn0910]

I'm also like to know how the floor looks now, any updates?
I was just shown a sample of this tile today and the sales man just raved about the warranty of this floor, didn't say anything about scuff marks. I'm so not interested in a flooring that is that difficult to keep scuff marks off of.
Any updates would be greatly appreciated! I was thinking of this flooring instead of a dura cermic tile.

[fish4alifetime]

You should check out the cryntel website before you purchase this product. It is the same page that was on their website in jan 09 when we first started looking at this product. I wish I had picked something else. That website should have told me something.

[midwestartist]

I just tried the Cryntel Villastone. The hopes were high because the samples looked beautiful and was the only tile that was dead on for color matching in my home. We looked at alot of brands and samples too.

We were installing it ourselves which ended up being a blessing...
otherwise someone may have installed the whole floor and we wouldn't have seen the behind the scenes problems before it was too late.

As we were doing a "dry run" (before glueing) to make sure everything was straight and looked good, we started to notice how many tiles had imperfections. Most weren't noticable unless the tiles were by a window and you were looking at the tile from a distance (not standing right above it). Some odd white spots were all over. They were spots from the top clear coat layer not adhering properly. At first we thought there would just be a few and we'd cut off the bad spots and use the rest of the tile in odd angled spots that needed special cutting. We first decided to go through each and every box to see how many more imperfections there were. Wow... each box of 10 tiles had 2-5 bad tiles. Some weren't the weird white spots... there were all kinds of obvious imperfections that the factory should have caught. Whoever was on the assembly line wasn't doing their job that day!

After reading this forum I decided to take one of the bad tiles and use the "good half" to experiment with scuffing. My kitchen chairs have felt at the bottom and the very first try, they scuffed!! I promise I wasn't pushing down either. I just pulled the chair away from the table as I always to. When my table and chairs are right by a patio door window that will show every scuff and imperfection, we have decided to return this product and go with another brand. It just won't be worth it. Since the color was so perfect, I couldn't be more disappointed.

[1prblmslvr]

I've been in the flooring industry for quite a while. There are advantages and disadvantages to all floor covering including villastone. There is a known issue with villastone and the scuff marks that it can produce. The wear-layer on this product is far superior to the majority of the products that are comprable, but consumers are figuring out that they can scuff this product relatively easy. In my personal opinion, it can scuff, but when using the right product to get the scuff off, the scuff comes off or is hidden as easily as it is put on. The product that works well in getting these scuffs off is not from the manufactuer, but works as filler and buffer for a different product that we carry. It is called Konecto scratch remover and I have not seen any "light abrasion" that cannot be taken off or buffed out. Yes, it will take a little more time than your "better" aluminum-oxide coated products(Adura from Mannington e.g.), but the cost significance between a product like villastone to Adura is substantial. Over all, for cost and maintenance I can't sell a better performing luxury vinyl tile for the cost than Villastone. I would not say buyer beware, but would say buyer be aware.