Heat Welding – When and Why it is needed

Date
May 30, 2025

Seams are a fact of life with resilient sheet goods. They are also one of the most common sources of complaints from customers. Obviously, the number of seams and placement of seams will vary from project to project. The method and type of seam sealing required can also vary from flooring type to flooring type and from site requirements. Seams in resilient flooring can be chemically welded, heat welded or even seam sealed. Always follow the flooring manufacturer’s installation guidelines when it comes to the seam sealing method. Some flooring products may allow for multiple seam sealing methods. As a flooring professional it is your responsibility to recommend the best seaming method to your customer so the seam will perform for many years. In many cases the best seaming method for the flooring and project type will be heat welding.

Heat welding provides the most secure and tenacious seam protection for resilient sheet goods, that is why it is the preferred seaming method for critical seams. Heat welding can be performed with homogeneous sheet vinyl, heterogeneous sheet vinyl, rubber sheet goods, linoleum sheet goods and composite flooring products. It should be noted that heat-welded seams will never be invisible since the welding coils will never exactly match the color or pattern of the flooring. Educating your customer will help manage expectations and ultimately result in a more satisfied customer. The most common applications that require heat welded seams are medical facilities, commercial kitchens, food preparation facilities, laboratories, and computer chip and electronics manufacturing. Heat welding is typically required in critical applications where bacteria from biologicals may encounter the flooring such as emergency rooms, operating rooms, patient rooms, doctors’ offices and nursing homes. It is not uncommon for operating rooms to require heat welded seams in both homogeneous and heterogeneous sheet goods that also require flash coving. In those cases, the heat weld will carry up the flash cove and may even require welding wall covering to the flash cove to make a monolithic assembly. In commercial kitchens and food preparation facilities bacterial growth is also a concern. In these facilities flash cove may also be required and possibly heat welded wall panels. Computer chip and electronics manufacturing require a dust free environment which will also need a fail proof seaming method. As in medical and food preparation sites, flash cove and wall panels may be required. These facilities will typically require static dissipating flooring to prevent static build up. Over the years I have seen heat welded seams that were performed by highly skilled mechanics that were almost works of art while others were eye sores. If you are a non-union shop, investing in training for your installation teams is essential in developing the skills needed for a durable and aesthetically pleasing seam. Fortunately, there are training organizations such as CFI, FCICA, NAFCT, INSTALL, CTEF and others who can provide training for installers who are new to heat welding and help heat welding veterans improve their skill levels. If you are with a union shop in an area with a good training facility the level of training is typically exceptional although skill levels can vary from mechanic to mechanic. I have known highly skilled installers who only specialize in heat welding. These specialists command higher labor rates than less skilled mechanics and are always booked in advance.

Why do you want to choose heat welding for your project? The answer is both difficult and simple. The difficult part is the added cost. The cost of heat welding seams is considerably more than chemical welding. If your competition is bidding on the project with a chemical weld they may undercut you. There is also the fact that heat welded seams will be more visible than chemically welded seams even when they are done right. The simple side is that heat welded seams are by far the most durable when they are done right. Educating your customer will go a long way to helping you secure the bid on your next high-profile project. When I was in business for myself, I was told on many occasions that I was not the low bidder, but I provided them with the most information. Giving your customers educated advice and options will enable you to provide them with the best possible finished product. Properly performed heat welded seams will also reduce call backs and failures which can be extremely expensive. Ultimately your company’s reputation and future business depends on flooring seams that do not fail. Having a well-trained team of skilled mechanics who are capable of performing high quality heat welded seams is critical for any flooring contractor who does commercial sheet goods.

You need to educate your team, including your salespeople and specifiers, on when and where heat welding is needed. This starts with knowing state and local building codes in your market area. In some applications heat welding will be required and chemical welding will not be an option.